We check in with people at each stage of the cash transfer process to see how things are going. Take a look at some of their stories as they appear here in real-time.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I remember vividly like yesterday that it was around 9.30 am when I heard a ringtone message from my phone. I didn't expect any Mpesa message as I thought that it was Safaricom promotional SMS. When I realized that it was a message confirming that I had received money from GiveDirectly, I felt so happy. I immediately informed my family members and they were so overwhelmed with joy. I knew that I would finally be able to take my motorcycle for servicing.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am nowadays able to work all day without major challenges like a breakdown of my motorbike. Also, I nowadays carry more than one person at a time since I was able to buy new shock absorbers and tyres unlike before when I used to carry only one passenger at a time and this has lead to an increase in my income. I would not have been able to achieve this on my own since the service cost was expensive and the little money I usually make was only enough to cater for our daily needs. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for making this possible through the transfer and I thank God for guiding them to my village.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I received my transfer, I spent KES 35000 to buy a dairy cow, KES 11000 to service my motorcycle and to purchase new tires, and KES 8000 on foodstuffs and a few clothes for my family. Buying milk has been my routine and I usually spend KES 45 daily on them. This was usually costly to me as I rarely carry many passengers in a day since my motorbike had mechanical problems and I had not taken it to be serviced for a long time.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
It mean a lot to me. I have a young family and the house that I am living in is too small for us. I intend to build a house for an approximate amount of 40,000 shillings in order to accommodate my growing family. I plan to buy a cow and 3 sheep for 32,500 shillings and use 20,000 shillings to start a business for buying and selling goats.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of the day is in the morning because I wake up energized, and already have a plan of the things that I am going to do in order to get food for my family.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I have peptic ulcers that recur often. It is so painful that I cannot go to work sometimes. This has affected my family's income since I have to rest for a while without working. Treating it is also costly.
