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 was at my place of work preparing charcoal for sale. I remembered it was around 9 am when I received the Mpesa message indicating that I had received my transfer. I was overwhelmed with joy after verifying my account balance and saw the money from GiveDirectly.This was a great relief in my life since my job of charcoal burning was laborious and with low pay. I am quite sure that I will be able to achieve most of my goals with help of my transfer.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Boosting my livestock rearing after acquiring 4 more livestock is the biggest difference in my life. Most of my animals had died sometimes back due to an illness. I lived a stressful life since I was not able to support the education of my kid as well as provide food for my family. Furthermore, I was able to clear the fee arrears for my child something that had given me peace of mind.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 6,000 my transfer to purchase 4 more goats so that I boost my goats rearing an alternative source of income for my family. This is because most of my livestock had died due to a chronic disease, I had wished to improve my livestock farming but I lacked the financial muscle. In addition, I bought a bed and mattress for KES 10,000. Previously, I was using a small threads bed which requires frequent Maintaining which was costly and is uncomfortable to use. Furthermore, I used KES 20,000 to support my kid's education by clearing their fee arrears. It had been a long time since I paid his secondary school fees hence he had accumulated a huge balance. With the remaining amount, I acquired enough food for the family.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Though, I did not get a chance to go to school, at my age of 53 years I still believe that education is power. My ambition has been to educate my last born to University level with a hope that she will pass and employed so that she can support as in future.Receiving this money means good education to my child who is secondary level. I am planning to spend KES 50,000 of the transfer to invest on livestock keeping. I will purchase 15 goats because they can survive in a dry area and also multiple very fast. I will sell them at a profit price and educate my child. Other than that, I will spend the remaining part of the transfer to seek proper medication from referral hospital because I have eye problem.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Evening is my happiest part of the day. It is at this time when I have time to rest with my grandchildren and chat. The laughter makes me forget the sickness stresses I have for my eye problem. This is different from afternoon when I am bored in the house because they are in school.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Sickness is the biggest hardship I have faced in life. My right eye was hit by a stick and was completely damaged. This happened 1 year ago when I was doing my charcoal burning job. I tried going to clinics for medication but it was in vain. This problem has hindered me from performing my tasks e.g burning charcoal to provide for my family needs such as school fees.
