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 felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. It dawned on me that I was finally going to be able to build our new house and pay school fees for our children who were in various schools. I could not help but be happy even at a time when my husband was ill.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily lfe is the newly built house that I have been able to complete. We were living in a very small grass thatched house that had its roof leaking. This made our home so inhabitable especially during the rainy season. We could remain standing for the better part of the night as we waited for the rains to subside since it would mess up with the whole place.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used part of my recent transfer to build a new house, the remaining amount was used to meet hospital bills for my husband and pay school fees for my son and daughter who are in various schools. My husband has been ailing for sometime now and I always hoped against hope that one day I would get some money and meet his medical expenses until GiveDirectly came through for us. I was also able to use part of the transfer to pay school fees for my two children who are in various schools and be assured that they are not going to be sent home for school fees throughout this term.
Enrolled
access_time over 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
For a long time my desire has been to improve my house from a leaking grass-thatched roof to a corrugated iron sheet roof. This is going to avert cold instigated sicknesses and is warm enough for my sickly husband. This will take about $300 of my first transfer.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Upon coming back home from manual jobs, I spend the better part of my evenings looking after my two cows which help to feed my family. I work so hard for them knowing they will provide milk for my family the next morning, which is the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Imagine being a mother of six with a bedridden husband diagnosed with malignant ulcers, two children in secondary school and three in primary school, jobless and has to depend on menial jobs in the village to shoulder all family responsibility. On a good day I come home with $2 or payment in kind in the form of maize or pumpkin. I cannot raise enough money for food let alone my children's school fees and my husband's medical. My family's future to me appears so bleak and hopeless. This is the biggest hardship I face in life.
