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 around 9 am when I was preparing to go to the farm when my phone started ringing continuously, I was not sure whether it was a normal message from the service provider, therefore, I decided to confirm by checking on the message, that was when I realized that it was a Mpesa message from GiveDirectly showing that I had received the promised transfer, I was overwhelmed with joy and immediately broke the good news to my wife who was equally happy and excited, afterwards we planned on how best we could utilize the money appropriately e together with my family.
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 now own a dairy cow, I am now certain that the health of my children will improve because of the milk intake, I was also able to start a poultry project that I am hopeful that in the future I will be able to earn an income out of it, meaning that it will cater for the school fees needs of my children, I am humbled that GiveDirectly has impacted my life positively,
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I received my transfer I already had plans in place on how to spend my transfer, this made my work easier when the transfer came because I was just following the written budget, therefore I used kes 35,000 in buying a dairy cow that I could not afford all these years due to financial constraints, I am relieved that I would be saving on the cost of milk, I then used KES 5000 in starting a poultry project lastly I used the remaining amount of money on foodstuffs and clothes.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have always wished to empower my spouse, by initiating a project that she can engage in to support me in providing for our household needs, but lack of finances has made this dream impossible. I will therefore use $500 of my transfer as capital to initiate a Poultry keeping project, where I will spend $100 in building a modern poultry house and $400 in buying 200 chicks for a start. I will then use $300 to buy a dairy cow whose daily earnings from selling at least 5 liters of milk for $1.5 will ensure no more worries about where to get food for our household's daily consumption.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am always worried every morning when leaving home to look for employment. My family solely depends on me, hence I always have to toil hard to ensure that I support all their needs. Having secured work to do, coming back home after buying food for my family makes evening the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Lack of employment opportunities in this area has been the biggest struggle we face. I am the sole breadwinner of my family and the casual jobs I engage in earn me $20 weekly. This amount is only enough to buy food for my family. My firstborn child will start schooling next year and this worries me since I doubt if I can either afford to buy her school uniform and books or pay her school fees.
