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?
Though I was not feeling well, I had gone to work on my farm as I couldn't afford to pay wages for someone to help me weed the crops. In the process of my work, I got a message notification and when I checked it was a confirmation message that I had received KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I took a deep breath and felt at ease as I needed money for my medication and some to support my family. I saw a financial breakthrough when I received the cash.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I now have livestock that I never had before GiveDirectly came into my life. I got a mature cow and two sheep as of now and that has brought a big difference in my life. I never imagined that I will acquire some anytime soon but through financial aid, I was able to buy some. Soon I will stop buying milk for use at home and in case of an emergency, I would sell the sheep to save the situation.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
They say health is wealth, when I got the money I went to see a doctor since I was unwell and spent KES 6000 on paying for my medication. Afterward, I spent KES 32000 on buying a dairy cow which is due a few weeks from now as I needed to bring to an end the daily cost of milk. In a day, I would spend up to KES 60 on buying milk, and that translates to KES 1800 per month. I then bought two sheep for rearing, I bought these for KES 10000 and I intend to rear them so that when they multiply I would sell some whenever there is an emergency financial need. The remaining amount, I spent on paying school fees for our children and buying foodstuffs for my family.
Enrolled
access_time almost 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I live near a forest and cattle rearing is a great business because it provide a wide range for pasture. I was planning to have a number of bulls to raise in future as a source of income. Give Directly money is a blessing that has come at the right time. I'll use it to buy a few bulls and use the remaining to expand my house which is small for my family. I'm with full happiness to see this happen in my household.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Members of the neighborhood community helped to fundraise to help my sister build a better house. That was in December 2021. They were living in a small house as three families which had 12 children. The community so the extreme poverty and struggle my sister's were going through and decided to help them build another house. We were so happy to receive that kind of assistance from the community.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Feeding the family is a challenge nowadays. Food prices has gone up so much. Buying a sack of maize has increased to KES 4,000 from KES 2500. I use four sacks of maize in a year and I have to work hard to be able to buy food every day. Sugar and cooking oil is no longer in our menu though children cannot survive without them.
