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 and I was busy fencing a part of my farm which is adjacent to the road. As I was going about with my job, I heard my phone which was in my pocket ringing notifying me of a new message. I wondered was it was all about as I pulled it out of my pocket. I read the SMS and I could not believe it when I learned that it was a message telling me that I had received the promised transfer of KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I was so happy and I gave thanks to God because it was like my prayers had been answered.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer has brought a very big difference in my life and that of my family. I was able to buy the cows that I had always desired to have. I hence no longer have to stress myself thinking about where I am going to get the money to do so. The cows are going to be of great benefit to us since when they calve, we will be able to get milk for our consumption and sale. We hence will no longer have to incur the cost of buying milk and we will have some source of income. Besides that, I can sell some of the calves reproduced and use the money on other important developments such as payment of school fees for my children.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent most of my transfer on buying two cows at a total cost of KES 30000. I decided to buy the cows because I know that they are going to be of great benefit to me in the future. The cows will reproduce and multiply in number. I can sell the offspring and use the money on other important things. Besides that, when the cows calve, we will be able to get milk for our consumption and we can sell some. This way we will no longer incur the cost of buying milk and we will have some source of income. I was not able to buy the cows before because I didn't have the money to do so. I am a small-scale farmer and I usually grow a few crops for sale. I also usually break stones that are on my farm and sell them to earn a living. The money that I make from the sale of the farm produce and stones, most of it usually goes to the purchase of food for my family and buying some household items such as sugar, soap, etc. I am therefore grateful to GiveDirectly because they enabled me to realize my dream.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means Improved nutritional status of my children. Milk contain essential nutrients good in development of children. I normally buy 1 litre per day costing KES 30. Purchasing milk daily is quite expensive to me since I rely on a quarry for money.I earn 1800 from the quarry weekly. So when I get this money I will buy a dairy cow costing KES 20000. I expect to yield around 4 litres a day. 2 litres will be used within the household and sell 2 litres to generate income. The money I will get I will use to buy other household foods.
What is the happiest part of your day?
One month ago I got a tender to supply construction stones to a nearby school. This tender earned me KES 20000. This was a big boost to my daily hustles. I bought 2 sags of maize for my family and I bought them new clothes. This brought joy and happiness since it was hard to earn such big money at once.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge I am currently facing is food insecurity. I do quarrying near my farm. One trailer I sell at KES 1800 and To make it one trailer I have to quarry for 1 week. It is a challenge for I depend on it to feed my family. Sometimes I am forced to take food on credit from vendors and at times it is hard to pay back especially when I do not get customers to buy the stones.
