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 a Tuesday evening, and both my husband and I were attending a church service. I heard my phone vibrate with a message, and I checked to see what it was about. I confirmed that GiveDirectly had sent my first transfer. As much as I was excited at that moment, the environment was not conducive to showing it; I couldn't even break the news to my husband because he was facilitating the service. At that time, I could do nothing more than pray and thank God. Later that night when we got home, I shared the news with my husband, and he was ecstatic about it. Now that the money was in our hands, it was the best time to budget it to fulfill our needs and the goals we had planned.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
To be honest, so much has changed after receiving the cash transfers, and I could not be more grateful. However, my greatest transformation is starting my tailoring business on a better footing. After eight years of relying on my friend to lend me her sewing machine, which caused numerous challenges as she also depended on it for her job, I now own my machine. This is a dream come true for me, as I don't believe it would have been possible sooner without the transfers. Now, I can run my business at my own pace and fulfill the needs of my customers without rushing. This provides a more steady income of at least $1 per day, which I can use to meet the household needs without burdening my husband.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
As a tailor by profession, I struggled to buy equipment like a sewing machine to start my own business. Whenever a customer asked me to repair their clothes, I would depend on the availability of my friends machine to work. This was inconvenient because she would often request her machine back before I could fulfill an order. Every day, it became increasingly difficult to depend on this arrangement. My husband is the primary breadwinner of our family. Besides being a pastor, the little he makes from casual house construction jobs cannot cover anything beyond our basic needs such as food and education for our two children. This is why we decided to invest $230 in a sewing machine. I am now happy to run my business from home and at my own pace. I can earn at least $1 daily, which covers small household expenses without relying solely on my husband's income. Additionally, we decided to invest $150 in purchasing a cow, despite our initial plan to buy goats, as goats were becoming scarce in our area due to high demand. I believe that investing in livestock can accumulate wealth that will support our kids education. We also needed to install a water tap, so I spent $150 on the entire registration and buying materials process. We live quite far from the water pan, which is two hours away, and installing a tap fixes that challenge. Moreover, this investment will generate income from selling water.
Enrolled
access_time 10 months ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
A new job! Yes, I have for a long time been idle at home due to lack of money to start a job despite having skills in dress-making. This has brought about hardship in my household since my husband is just a casual laborer. I intend to use $300 of the transfers to start a dressmaking business in our nearby town. This will include buying a new sewing machine as well as the materials. Also, I plan to use another $300 to install water in my home since I currently buy water which sometimes becomes difficult due to financial challenges. On the other, I also plan to invest in livestock specifically 2 cows to act as my long-term project for the future. I estimate to spend $200 on this project. The remaining amount will help me to repair the roof of my house which is not in good condition. Hence, this is generally what receiving this money means to me.
What is the happiest part of your day?
When I was in my young age, I experienced many challenges including mysterious diseases that made my parents promise me a big party that was to be held before my marriage. Unfortunately, my mother forgot her oath, and I entered into a marriage before this happened. All along, I have had some challenges in my marriage and the only solution was to have this party done. Fortunately, in November last year, my mother fulfilled her promise, and we held a big party to have this settled. I am so happy because I have a peaceful mind and I have no feeling of fear about any life challenges since I have my parents' blessings.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The feeling of being jobless despite having dressmaking skills has never given me peace of mind ever since I got married, 7 years ago. Since our area's main economic activity is farming, this is what I have actively been engaged in. However, this is also not reliable because sometimes, our area experiences prolonged drought, which hinders us from doing farming. Under this situation, my household is food insecure and I always feel pain as a mother. Hence, the lack of a reliable source of income becomes my biggest challenge.
