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?
It was around 7 am and I was at home preparing breakfast for my family when I heard my phone ringing hence notifying me of an incoming new message. I stopped to check it and wow! I could not believe my eyes when I read the SMS which was indicating that I had received KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I was so happy and I thanked God for it since I had already made plans on how I was going to spend it.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer has brought a very big difference into my life. This is because having bought the cow, I no longer incur the cost of buying milk like before. I was also able to clear school fees arrears for one of my children and hence I am happy because he got ample time to study without worrying about being sent home.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 35000 of my recent transfer on buying a cow. I bought it since I didn't have one and hence I didn't have a source of milk. As a result, I use to incur the cost of buying a liter daily at KES 50. It has always been my wish to own a cow but I was not able to buy one since I didn't have the money. I am casually employed at a restaurant and most of the money that I make usually goes to the payment of school fees for my two children who are in secondary school. I have thus not been able to make other developments. Other than that, I also spent KES 15000 on paying school fees for one of my children. I also bought two bags of maize for our consumption at a total cost of KES 6000. I had some money with me which I added to the transfer amount. I hence bought some clothes for my children with the remainder. I am thus so much thankful to GiveDirectly for coming up with this program of helping the less fortunate in the society.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have been using most of my family income to pay school fees. This denied me an opportunity to have better housing and buy livestock for my family. With this money, I will set KES 40000 to build an iron sheet house for my family. This will make us live happily and avoid the struggle of living in a grass thatched house. Also, I will invest KES 30000 to buy a cow. This will help me in the future earn more income with the sale of milk and animals. To keep off from perennial food shortages in my family, I will consider buying food grains such as maize and beans for my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I harvested two bags of maize in the last season. This was outstanding and has never happened in my entire farming season. It helped me reduce the stress and struggle of providing food for the family. This brought me happiness and joy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Paying school fees for my son in Secondary school has been my biggest challenge. My casual job earns me KES 100 daily. This money is little and not enough for me to save money for school fees and buy food for my children. This makes me struggle financially.
