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 heard my phone ringing early in the morning, an alert of an incoming message. When I checked the contents of the message, I realised it was from GiveDirectly. I had finally received my first transfer. I felt happy because my life would change through this money.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I had desired for many years to buy livestock but I lacked the money to buy any. However, I am now boasting of owning them which include a pair of oxen and goats that I am keeping in my homestead which makes it to be the biggest difference in my daily life. I am expecting that the pair of oxen will be helping me in doing my farming timely. As for the goats, they will reproduce and increase in number. I can readily sell the offspring in case of a dire financial need.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 49000 of my first transfer on purchasing livestock which include a pair of oxen and five goats. I chose to buy these livestock because with the pair of oxen, it will aid me in my farming. I am rearing the goats so that as they reproduce, I will be having some assets to lean on in case of any financial need. I spent the remaining amount to pay for my children's school fees for them to comfortably continue with their studies without any interruptions.
Enrolled
access_time almost 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Owning a long term investment project has been my life desire but due to financial challenges, this wish has never come through. I have always admired my neighbour's livestock and my hope was that, once I get money, I would buy mine. When I heard about the arrival of GiveDirectly to our village, I got overwhelmed with the feeling that I will be able to achieve my goals. My plan as of now is to spend utmost $300 to buy an oxen and ox plow inclusively. I will also use $300 to buy 10 goats at $30 each. This will mean a good future to my children since these livestock will multiply within a short period of time., say 6 months. The remaining amount will help me to sort out my children's school fee arrears and also to support me in starting my business of selling fried fish within the village.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The look of my day is occupied by the household chores that I always do as a housewife. When I wake, I prepare my children to school and thereafter, I clean my compound before leaving to fetch water from a water pan that is 4 kilometers from home. When I come back, I start preparing lunch and rest shortly before I go to collect firewood to be used in the evening. It is only in the evening when I find time to relax and this is my happiest part of the day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Being a housewife with no other reliable source of income part from the little earning from my husband's casual jobs has been my biggest hardship. His income is very little and can not fully cater for our basic needs something that has affected my family negatively and the worst part of it is my children's education. Most of the time, they are sent out of school due to lack of school fees and this has contributed to their low performances. I always feel ashamed seeing them at home while their friends are in school.
