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 early in the morning as I was getting ready to go to the farm when I heard my phone's SMS ringtone ring. I immediately checked to know who would have sent me an SMS at such a time and to my surprise, it was a Mpesa message indicating that I was KES 55000 richer. Upon seeing this, my heart was filled with happiness and I dialed GiveDirectlys number to thank them for coming to my rescue at the time when I was facing financial challenges.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
My daily life is different because I was able to start a butchery business in our neighboring town using part of my transfer. Due to this, I have been able to pay school fees for my children who are in boarding schools and cater for our daily basic needs on time unlike before. Because of this, I am nowadays happy and contented knowing that everything is sorted out as we have a more stable source of income.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Upon receiving my transfer, I became so happy and we discussed as a family on what we would invest this money on so that we would continue experiencing GD's touch in our lives and due to this, we spent KES 15000 to rent a room and to start a butchery business in our neighboring town. We will be using the profits from it to pay school fees for our children on time and to cater for some of our basic needs. Also, we spent KES 24000 to pay school fees for our daughter in high school who had been sent back home and as a way of upgrading our wardrobe, we spent KES 7000 on clothes and KES 9000 on two sacks of maize and other foodstuffs for our consumption.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means that I will finally increase my dairy cow that I keep. The cow that I keep gives me about $60 a month. I use the money to pay school fees for my children but is not sufficient. Increasing another cow will bring my earning from the sale of milk to about $ 120. This way, I will be able to pay school fes and buy foodstuffs, leaving my income from my animal trading business for home improvement such as building an iron roofed sheet getting rid of this small grass thatched hut.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Morning is the happiest part of my day. This is because I get to implement my farm work plans. It makes me happy seeing that I have a full day to till the land, look after the cows and earn an income for the household.In the morning, I feel energetic and happy to do this.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial constraint is the biggest hardship in my life. I get about $ 60 per month from my farming activities yet I spend about $ 1000 in school fees alone. I have to look up to my husband to fill the deficit. His small business also earns him approximately $120 per month which is shared between the two families as this is a polygamous family.
