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 was at home relaxing when my neighbour asked me whether I had received my transfer because she had already received hers. Since I had left my phone in the bedroom, I rushed inside the house, picked my phone and opened my messenger. Upon finding out that I had received the transfers, I called my husband who had gone to work and informed him. He was so happy that I had gotten money to put food on the table for a couple of days.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I never knew that I can own a cow in my life because I didn't have the financial capability to buy one. My biggest desire was to own livestock and it feels like my prayers were finally answered. I am now a proud owner of cow which hopefully will give birth to many more. Seeing it outside my house everyday gives me a lot of joy
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a second wife to my husband who is a casual labourer. My co-wife left our matrimonial home few years ago leaving behind her seven children. Since I am a mother of two, I had to accepted the responsibilities of taking care of nine children. My husband doesn't have a reliable job and this has made me go through serious challenges of raising them up including feeding, buying clothes and paying school fees with the little profit that I earn from selling fish. Because of my poor financial state and inability to pay school fees, the children have been in and out of school and this has demoralized their learning spirit and were unhappy with being at home while the other children were in School. When I received my transfer, I spend KES 7000 to clear the school fees, KES 15,000 to add more stock to my business, KES 20,000 to buy a cow and the balance to buy food and other household necessities.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I came into a polygamous family about 4 years ago, in mid-2021 my co-wife had a huge fight with our husband that lead to her departure and left behind 7 children. I had no choice but to be a mother to these children together with my two daughters. It is very frustrating having a big family to take care of with no good source of income. My spouse depends on the casual jobs while on the other hand, I sell fish on a small scale to support him with some household responsibilities. My main challenge is not even how these children will feed but a place for them to sleep. I am worried about their moral behaviors because they sleep in a neighbor's house since the house we live in is not big enough to accommodate a family of 13. My plans with these transfers are to first build a two-roomed house near ours where they can sleep and also monitor their movement which will cost 40,000 KES then use 10,000 KES to boost my business so that I can continue getting good returns. The remaining transfers will serve as buffer money in case of any emergencies.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The current business that is helping to feed my children together with my co-wife's started towards the end of 2021. At that time we were not struggling compared to now and this made me take it for granted until Jan when things started getting worse but thankfully the income I made from the business helped us a lot. This brought joy and happiness to my life because my family's well-being was taken care of from the savings I made.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The current economic situation in the country has made things worse for my family. We are a family of 13 and feeding them with the little money I get from my business is challenging. Sometimes we are forced to forgo two meals due to the insufficient flow of money to the business. My husband tries most of the time but is never enough because the food prices keep hiking which is very frustrating and stressful. My current challenge is therefore lack of money to take good care of my family.
