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?
When the transfer came in, I was having battery trouble. So I did not immediately realize it had come in. I discovered the money later in the afternoon. I have been meening to call GD to thank you for the money but have been having phone trouble. I was ecstatic to receive the money. I have very big plans to build a house. The house I live in now leaks whenever it rains and I am so glad I can finally build another one.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
My daily life has been happier. I have six children and a wife. All of us live in a tiny house that leaks. My plan is to build another house. A bigger one. My daily life is now filled with the work leading up to those plans. We have made plans to make bricks and then the next step will be building. My family and I are all happier. We have hope in our lives now. The thought of living in a better house has put everyone in great spirits and it is quite obvious.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have not spent even a single kwacha of this transfer on myself. My family and I are very excited about the money but we have big plans for it. We plan to spend it on building a house so we can live in it.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
This money will assist us a lot in the ambitions we always have had. Since I rely on farming and nothing else,the little money I earn after selling produce especially pigeon peas is never enough to be kept for other bigger things. For instance, most of the times I make around 70 thousand Malawi Kwacha but the needs at home are a lot hence we usually spend it on extra food,groceries and school fees for children.
After being enrolled into this program, I now have started to make plans to enlarge the house and do iron sheet roofing. Iron sheets will also reruce the hard work of alwsys seeking good grass to thatch th house as it is becoming scarce as the population is rising hence demand for more grass.
The second transfer will be used to buy fetilizer, utensils and other finishings of the house in case its not complete. I am very happy to be in this program.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am a family man and spending time with my family is always my priority. On a normal day, I like to attend to my crops or vegetables if it is after harvesting season . Then later I come home to rest and chat with my family. These are the moments that make me happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Our main problem has always been hunger. This comes due to poor harvest as our gardens do not produce a lot due to lack of fertilizer. This usually makes us do pieceworks in order to add extra income on the money from produce.
Njala...October to farming season..continues hunger..piceworks for food not fetilizer
