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 personally felt very happy on receiving this transfer. It was around midday and I informed my family members that we had indeed been sent the money by GiveDirectly as promised. We were all in a celebration mood and we couldn't wait to start spending the money. I had myriad of ideas on how best I could utilize the money and we had to sit down with my wife to decide on some part icular things we could spend money on.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference is that I am now more secure financially having bought livestock and improved my arming practices. I no longer lease out my piece of land since I have been able to put all of it under agriculture by myself. The farming that I am doing coupled with the goats that I bought have pushed me and my family towards being financially independent. I look forward to receiving my second transfer and be able to make more investments.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used part of my Transfer to buy building materials and used part of it was used to buy livestock. For a long time, I have had the desire of building a better house for our family and at the same time I had the desire to have more livestock in our family. All these things could not be made possible without the help of GiveDirectly transfers. I feel happy and proud that I was able to do all these things and can't wait to receive the second transfer to accomplish much more things.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a better living for my family. I have always desired to embark on my cattle business after it failed 6 years ago because of financial constraints. I currently take the cattle on loan and depend on the profits (KES 2000 which I earn on a weekly basis ) to purchase food and educate my 3 children. This is however not enough to sustain all the family needs as the farms have been unproductive due to the harsh climate. I intend to use KES 40000 to boost my cattle business and use the rest to educate and purchase food for my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am the breadwinner to my family of 5 and I depend on cattle business for a living. I usually earn KES 2000 on a weekly basis and I use this to purchase food for my family for the entire week.I am always happy in the evening for my family have food therefore they cannot go to bed hungry.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial constraints has been my biggest hardship. After my cattle business failed 6 years ago, I have been depending on loans to carry on the business. This has been depressing for at times , I can neither get enough profits nor sell the cattle as agreed. Therefore it has brought about failure, hatred and unmet family needs.
