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?
I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. My phone was with my helper as usual since I have eye problem and I can hardly receive an read any message. It was not until 7:00 pm when my helper came home and shared the good news with me that I had received money from GiveDirectly. I was overwhelmed with joy on receiving this news. It dawned on me that all the desires that I had been having were finally going to be realized. It was also a confirmation that all the promises made by GiveDirectly initially were not fake after all.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the fact that I now live a more peaceful life especially due to the investments that I made with the first transfer. When I look at my completely renovated house, I find peace in my heart. I was left poor and helpless when I lost my husband long time a go and I had to figure out how I could raise money to support my family single handedly. I feel happy that somehow I was able to do this but of course I had to part with some of the assets that I initially owned. The kind of job that has been putting food on my table is that of selling water and firewood to a nearby centre. The income that I often get here is hardly enough to enable me make ends meet for my family. I thank GiveDirectly fir enabling me accomplish things that would otherwise have remained as just dreams for a longer time.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
If you came to my place today you will really get to understand how helpful the money was to me. I used part of it say KES 15000 to buy goats for rearing and used KES 30000 to improve my house. For a long time we were living in a small mud house and with my age advancing, I found it difficult to maintain the house properly. As for the goats , this was an investment that I thought will give me easy cash in times of need. I had had to sell all the livestock that I owned initially to be able to take my children to school. Being a single mother is entirely relied on odd casual jobs like selling water and firewood to get money for basic household commodities. With this kind of business I would earn as low as KES 50 per day hardly enough to buy anything with the biting economic times. I used the remaining amount of money to buy food, clothes and other basic household needs.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Poultry farming has been my main source of income, receiving money from give directly will allow me to expand this business. I am planning to build a bigger house for the poultry, it will cost approximately KES 10000 to build it. Currently, I have 21 hens, I harvest approximately 8 pieces of eggs per day I sell each egg at KES 13. The amount I receive is not sufficient to cater to the family's needs like food, shelter, and medical expenses for my daughter who is ailing from meningitis. I plan to buy more Poultry going for KES 30000, this is 30 hens. This will increase my daily income since I will have more eggs to sell.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My daughter has been ailing from meningitis for the last 7years, treating her has been so costly since she has been going for her medical checkups which cost KES 1500 every 3 months. In the last 4months, her health has stabilized therefore we haven't done any checkups. This has brought us happiness as a family because we are happy with our daughter's health is stable.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I used to do casual jobs around the village like carrying water and firewood to other people's houses. From the casual job I was doing, I was able to earn approximately KES 200 to KES 300 per day. I left doing the casual jobs because I developed a knee injury that does not allow me to perform this duty again. It has always been my prayer to seek medication so that I can continue with the job.
