Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
That day, at around 4.30 pm I was busy weeding maize on my farm. That's when I heard a message alert on my phone and on checking I confirmed to have received the KES 55,000 from GiveDirectly. At this sight of the good news, I was motivated to finish the portion I had planned for the day.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my life since I started receiving the transfer is building a modern and spacious 26 Iron roofed house. This can now accommodate my family and kids comfortably compared to the previous tiny one.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a mother of five and have been living in an old, and tiny 16 Iron roofed house built over forty years ago. Over the years, I have desired to build a better house but could not afford it. This is because I have two kids and several grandkids living with me.
So, when GiveDirectly transfers came, I saw this as an answer to my prayer of having a better house. I, therefore, spent KES 40,000 on the construction of a modern and spacious Iron roofed house. Of this, KES 20,000 was spent on 26 Ironsheets, KES 10,000 on 35 construction trees, KES 4, 000 on frame-cutting costs, and KES 6000 on labor construction costs.
Secondly, I spent KES 6,000 on two bags of maize. This is because, before, I used to rely on small-scale farming of maize and indigenous vegetables for food and dairy farming. But with GiveDirectly, I am now relieved of household expenditures.
Further, KES 4,000 was spent on the latest clothing fashion for my family. These will last longer compared to the second-hand clothes which we usually afford.
Last but not least, I spent KES 3,000 on hiring a tractor for tilling my land in preparation for maize planting. I also spent KES 1,500 on hiring laborers to weed my maize farm.