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 was working on my farm at home in the afternoon, around 3 PM. Life had been hard recently, and I felt the pressure of taking care of my big family. When I got $200 unexpectedly, I felt so relieved. Right away, I started thinking about how we could use it smartly. Since we were short on food, my first idea was to make sure we had plenty to eat. I imagined a good harvest and how happy it would make my children. This bit of extra money was like a light of hope in our difficult journey.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The first transfer has made a huge difference in my life. With just $200, I've already seen significant improvements. Now we can enjoy eating chapatis at home, something my children have always dreamed of but we couldn't afford due to our low wages. This has brought great happiness to our family. Looking ahead to the next $450 transfer, I am hopeful that our lives will change even more. Thanks to GiveDirectly, I see a brighter future. With the second transfer, I plan to build a one-room house for my sons who have been sleeping at the neighbors' because we don't have enough space at home. This opportunity is bringing us hope and a sense of security for the future.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Life was really tough for me, taking care of my five kids without a job was stressful. My husband also didn't have a job. We did odd jobs like working on other people's farms and burning charcoal. Sometimes we couldn't find work on farms, and the charcoal permit was closed, so we went hungry. We were very poor and couldn't afford a toilet, so our sanitation and hygiene were very bad. We used a nearby farm to dig a small hole for a toilet, but when it flooded, dirty water came into our house and made it smell bad.When we received the money, I used $56 to buy enough food. This helped me have energy to work on my small maize farm. I used $50 to build a small toilet to cover the shame of using the farm and open places where everyone could see us. With another $50, I paid school fees for my children, so I could stop looking for odd jobs and focus on my own farm. Finally, with the remaining money, I bought clothes for my children because their old ones were too worn out to wear outside. Thanks so much to GiveDirectly for giving me hope for the future. I really appreciate it.
Enrolled
access_time 5 months ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
I intend to utilize my first transfer to build a separate house for my grown up boys as they have been sleeping in the kitchen. As a long term investment, I also plan to use my second transfer to invest in irrigation farming. This will be through planting of short term crops like peas and butternuts since they are not labour intensive. This will ensure that there will be an increase in my cash flow within a short period of time and at the same time venture into other income generating activities like livestock keeping.
What is the happiest part of your day?
All of my children used to be boys until 5 months ago when I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. This is something that brought a lot of joy into our lives as we had been yearning to have one. Now we can rest easy knowing that we have closed on the chapter of having additional children.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I am blessed with a family of 7 members. Three of them are boys who have successfully undergone the rite of passage(circumcision) and are now considered as young men within our community. Unfortunately, because of limited resources, I am unable to construct a separate structure for them to reside in as per our tradition and custom. As a result, they are forced to sleep in the kitchen. This has not gone well with the neighbors who are constantly criticizing me for not honoring the traditional yet they know the underlying reason(s).
