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?
In the morning when I woke up I saw an sms on my phone and on checking it it was Mpesa. After confirming it was an Mpesa indicating that I had received Kes 55000 from GiveDirectly, I became very happy for I knew I will benefit a lot from the money.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Having a dairy cows which I am currently rearing in my compound brings the biggest difference in my daily life. I have really been willing to have one in my homestead but was too expensive for me. This enabled me to have milk for use at home and some for sale and get an income. I am extremely thankful to GiveDirectly because I would not have purchased any at my own cost if t were not for the support.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent part of my first transfer on buying livestock. I bought a dairy cow and some chicken for rearing. This has been my long time desire but I could not afford it because of my low income. Before I use to spend a lot on buying milk and now having my own cow would enable me to cut daily expenditure. when chicken would lay eggs, I would sell to generate some income which I would in turn spent on buying other necessities. The remaining amount, I bought sufficient foodstuffs for my family and some clothes for myself and other family members.
Enrolled
access_time over 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I intend to use part of my first transfer of $200 to buy a dairy cattle so as to stop the regular buying of milk for my family usage. I will use the remaining amount from the first transfer to start a poultry farming. This way I will have created a sustained flow of income through the sale of poultry products. I will use my second transfer to add two additional rooms to my already existing house that is ain't spacious enough.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I solely depend on casual jobs on people's farms to fend for my family and as a result, my usual day largely entails waking up very early in the morning, taking breakfast and heading out to look for the casual jobs. If I land one, I ensure that I finish it before end of the day so that in the evening I get paid. It is at this time that I feel happy since I know deep down that I have the means to fend for my family for that day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I used to be a tea picker in one of our leading tea factory in our nearby town. The salary I used to get was initially satisfying the needs of my family until the tea picking machines were introduced by the factory owners. This led to massive trimming of staff and I was unfortunate to be among those rendered jobless. I had no option but to return back home and start temporary casual jobs on people's farms. Life has been so tough since then but I live with the hope that one day everything will return to normalcy.
