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.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Due to the persistent drought, I took the initiative to dig a well to provide irrigation water. So I spent my earlier transfer, KES 3000, to fund the exercise. Unfortunately, the laborers encountered a hard rock in the process and stopped working since I lacked the necessary resources to break it. This prompted me to look for an alternative source of income and decided to start a kiosk. So I pooled funds and ended up deducting KES 2400 from my recent transfer to acquire the initial stock. I used the rest of the money, KES 600, to enroll my son in kindergarten.
3rd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I Spent my transfers on my wife's treatment which cost 1000 Ksh,paid school fees for my son worth 600 Ksh,Bought a cow worth 3000 Ksh, and the rest was used for Christmas celebration.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
I think the Give directly program of helping people like us who have nowhere to turn to especially during this drought is a blessing. With this money, many of us have been able to buy water and food for our families. I don't think there is anything they have done.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
With this money undecided to focus purely on water and food for my family. We live in a remote area where we can not access any water and even the nearby streams have long gone and dried up. I used the whole amount of KES.2500 on food buying dried foods and some vegetables for my family. I was also able to spend KES.500 on water. This has to be brought but motorbike due to the long distance from the water source.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
1200 KES ($11 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
That morning I was worried and stressed because my wife had just got into labor and had needed medical attention. I did not have enough funds to cover the bill and had run out of ideas on how to acquire the funds. I heard my phone ring and I saw that I had gotten KES.1200.The relief in my body was clear. I ran and quickly paid the fees. I am very happy that the first blessing that Give directly was birthing my son.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my day-to-day life is that I can now say that my son was blessed by Givedirectly. He has come at a time where we no longer have to worry about how to provide meals for the family as we now have a stable source of income.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Wife hospitali.gave birth son.life was hard not.lrovider.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I moved from my ancestral home which is in the same village, a year ago. Upon reaching, I started to build my mud-walled house. While digging for mud, I discovered there is an underground source of freshwater. I have thought of means to exploit the invention but finance has been the real challenge. I am planning to save the transfers with our local financial institutions, help me acquire a loan so that I can buy machines to pump the water. I want to use the water to irrigate my vegetable garden just adjacent to the water source. I will sell the vegetable to earn my daily income.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I'll be a happy man if I succeed to fully exploit the underground water source. It is the most important thing I have been always thinking about.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
In 2018, while working as a motorist in town, I was involved in a very fatal accident. It was a head-on collision with a taxi. I was saved by the whisk, thank God for the faster treatment I received. Since then, I decided to shift my daily hustles, from town to home, working as a palm wine tapper. Life has never been the same, my daily income has significantly reduced. Agricultural production is not doing well due to low rainfall. Food security has become a very big challenge to me.
