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.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Being a polygamous family, my two wives and I, all benefiting from the cash aid program, agreed to individually contribute 2,000 KES from each transfer to help settle household needs and saved 1,000 KES. Therefore, from the three recent transfers, I have committed 6,000 KES towards that course. From the pooled money, we acquired three new plastic chairs at 550 KES each to replace the small benches we used as seats. Additionally, we used 3,000 KES to slice overdue school fee balances for the six children in the family who constantly skipped classes due to pending arrears. We also bought two bags of cement worth 1,300 KES to build a spacious house to accommodate our family of eleven people. The rest of the money was channeled towards food.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly is most definitely doing a great job especially to someone like me because I am very old and my illness has made my health deteriorate extremely that I barely work and the source of income most times comes from my two wives. Therefore the funds I receive have helped in lessening the financial burden and I can also pay school fees for my children.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After I received the money my first though was to settle the tuition debt I had for eight of my children because the teachers kept sending them home almost on a daily due to the balance so I gave out KES 2,000 to be split among the eight of them which did not settle even half of the debt but they would manage to be allowed to class for the mean time. Unfortunately also at the time I fell ill so I was left with KES 1,000 from the balance and I decided to some of my chicken in order to have enough money to go to hospital and after the visit to see a doctor I paid KES 1,400.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
1200 KES ($11 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The message came in early in the morning, but I decided to wait until my kids to come back from school so that they could read it out for me and after finding out the content in it I was filled with so much happiness because I could finally settle my debts and my kids could finally go back to school.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
With the transfers I received I feel like some of my financial burdens have been reduced because we are a family of eleven, of which this includes my two wives and children meanwhile I am bread winner of the family yet my health has been on the decline for several years now and with my age I can barely get a job to sustain my family. Plus the roof to my house had collapsed and the funds I received enabled me to renovate so that to avoid leakage during the rainy season.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After receiving the money I chose to settle the school arrears to my kids tuition because five of them had pending balances from school and so I delivered KES 600 to their school although this was nothing but merely a quarter of what I had to pay eventually but it was better that I was at least reducing what I owed the school. I also went ahead to fix my grass thatched roof because the rainy season was soon coming and my roof was falling apart so I paid KES 500 for the grass thatched roof to be repaired and I bought maize flour with the remaining KES 100.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means hope to me. I am a family man married to two wives with ten children. For the past five years I have not been able to work due to health challenges. I was diagnosed with pneumonia and this has affected my ability to move around or even take care of myself. I have no income, my wives have to work inorder to feed the family. We live in a one roomed house, little space with no privacy. My priority is to build a four roomed house where both my wives can have their own rooms and my children their own.
My children are constantly sent home for lack of tuition money and they have to stay back home for days before we can get money to send the back to school. Part of the transfer will be channelled to school fees as I construct a better and more spacious house.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am grateful for the gift of life but nothing has really brought me joy for the past months. At my age, with a young family and unable to feed them it only saddens me.
Today, you have brought me happiness, I have a new phone and I am hopeful I will benefit from this program. When I will see my family feed and my children going to school with no challenges, this will be a cause of joy for the rest of the years I have with them.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Obtaining money for food is one challenge, we can go for three days without food and this weighs a lot on me since as the man of the house, I need to provide for my family. I own some poultry, to be specific chickens, when the situation becomes to much we are forced to make due and feed on them. One of my wives is the bread-winner. She makes and sells buns around the village. Her income is not enough to cater to the families needs let alone pay school fees for the eight children in school. One of our neighbors was empathetic and loaned us his cow so that at least we could get milk to feed our children.
Funny thing is when you walk into my compound the cow is the first thing you see, one can quickly assume that I am well off but we really are struggling to make ends meet.
My health also is a cause of concern. My wives have to assist with my self care, like giving me a birth and at times I go without one because my body cannot stand the cold. I visited a herbalist and he advised I purchase some herbal medicine to manage this ailment. The herbs are worth Ksh3000, I can not afford such an amount.
