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 biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I now own livestock. I managed to buy goats. I had always admired homesteads with goats and always dreamt of owning some. I feel good because finally, I got the chance to have my own. In addition to that, I also bought a bed. I can now sleep comfortably unlike before when I used to sleep on the floor. My worries have gone, very soon I will also be living in a decent house.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received my transfer, I was overwhelmed with joy. The first thing that I thought of was building a good house since the current one is almost collapsing. I hurriedly told my husband who was equally happy with the plan. I have really suffered living in this house and I cannot wait to live in a decent one.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent part of my transfer to purchase six goats. This was a great idea since I can decide to sell the young ones in case of emergencies. The best part is that they can also enable me to reach my long term goals by selling them at once and get a lump sum amount of money when they have increased in number. Besides that, have started building a house since the current one is almost collapsing. I had been saving my income as a saloon but I could still not start implementing this project since the income was little. The transfers have greatly saved me. I could definitely take longer to build this house were it not for the GiveDirectly's intervention. Lastly, I was able to buy a bed. Previously, I used to sleep on the floor. It used to be very uncomfortable especially whenever it rained since it could absorb water. My worries are gone. I can only thank GiveDirectly for financial support.
Enrolled
access_time over 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a saloonist and for the past five years even while I was in school,I could earn my income from working as a casual.Since my years of experiences have enabled me to be very good at what I do, I have greatly wished to set up my own salon but my barrier has been finances.In a day I normally earn.ksh.350 which I use for my households upkeep. The business is very lucrative and I plan to invest ksh.25000 to set up my own salon business in Bamba town. I will also spend ksh. 13000 to buy 5 goats for rearing and with the rest of my transfer, construct a two roomed iron roofed house for my family since the current one is not only small, it also tends to leak a lot when it rains.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am normally happy in the evening when I return home with my child from the salon where I work from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm . Atleast I get ample time by this time to take good care of her,feed her and even bathe her since for the better part of the day while we are at the salon she does not get my full attention in order not to compromise my attention to customers which can lead to a possible termination.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I got pregnant at a very tender age while I was still in school and my parents decided to marry me off to the father of my baby who is still in school sitting for his form 4 exam. Truthfully I am a living witness that life can be very harsh, at my age of 18years,I am the breadwinner to the family since my husband is still in school .The ksh.350 that I earn from working as a casual in a salon in Bamba town is never sufficient to cater for our food and emergency expenses because the job in itself is not consistent. It gets even tougher for me because I have no one to leave my baby with hence I am forced to go with her to my place of work and this inconveniences me a lot because when she starts crying I end up not completing my job and the end result is less pay for me.Life has been so frustrating for me since i can not even save enough to go back to school. Thus financial financial constraint is my biggest hardship.
