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?
When I first received the first transfer from GiveDirectly, I was very excited, and even though I could not believe it at a glance; I had to verify it by checking my account balance. It was a round KES 7:30 pm, and at that moment, I was in the shopping center and had to rush home to share the good news with my family. They were very excited from that moment to the next day when I collected the money from the nearby shopping center.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the relief of paying school fees for my three children. This support has made everything easy and now working on other projects that can help in raising more money for the future [payment of school fees.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The initial plan we had with my spouse before receiving the transfer was to buy a lactating dairy cow that would have cut the high cost of daily buying milk for my family of 10. This plan changed when the pressure to clear the school fees for our three children came up. This forced me to settle on a heifer worth KES 25000. I spent all the remaining amount on settling school fees for my three children in secondary school who are now comfortably learning without any interference. I am happy about the accomplishment and hope to see them catch up with other students in their respective classes.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a better living standard for my family. I have three children in secondary school and 4 others in primary school. Due to an unstable source of income, I had to sell my assets such as land and livestock to raise their school fees. I am planning to use KES45,000 of my first transfer to purchase a dairy cow. I prefer investing in livestock because in two years time, it will produce milk. This will give me joy since I will earn a living through sale of milk and the children will have enough for drink hence improving on their growth and development.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In the last 6 months, no one in my family has fallen sick. This gives me happiness because a healthy family means l get to spend my entire resources on the education of my children.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge we are facing currently is raising school fees for our three children in secondary school. I raise my income through livestock trading but because of a lack of capital, it yields a low profit that is only enough to purchase food and other emergencies such as medication. Sometimes I am forced to borrow loans to get some money to pay for school fees which is still in arrears.
