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 biggest difference in your daily life.
My life has completely changed after renovating the house. Previously my house was in a very bad state, it was almost falling because of the cracks of the walls and the broken building poles that barely supported the entire building. It was a difficult condition for my family and we suffered a lot because of this especially in the winter seasons. My children had contracted pneumonia due to the cold nights. This used to stress me as their parents because we were most of the time in and out of the hospital. I felt they were suffering because of me. All these problems came to an end when Give Directly came into our lives. We are now comfortably sleeping in a better house. I don't think we would have made all these changes without the support we got from Give Directly
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 3;30 am when I heard my phone ringing. It was so unusual for my phone to ring at such an hour. I was so nervous and I decided to check its content immediately. I realized it was an mpesa message from Give Directly. They had debited my first transfer in my account. I was so excited because I remember staying awake until dawn. I kept planning how I would use that money and I didn't realize lost I was in my thoughts until my youngest daughter came to my room at around 8:00 in the morning
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent part of my first transfer on buying some building materials. I bought timber and a few building poles with the intention of renovating my house. I then took a portion and cultivated my farm in preparation for the next season. Apart from that I also cleared school fees for my children and bought a new school uniform. Their previous ones were old and torn. I finally bought a few household items like food, utensils and some clothes with the remaining amount of money.
Enrolled
access_time over 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
A decent source of income especially starting a shop business is what receiving this money means to me since as at today, I depend on tapping coconut wine for sell in order to earn a living. This job is very tiresome and low paying and therefore, when I receive my grant from GiveDirectly, my plan was to meet my longest desire of owning a stable job and this will help me to meet my family's basic needs without struggling much. Part of my transfers will be invested in my children's education and also constructing a separate structure for my kids. This will change my livelihood, a transformation that I have wished for long.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Since I mostly do my work at home, I spend the better part of my day with my wife chatting and sharing what we have for our lunch meal. In the evening, when my children have come home from school, I get ample time to talk to them and advice them to have good moral. Therefore, it is during this day's part where I find it the happiest.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Being a tapper is what I have known in my life, a job that is very tiresome, risky and low paying but I have consistently handled it for the sake of trying to meet my family's basic needs. With all my struggle, the challenge has been failing to fully sustain other needs like, shelter and school fee for my children. Therefore, I consider lack of a reliable source of income as my biggest hardship.
