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 very happy when I first received a message that confirmed the receipt of the first transfer from GiveDirectly. It was around 4:00 pm on the third day after the first village member had received it. Even though the delay had affected me, I was so confident that I will receive it as well since I was sure every information I gave out was clear. At that moment, I was with my family that was grateful for receiving the news as well.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the Clearance of the enormous debt I had in school. My children were so happy to access their certificates at last and hopeful that they will soon secure a place to work as they keep presenting their applications to different institutions at the moment.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After a struggle to pay school fees for my children that saw all the assets, including livestock sold, it still left me with enormous debt in school after my two sons graduated. The news about GiveDirectly coming to the village brought a hope to my family since this was the only way to offset the debts and free the certificates that were held back. With the first transfer, I cleared all the KES 25000 that was pending and came home with my son's certificates. They are now happy that they can use them in seeking job positions and even useful in their applications to further their studies. I spent the remaining amount on obtaining a heifer worth KES 28000 that will hopefully bring back the pride we had when we could produce enough milk from our farms and thus cutting the high cost of milk that I have been buying for my family of seven.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My husband and I do not have formal jobs. I do small business together with farming as a way of livelihood. I am happy that the average amount of KES 200 a day from my business has enabled me to provide for my family. I have five children who are in secondary and primary levels of education. In recent years, I sold the last cow I had to enable my firstborn to enroll in his form four classes and examination. This left us with a big gap in our income. Receiving this cash means a restored livelihood for my family. I will spend KES 30000 to buy a dairy cow. This will be my pride and asset to rely on. I will cut the daily expenditure on milk and improve our diet through milk consumption. I will keep the offsprings as my financial security.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My happiness is my children's prosperity in life. I have invested my happiness in my children's education. I believe with good education they will secure good jobs to help them live better. In the last six months, my two eldest sons did their secondary school examination. This has been my biggest happiness. Even though the results are not yet out, I am happy that they have made it this far and hopeful that they will pass their exams.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Even though I am a businesswoman, saving my profits of KES 200 a day to invest in bigger income-generating activities, is not easy. My daily household expenditure is approximately KES 250 thus I have to work extra hard to meet this. In addition, my children are in various secondary schools raising my family expenses. To me, financial instability is my major challenge.
