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 still sleeping in the morning when my helper came and informed me that the transfer from GiveDirectly had been sent. My heart was filled with joy upon hearing the good news and I requested him to help me cash it out. It dawned on me that I was finally going to live in my dream house very soon despite my old age.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have been feeding well for the past month. Despite having built a house using the transfer, I am glad that I no longer depend on my children for provision like I used to before. I experience severe back pain coupled with old age nowadays and this has rendered me helpless since I can do nothing apart from washing utensils and making meals. Because of this, I have been depending on my children to buy food for me and I was feeling that they were overwhelmed with the responsibilities that they have. Being able to provide for me without requesting a single cent makes me a happy person and always leaves me feeling satisfied knowing that my children are not worrying whether I have eaten or not.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am an old person and I have been living in a small grass-thatched house. Despite having wished to live in a more decent iron-roofed house, I had not been able to achieve this since I was a housewife before my spouse died and I currently do not do anything due to my health conditions. I have been depending on my last born son who works as a casual laborer to feed me and I did not want to burden him with the stress of building an iron-roofed house. With my transfer, I was able to spend KES 48000 to build this house and I will be moving into it very soon. Also, I spent KES 4000 on one sack of maize for our consumption and I still have KES 2000 that I am planning to use in case of an emergency.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money is a fortune for me to buy a dairy cow to start earning from selling milk.I have been relying on my son fro daily provision who is also working as a farm caretaker, making about KES 150 per day.It is barely enough to cater for the househokd. Using about KES 40,000 from the transfers, I will buy a cow that will give me milk of about KES 200 a day. In my old age, I need a good diet. I can only meet this through having a source of income. I will also improve my home buy building a nice house.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In my life, the past six months have been of a great improvement, mainly because the government finally, paved the road passing through my farm. It has made easy to use motorcycle to go to hospital whenever my waist become a problem. Without this road, it would have been impossible for me to get medical help that I always require.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Food insecurity is the biggest problem I am currently facing. This is because I am old and cannot fend for my self. Even though I have a son who takes care of me, his earnings are insufficient. Additionally, I have a waist problem that is as a result of a motorcycle taxi accident, many years ago. Sometimes the pain is too much that that I find it difficult to walk around.
