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.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that we are now living a happy life as a family unlike before. We used to live in a small piece of land that we were sharing with my husband's brothers. In addition to the small space for farming, family conflicts among ourselves was a daily business due to our daily activities and conflicts triggered by our livestock. Life was hard and unpeaceful with our children finding it hard to socialize with others. Due to this, it had always been our desire to relocate and live in a different place far from them. These disputes had also affected my children's social life as they could no longer mingle with other children freely. Courtesy of GiveDirectly, I bought a piece of land that I have developed and relocated my family there. I am now hoping that our relationship with them will grow to be stronger as we will not be crossing each other's paths regularly.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was still sleeping when I was woken up by an incoming message alert on my phone. After reading its contents, I became so happy and I immediately woke up my spouse and informed him about the good news. I knew that this money had marked a new beginning in our lives as a family.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I use part of my transfer to pay the last installment for a piece of land that I had bought but had not finished paying for it. Also, I bought some building materials majorly timber, iron sheets, and nails to use in building a house for my family. I also paid a mason the full cost of this work. I settled on all this since I had always desired to relocate from my village due to persistent family conflicts between my family and my in-laws. I used the remaining amount to buy two sacks of maize flour, shoes, and clothes for my family.
Enrolled
access_time over 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
The house we live in is very small and with a rusty roof.It is just one room and the family is growing fast.I have three childre.We therefore need another house which this money from Give Directly will help us build.My second plan is starting poultry farming.I will begin by fencing my compound using mesh wire to ensure that it is enclosed well for poultry.From the sale of eggs and chicken I will get money to supplement what I get from my casual jobs.I get very little from casual jobs which is not enough to cater for all the basic needs.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Sometimes getting work to do as a casual labourer is hard.I am usually happy in the morning when I know I have work to do because at the end of the day I will have money to buy food.I spend the better part of the day working in people's farms.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I had a miscarriage in 2013 when I was six months pregnant.This was one of the lowest moment in my life.The doctors said that it was as a result of too much physical work that was not favourable with the condition that I was in.Sometimes I blame it on myself but on the other hand I had to do casual work so that I could get money to buy food.I fully depended on casual labour at that time and not working meant that I could not get money for food for that day.
