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.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The food security situation has been worsening due to the poor performance of the Long rains and hence resulted to below average harvest or no harvest at all.For the past three months have been forced to use the funds on food and paying my children tuition fees.I bought a bag of aize for kshs 3500 and spent the rest of the cash in paying my children tuition which is between kshs 1200-1800.on monthly basis for my 4 children and its barely enough.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Give directly has allowed me to better myself and also my family situation. I am now able to pay school fees without strain. I have been able to also to provide food and a sense of security for our future.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We have been in a drought all through this year. We barely had enough food to eat let alone water to drink. Many live stocks are dying and we are just holding on. With this money, I decided to spend KES.2200 on food and water as we have to buy water. I also decided to pay school fees worth KES.800 for my three children. This will allow them to do exams as well as continue with their studies. This is all thanks to Give directly.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was grazing the cattle in the forest and I had left my phone chargeing at home. When I can back in the afternoon. When I got home my wife ran to me with joy stating that she had received hers and asked for me to check mine. I quickly did as she suggested and saw that I too received the money. Not even 30mins the Give directly Officers came in just to confirm to us everything was okay. With this confirmation, I felt happy and relieved from the heavy burden in terms of food.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that there is no more going to sleep hungry. I can also be able to I can get food now thanks to these transfers. We have been in the middle of drought season and we have not been able to plant anything making our lifestyle drop to what we thought to be below us.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
With this first transfer, I decided to buy food in bulk to Passover the drought in my village as we are unable to plant anything. I decided on using KES.1200 on foodstuff. The second issue on our list was the school fees balance for my children who had been sent home due to school fees unbalance. This would help to give my children a steady foundation of their education. I was able to clear the balance with KES.1800. I am so happy and touched by this initiative.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I live by the roadside, just a stone's throw from the shopping centre with my land stretching all the way to the shopping center. I used to own and operate a grocery shop some years back but due to financial challenges, it closed down. I am unemployed, without a stable source of income, and wholly dependent on small-scale farming. I plan to save the transfers for three months to raise enough capital and re-establish my grocery shop again. Operating the shop from the end of my land that borders the shopping center means that I will not pay rent. By maximizing profits, I will afford to pay fees for my children.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am born-again and attend church services on Friday and Sunday. I fast and pray on Fridays. Despite the many financial problems my family and I go through, I feel alive whenever I attend church service like a huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders. This is the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I am the village elder with eleven children, three of whom are still schooling. I am not employed, and the grocery shop that I used to operate some years back closed down due to financial constraints. Now I depend on some remittances from my children who are engaged in casual jobs in town. The amount is barely enough as they also have their families to look up to. Now I have accumulated a huge debt at the school where my children go and It pains me whenever they are sent home from school. It’s shameful at the same time given that everyone expects more from a man of my position. I have considered stepping down as the village elder to save myself from embarrassment. It’s too much to bear.
