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 7 am and I was at home. I had just woken up when suddenly I heard my phone ringing hence notifying me of a new message. I checked it and I could not believe my eyes when I saw that I had received KES 55000 in my mobile money account. I was so happy and I immediately informed my husband who was with me at home of the good news. He was so happy too and we thanked God for blessing us.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer brought a very big difference in our lives as a family. We managed to clear school fees for the whole academic term for the three children and hence we are happy. We are no longer stressed thinking about where to get the money for doing so. We thus have ample time to hustle and look for money for the next academic term fees.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent most of our recent transfer on paying school fees for our children and buying school items for them. We spent KES 20000 on the items and KES 33000 on the school fees. We have two children who recently completed their primary school education and were joining secondary school. We also have another one who is in his third year of study at secondary school. A lot of money was needed for buying school items for them and for paying school fees and we didn't know where we were going to get such a huge amount since we do not have stable sources of income. I usually sell tomatoes at our nearby market which is usually on Monday while my husband is a broker in the business of buying and selling cows. The money that I get from the sales, I usually use to buy the essential household items, that is, sugar, soap, etc while my husband usually pays the school fees with what he gets. We are thus glad and grateful to GiveDirectly because their transfer came in handy. With the remaining amount, we spent it on buying shoes and some foodstuffs, such as rice, sugar, etc.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a housewife and receiving this money relates to having an alternative source of income. My husband works as a casual laborer in the nearby town where he is paid on commission on the number of cows he sells during the market days. Market days come only once a week and my husband earns the approximate wage of KES 500 a day. That cash is hardly enough to take us throughout the week yet we have a family of 7. We have been aspiring to have an alternative source of income to supplement what my husband gets. We, therefore, intend to buy a dairy cow and our projection is to milk at least 5 liters of milk a day. Out of this, we will sell 3 liters at KES 33 per liter earning us some cash and consuming the rest. I was super elated (laughing) to see you coming to our house knowing that our problems will soon be solved through the transfer from Give Directly.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In the last 6 months, we have been lucky to get sufficient rainfall and this has brought happiness in our lives. Over the past 8 years, we have been receiving minimal rainfall throughout the year but this has changed over the last 6 months. We have been depending on water pans for domestic use which is not safe but now we have clean rainwater for domestic use. We have also started planting crops hoping that we will harvest if the condition favors our region.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial inadequacies have been the biggest challenge we are currently facing. Even though my husband works as a casual laborer earning some cash through commission, he seldom gets that job forcing us to depend on the village members for upkeep. He sells other people's cattle during market days which comes only on Mondays and he occasionally earns commission from that. This has lowered our self-esteem because we don't have an alternative source of income. Seeing my family languish in poverty angers me as a parent and makes life meaningless.
