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 11am when I realized that there was some money that was sent in my phone. Being unable to read, even the phone is being used by my children in most of the time. When the transfer message was sent the phone was out of my reach but when the children came home, they informed me that there was some money that was received from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and ululated inwardly knowing that things were going to run smoothly.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Initially my live was miserable; sleeping in a kitchen for several years was not a joke. But now I can attest that GiveDirectly did an extraordinary thing by sending cash directly to the recipients. Using that cash I am now living in a good house not as before.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The main priority was to build a house. I have been sleeping in a kitchen for some time and upon receiving the money I felt that was the high time I construct a good house. In respect to that, I bought the construction materials and build a house which is better compared to the kitchen. I also used some money for food, having in mind that the transfer came at a time when we were experiencing a drought in our area.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means owning my own house. I am a widow and very old who cannot work anymore to get money that can help build a house. My house collapsed five years ago when my husband died. Since then I have been living in a kitchen where I cook and sleep. I have a family of three children who have their families as well. All of them come to cook in the same kitchen where I sleep. You can imagine how smoky it can be. However, I have nothing to do because I only depend on charcoal burning business to get food. This business earns me less than 400 KES a week. All I get is solely used for food and water. Upon receiving this money, I will be able to build a one bedroom house that will cost me 40000 KES. I will then use the remaining amount to buy a bed and a mattress and goats to keep as my investment for my future.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Morning is mostly the happiest part of my day. This is because, I usually wake up at 7am to plan my day. I then leave home at 9am to search for logs that I can burn to get charcoal. I then cone back at 12 noon to cook and rest a bit. Unlike other people who have time in the evening to rest, my evening is not the best because I cannot sleep comfortable because many people use my room for cooking and it becomes smoky that I cannot sleep well. This makes me long for morning hours.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship that I have ever faced in my life is poor health. My main economic activity over the years has been subsistence farming. However, due to the persistent drought that is currently facing our land, this has changed. I had to look for other alternatives to get money because life has to move on. The other option I had was charcoal burning. This job is not easy because it requires a lot of energy and for an old woman like me, it is not easy. I have done this job for a long period of time which affected my health especially my legs. This is because I have to walk for a long distance( 5 kilometers) to collect logs, my legs have become weak and sometimes I cannot walk at all. This has affected my life because I cannot engage in charcoal burning anymore. Upon receiving this cash transfer, I will be able to use part of the money to seek medication.
