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 5 pm when I was done with the house chores, I was on my way to the stream to fetch water. Then suddenly, I heard my phone ringing. On confirming what the message entailed I realised that I had received money from Segovia technologies. This was the best news that came my way that evening and I was overwhelmed with happiness and gratefulness. I then embarked on planning how we would cash out our transfers.
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 was able to purchase a dairy cow with my initial transfer. I have had the goal for so many years but I failed to accomplish it due to financial constraints. I am happy that I will no longer be spending money daily like before. Secondly, my children are all happy because I was able to clear the school fees arrears. I am so happy and thankful for the support that lifted my living standard amazingly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The moment I received my transfer, I opted to use it in purchasing a dairy cow so has to cut down on the cost of buying milk daily. Thus, I used KES 38,000. I was unable to purchase a cow before due to unreliable sources of income since I only depend on farming which is not sufficient. I am a mother of Five children hence in a day I use at least a litre of milk which sells at kes 50. additionally, I used KES 15,000 on paying school fees for my children and lastly I used the remaining amount on foodstuffs. I have managed to accomplish a lot in a short span than I could have imagined. I am forever grateful for the support that lifted my living standard amazingly.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
We are a family of 7, 3 girls and 2 boys. We depend mostly on casual jobs like weeding other people's farms for wages. We are people living from hand to mouth, we must set out each morning to look for these jobs just to be able to buy the much-needed 2 kg of maize. We do not own a dairy cow, so we borrow milk from our mother, just 2 cups to prepare tea in the morning. It is a sad state of affairs and it worries us a lot. Our small children require milk for their proper growth and development. We have always desired to buy a dairy cow but due to a lack of finances, it has not been possible. We are happy that this help has come to our village. We intend to use KES 35000 to buy a dairy cow for milk productivity for consumption and the surplus for sale, we will use the rest of the money to buy sheep, we live next to a forest and there is plenty of pasture. We want to take advantage of the resource to benefit us.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Our firstborn son underwent the initiation ceremony last month. We were so overjoyed to hold the ceremony at home. We had visitors and relatives on the eve of the ceremony and we were so happy. He is in good health and he will be out soon in a week. That will mark his adulthood and we hold that in high regard since he has achieved a new status.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Food insecurity is the greatest challenge that we face at the moment. Since the outbreak of the lethal maize necrosis disease, maize production has been a thing of the past. We are forced to buy at a higher price of KES 100 per 2 kg which is unaffordable. Our standard of living is so poor that we do not remember the last time we had a decent meal, we live a life of destitution and anguish. We cannot engage in any economic activity because our main goal of the day is to put food on the table first and it is a big deal to us.
