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 very early in the morning when I was lighting fire to prepare breakfast and I heard a message notification. On checking and it was the GiveDirectly transfers, I was overjoyed that breakfast delayed on that day.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
My son did not have a house to live in and he used to ask for a place to sleep from his friends. We are no longer buying milk as well which was a big expense for my family. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for allowing me to have a cow of my own.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I bought a cow which I am currently milking, and we now have enough milk for my family .I also built a house for my son who did not have a place to sleep and had been asking his friends for a place to sleep.
Enrolled
access_time 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Financial freedom is what receiving this money mean to me. I have been aspiring to increase my source of income since the one that I am engaged in cannot fully sustain my family (both for School fees and domestic use). I am currently engaged in grocery business in the nearby centre with an average profit of Ksh 500 a day. My intention therefore, is to buy a dairy cow of approximately Ksh 35,000 and my projection is to milk 7 litres a day. Out of this, I will sell 5 litres at Ksh 30 per litre and supplement from what I get from my business. The remaining 2 litres we will use for home consumption.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My normal day entails waking up early in the morning (around 6 am)to go to the market to sell groceries. At around 4 pm, I go back to my village and visit my customers to buy onions and tomatoes to sell the next day. The work is so tiresome but getting enough groceries to sell the next day, makes my evening the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced in life is inadequacy of funds to educate my 2 children (one in standard seven and one has completed secondary school). Since I am a single parent and raising the children single handedly is an uphill task. My son completed his secondary School four years ago and I have been unable to send him to college due to financial constrains. I feel I have failed as a parent to fulfill his dream of furthering his education. My intention is use Ksh 30,000 of my second transfer to pay his college fees, a thing that he has always dreamt of.
