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?
The moment I received my transfer, I can vividly recall that it was on a Wednesday when I had attended a group meeting in the village, suddenly I heard my phone ringing, upon confirming who had texted me, I saw a Mpesa notification showing that I had received a sum of KES 55,000, I was happy, but I decided not to share the good news with anyone in them so as not to attract the unwanted attention from the team members, I was happy because I had plans in place on how I would spend the cash.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I am highly grateful for the support that has lifted my living standards, I have been able to accomplish most of the goals that I had within a short time, The biggest difference in my daily life is that I no longer owe anyone money, this is because I was able to pay back the debt with the transfer that I had received, I feel at ease now, I can also sleep in peace, I am also looking forward to building my sons a place to sleep in once my second transfer is in.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a single mother of six children, I had so many plans on how I would spend the transfer, though I also had to think of the key priorities, and decided to leave the rest so that if all goes well I would use my second transfer in accomplishing them, therefore I bought a dairy cow worth KES 35,000 to cut down on the cost of buying milk daily, I had purchased a parcel of land before, but, I had not completed paying for it, thus I used KES 15,000, lastly I used the remaining amount in buying foodstuffs and clothes.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I bought this piece of land one year ago and I have not completed its payment and I am always worried that the owner might revoke the agreement and take back his land. Receiving this money will mean that I will be able to complete paying the KES 20000 balance and be free from that debt. I plan to build a bigger house with KES 30000 of the transfer because the one that we live in cannot accommodate all of us (a family of 8) comfortably.
What is the happiest part of your day?
For the last six months, we have had sufficient rainfall that has enabled people in my area to do farming. This in turn has provided us with casual jobs of weeding their farms and being able to earn money to support our families well and being able to feed my family has brought me happiness.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
One of the major challenges that I am facing is food security. The land that I own is small and cannot allow me to farm well. The produce that I get from the small portion of my farm cannot sustain my family and I have to buy food to supplement what I get for my and is costly.
