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 10.00 am when I received a message on my phone. Upon checking, it was a confirmation of the receipt of the cash transfer from Give directly bearing the good news that I had been expecting for the past weeks. I immediately went and withdrew the transfer since we were ready to initiate the plans we had.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the acquisition of the dairy cow that is currently supplying us with adequate milk. I am grateful to Giving directly for making my dream of owning a cow come true.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
With the first transfer, I obtained a dairy cow worth Ksh.45,000.I had been buying milk and this was a daily cost that was unaffordable and still, it was not sufficient for all my family members.With the acquisition of the dairy cow, I have cut the high cost of buying milk, and also currently we got enough milk for consumption.I also purchased two sacks of maize at Kshs.6,000 which will sustain us for a couple of months as we wait for the harvest season. With the remaining amount, I bought clothing for my family.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a father of two children and I always work hard to make sure that they have good access to primary needs. I depend on casual jobs and crop farming and with my young family, I have had to incur a huge expense buying milk on daily basis. When I receive my cash transfer, I will use KES40000 to buy a dairy cow. I prefer this since it is an added asset to my family and we will be getting milk for both household consumption and sales to earn an extra income. I will have to keep the offspring as my financial security at times of financial crisis.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I depend on both casual jobs and subsistence farming to meet my family's needs. I spend much of my daytime either on my farm or outside searching for casual jobs. To me, the happiest part of my day is in the morning since this is another opportunity to get out looking for food for my family.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
It was January to May 2018 when drought strike us here. I remember we had the vegetation drying up and getting food was a big problem for us. As a casual labourers, we could hardly find jobs thus earning an income to buy food was challenging and we had to go some days to bed with empty stomachs. To me, the 2018 famine is the biggest hardship I have ever faced in my life.
