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?
It was around 8am when my helper heard people talking about receiving GiveDirectly transfers. He came straight to where I was to confirm whether I had also received mine. Upon checking, he confirmed to me that I had also received my first transfer. I felt so happy knowing that I was going to get some food since my family and I had slept hungry the previous night.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference that I can attest is that, initially getting some food was a challenge. Paying school fees for my children was a big headache on me and my house was also collapsing and i did not know how I would correct it. When I received the transfer from GiveDirectly, things turned into a new leaf. I am now able cater for my family's basic needs, I also managed to pay school fees for my children and also renovated my house.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Upon withdrawing the money, the first thing I did was buying a bale of maize flour so as to have some food at home. I also bought two goats for KES 7000.00 so as to have a remembrance of GiveDirectly in my life. I also paid some school fees for my two children who are in college. Thereafter, I bought some building blocks for KES 21000.00. These blocks were for renovating my house because the one I had was collapsing. For the remaining amount, I used it to buy some food for my family.
Enrolled
access_time 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My family of four members depend on burning charcoal occupation which is not a reliable source of income. In a good day I only manage to earn 400 KES for the sale of one charcoal bag. This little amount can only cater for one meal a day for the family. My two children who are in secondary school lack school fees which affect their academic performance. Receiving this money would mean I start a small kiosk whereby I will be selling fast moving commodities such as sugar, flour and beans. I believe through this business I will have a stable source of income for my family which will go along way to sustain the basic needs such as food and school fees. I plan to spend 50000 KES on the business. I will also spend 15000 KES on school fees and the rest will be spent on food.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My family of four members is in good health and those in school are performing relatively well despite the school fees issues. This has always been my source of joy as I hope that the economic situation will turn around and have some stable source of income.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I was diagnosed with ulcers two years ago and due to the lack of money I can not afford better health care and the situation has really affected my wellbeing to an extent I can not do the charcoal burning occupation which I solely depend on. Lack of school fees for my children is a also something which keeps me worried as they sometimes spend two weeks out of school and this has eventually affected their academic performance.
