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?
The moment I received the transfer I felt so happy. I remember it was around 9am. I was on my farm cultivating when I heard a message tone from my phone. When I checked it I could not believe my eyes. It was a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I have never received such amount of money before. I immediately inform my family members and they were so happy too. I knew I would be able to buy a dairy cow.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have purchased a dairy cow. I used to buy milk daily and this was so costly for me since I do not have a continuous source of income. I depend on cause jobs and small scale farming. This earns me a small income and it's only for household basic needs. I had no extra money to save. I was so stressed up and very worried before. My children could go without milk since I had no money to buy. Currently I have a dairy cow and I have cut the cost of buying milk which is so costly. My family members gets enough milk and this has given me chance to work on other activities. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has enabled us to fulfilled our dreams and given us peace of mind to conduct other activities without any stress.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spend KES 30,000 to purchase a dairy cow. I used to buy milk daily and this was so costly for me. Currently I no longer stress up on where to get the money to buy milk. I have bought iron sheet ready to start building a better house. The rest of the money I bought clothes and food for the family. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards. We now live a better life than before.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means better housing for me. The current house I have is small and it acts both as the kitchen and bedroom. It also cannot accommodate my two children, my mother and I as we all share this house. It often gets smoky making it uncomfortable. I would like to construct a separate house and equip it so that my children and visitors can have a comfortable place to stay.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My day starts at 6 in the morning, I wake up and prepare my child for school. I then embark on household activities including going for water at the river nearby and farm/ livestock activities. These activities are very tiresome, by the time it gets to the evening I'm exhausted. This is when I take time to rest as my child is also back from school, we all take dinner as a family and it makes me happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship was when I got sick two years ago. I was admitted to the hospital for close to a year, after being diagnosed with anemia. My family being peasant farmers, primarily depending on unsustainable farm produce, paying hospital bills was a real challenge. We had to sell most of the assets and since then we haven't been able to make a financial comeback. This is the reason we haven't been able to build a better house for ourselves.
