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 I am now a proud owner of a dairy cow. This is an asset to me and also an investment that I will rely on in case of a financial crisis. Owning this dairy cow has enabled me to reduce my daily expenditure as I no longer spend on milk. When it reproduces, I will be using the income from milk sales to pay for my children's school fees.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I realized that GiveDirectly had sent me some money in the morning after waking up. I became so happy and I thanked God for the blessings that had just come in.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent some amount from my first transfer to buy a dairy cow worth KES 35000. I settled on this because I have always been buying milk and it is costly. Sometimes, my family was forced to take tea without milk when I did not have money to use in buying some milk. I believe that it will be calving soon and I will be able to earn an income through milk sales. Also, I bought some iron sheets that I am intending to use in building a spacious house for my family. I used the remaining amount to buy some clothes and foodstuffs for my family.
Enrolled
access_time 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I live in a very small house which is not spacious enough to host visitors.My kitchen serves the purpose of a living room too.Receiving this money from Give Directly will therefore help me to build another house which will ensure my visitors comfort. Owning another cow has been another wish for me.I have one cow and the milk I get is just for consumption. I need another cow so that I can get milk for sale.This will boost my income.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I spend the whole day running up and down to ensure that my children get food to eat.I go and fetch firewood in the morning hours and the rest of the day looking after the cows.I always feel happy in the evening when I see my children having supper knowing that I have successfully fed them at least for that day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
We live in half an acre of land and getting enough produce to feed the family has been a major challenge.This little piece of land is supposed to produce food for my family of five and also feed the cows.We get very little harvest which sustains us for less than two months and then we get back to buying food again.There are only two harvesting seasons in a year and therefore I buy food for the better part of the year.I get little money from the sale of milk since I only have one cow.When there is no milk I am forced to look for casual labour in order to get money to buy food.Money from casual labour is very little and furthermore you cannot be assured of getting work to do.This has been a big hardship for me all along.
