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 heard my phone ringing early in the morning when I was heading to the farm. I decided to check its content only to realize it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and even decided to go back home and rejoiced with my family.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Before the coming of GiveDirectly, I was living in a small hut that used to leak during the heavy rains. I had the desire to construct a decent spacious house but I did not have the required resources to facilitate that. Some of my family members used to seek shelter from my relatives who were living in the neighboring village. I am happy that I have been able to move my family to some better house which would not have been possible without the financial help from GiveDirectly. Therefore having my own semi-permanent spacious house makes the biggest difference in my daily life. ouse
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent part of my first transfer on buying some building materials such as iron sheets, building poles, nails, timber, and threads. This was purposely for the construction of a new house becasue the previous one was just a temporary hut with a leaky roof. The remaining amount of money, I bought enough foodstuffs for my family and some other household items that I was lacking.
Enrolled
access_time 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will help me a lot in improving my farming activities. I will buy an ox at a cost of 300 USD to help me in ploughing my land. I farm 6 acres of land and it has been difficult ploughing using hoes. It drains a lot of energy. Ploughing using oxen will improve crop yield. It is also a source of income since I can plough other farms and get money from it. I will also use part of the money to build a house. My current house is just one small room and also in a bad condition.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Most of the jobs I do are physical. This makes me very tired . It feels good in the evening when all I have to do is relax and chat with my spouse and children. I enjoy this family moment.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Drought and famine year in year out has been a big hardship for me. I have 8 children and providing for them food has been an uphill task. As a farmer ,crop production has really failed me. I try to supplement with casual labour and selling charcoal. This jobs are physical and with little income. The most I can get from casual labour and charcoal selling is 0.5 USD in a day. This however is not consistent in that sometimes I lack jobs to do forcing me to stay at home.
