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?
As I was preparing to leave to the market for my business early one morning, one of my children saw the message and alerted me that the message was from Give Directly. I had to postpone my plans of going to the market for a while and celebrate with my family the good news of receiving such an amount of money.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Purchasing a water tank has saved my family from spending a lot of money on water that is being sold at a very expensive price by the water vendors within our community. It has also saved us from walking long distances to fetch the water which was very hectic. This tank has also made it possible for my family to start a water vending business because now that we have a place to store the water, we can finally have piped water in our compound.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent a greater part of the transfer on a 2000-litre water tank to help us temporarily in harvesting rain water so that we can cease from spending a lot of money on water then later use the tank for storing water for sale once we have piped water within our compound. We used to spend a lot of money on water as we live very far away from the nearest water source therefore those who have piped water sell to the community at a very high price hence the decision to purchase the water tank for storage of water for personal use and later on for a business. I spent the rest of the money on a cupboard, personal items such as clothes and foodstuff.
Enrolled
access_time almost 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I run a small busines of selling fruits and vegetables while my spouse runs a motobike taxi.We have been taking loans to substitute the income from these in order to help in paying school fees for our children.Thr loans come with hefty interests and I have always wished to get another means.Receiving this money means that I do not have to owe any financial institution because I will use it to add my stock and I know with time it will yield enough to cater for my children's school fees.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Am happiest at mid morning.This is the time when I complete my household chores and head to my vegetable stall by the roadside.Having completed my work at home and heading to my income generating job makes me happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
We have not had a maize harvest for four years now.This has mostly been caused by prolonged droughts and partly by a certain strange maize crop disease.Because of this,we have had to set aside some money which would have otherwise been put back into business to buy maize for the family.This has since stagnated my business
