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 in the middle of the night when I was woken up by vibration on my phone. When I checked, I saw an MPESA message notification. On opening, it was a receipt of Kshs.55,000 from Give directly. I was so happy and anxious and couldn't wait to go and withdraw the next day.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the construction of my house.I am glad that Givedirectly came in when I had already planned but I lacked finances.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Upon receiving the first transfer, I spent Kshs.30,000 in constructing a new house. I had always wished to build a spacious house for my children but with many financial obligations, I couldn't meet this plan. Givedirectly had enabled me to achieve this long-term dream. With the remaining amount, I spent on buying food and clothes for my entire household of three.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a better livelihood for me and my family.My mother passed away years ago leaving my brother and I to fend for ourselves and being a single parent of two, life has been hard. I did not proceed with my education because of lack of finances instead I decided to do casual jobs to sustain myself. This is a sign of hope as from now on I'm positive my life will change for the better. I plan to purchase a dairy cow of about KES 30,000. For the rest, I will construct a bigger iron-roofed house so that it helps me in collecting rainwater as well as a bigger house for us.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Three months ago the one cow my brother bought me calved down. These have been the happiest days for me as I no longer purchase milk instead I sell some to my neighbors thus earning me an income. It was such a relief. Give Directly is another miracle that just happened to me, I can not find words to express my gratitude. I can just say I feel like the luckiest person alive.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge is food insecurity. My mother left us a small piece of land which we farm with my brother. A larger part of the farm is rocky and sandy, we rarely harvest much from it. Being a casual laborer, the much I can earn in a day is KES 200 which goes to food and school fee which my two sons. I'm hardly left with any money to save up for other developments. Most of the days we live hand to mouth.
