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 8 am while I was seated at home figuring out the next move to take as far as sourcing for a living is concerned. Before getting exactly what to do, I received a message on my phone. Since I am unable to read, I requested my grandson to read and interpret the content of the message to me. The information which the message had carried was so heavy that I was unable to contain myself due to the happiness that I felt. My heart was filled with joy and happiness for receiving the first transfer from GiveDirectly as we had been promised earlier by the officers who came to our village.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Initially, life was very hard for me; things were not adding up regardless of the efforts I used to put thus felt discouraged. I appreciate the help from GiveDirectly since it changed my life into a new leaf. Through the transfer, I was able to renovate the whole roof of my house which was leaking and as of now, I am enjoying my sleep. I sleep comfortably in an iron sheet-roofed house. This could not be possible anytime soon if it were not for GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Since my 'makuti' thatched house was leaking profusely, the priority after withdrawing the money was to buy some iron sheets so that I mend the roof. Therefore, I bought 28 pieces of iron sheets for KES 28000.00. I also bought a bed and a mattress for KES 8000.00 since I used to sleep on sacks and boxes. Looking at how hunger stroke our area, I saw it prudent to buy a sack of maize for KES 5500.00 so that my family could get some food. For remembrance, I opted to buy a she-goat for KES 3500.00 to mark the start of livestock at my home as an initiative from GiveDirectly.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
In every household, a mother who has sons, in essence, is entitled to depend on them for her survival. It has not been the case for me. My sons are all depending on casual jobs which are not guaranteed. I plan to use my transfer to buy one of them a second hand motorbike which will be our source of income. To get a second hand bike, you need to have like 50000KES. The remaining amount will be used to buy goats and food for my family. If I ever accomplish that, it will be a great achievement for me.
What is the happiest part of your day?
There has been a school construction in our neighborhood, luckily my son got a job there as a helper to arrange stones. It has been our source of income for the last two weeks. It's very joyful and blessings for us.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
In almost two days a week, I miss food the whole day. Life is very expensive because the farming that we are depending to produce food for us is no more. The drought has been persistently observed and we can not produce anything. My health has deteriorated very badly to a point now I can not lift even a 10 liters of water.
