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?
I was at home with my two kids around 3 pm, preparing evening tea, when the phone rang. Upon checking, I saw it was a message from GiveDirectly. I was overjoyed couldn't wait for my husband to arrive from school, as he's a teacher. Words couldn't express how delighted I was. Initially, I thought of calling him, but then I realized it was almost 4 pm, the time he should be arriving home. So, I waited for my husband to come so that we could plan what to do with the money. However, my mind was already racing with the idea of buying bean seeds so that we could start planting, especially now that it's the rainy season.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Receiving the money has made a big difference in my life. Now, I feel much calmer because I don't have to constantly worry about how to buy food for my family. I'm also thankful for the seeds I got because when planting and harvesting they can help make sure my kids have enough to eat and take care of our other needs. Instead of selling our cows for other things, we're using them to invest in our future.Life is better now. We have fewer problems to deal with, and my family is really happy. Since it's a holiday and the kids are home, we're excited to start planting on our farm. We've enjoyed the money in a way that makes us wish we could get it every month.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am the mother of 8 kids, and my husband and I have been struggling to cater to the basic needs of our children. However, when I received the cash, I immediately allocated $100 for school fees and $20 for school uniforms for our children. They have been relying on their father's salary, which is insufficient due to its limited amount since he is a primary teacher.Furthermore, I set aside $40 to purchase bean seeds and prepared the farm to plant half a hectare of beans. Beans are resilient during dry seasons, and now that it's raining, we decided to plant them, considering the uncertainty of the rainfall's duration. We used to plant maize, but due to unpredictable rains, we opted for beans instead.The remaining amount was utilized to buy foodstuff. Initially, we relied on farming for food, and when farming was not productive, we sold cows to cover expenses. I am not employed; I stay at home, managing both farming and livestock. However, while life was not excessively challenging for us, there were times when expenses piled up.Thanks so much to GiveDirectly for providing us with such support. We are grateful and feel appreciated.
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access_time 2 months ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
Since we depend mostly on irrigation farming as the main source of livelihood, we intend to invest 60% of our transfers on our farm. Water has been the biggest challenge during prolonged dry season as we have had to hire a water pump on such occasion. This has proven to be very expensive for us. As such, we intend to buy a water pump at a cost of $400, increase acreage by clearing the extended part of the land at a cost of $50 and the remainder, to buy farm inputs. We project that by doing this, our proceeds will double hence increasing our profits.
What is the happiest part of your day?
We took advantage of the rare short rains that we experienced in our area recently. I am really happy because out of this, we were able to get bumper harvest that assisted us to pay for the first term school fees of our children.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I have 6 children who are studying at different levels. 1 in tertiary level, 2 in secondary level while the rest at primary level. I am expected to pay $1000 annually for the one in tertiary level and $900 for the two in secondary level. We are supposed to raise these amounts yearly yet we do not have a reliable source of income. I am a housewife while my husband is the one fending for us. We have constantly been struggling to cater for the education expense through irrigation farming which has been hampered by unfavorable climatic conditions in the area.
