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 6:45 pm and I was preparing myself to leave my business place and head back home. I checked my phone and to my surprise, there was a message saying that I had received the promised transfer of KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I was so happy on seeing the wonderful news and I wondered what time the SMS got into my phone since I had become busy with my work of sewing clothes. I checked the SMS again and I found out that it had been sent about an hour ago. I thanked God for the blessing and I went to withdraw the money immediately before I could go home.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference that the transfer has brought into my life is that I have been able to open my tailoring business earlier than before. I use to open it at around 1 pm or 2 pm but I now open it at around 11 am. This is because it is the rainy season and I have been able to collect rainwater with the water tank that I bought. We hence now have enough water for our consumption and I no longer have to go to the river to draw some.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 38000 of my recent transfer on buying a 5000-liter water tank. I decided to buy the water tank so that I would be able to collect rainwater for my household use. This is something that I had always wished to have but due to financial constraints, I have not been able to. My tailoring business is all I have and I usually depend on it to provide for my family and to pay school fees for my three children. We usually experience a prolonged dry season in our area which usually results in some rivers drying up. During those seasons, we have to go to the rivers that are far to fetch water. I hence usually end up spending so much time drawing water. This hence makes me open my business late. The water tank is going to enable me to store rainwater that I can use during those dry seasons. Other than that, I also spent KES 13000 on clearing school fees for my child who is in secondary school. I am thus happy and so much grateful to GiveDirectly for their support.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a single mother of three and my eldest son is in secondary school. I own a small tailoring business from which I make money to support my family. Receiving this money means a boost to my business because it will enable me to purchase a tailoring machine with KES 40,000 from which I can employ one more person to help me run it. This will see my profits increase thus stable income and I can pay the KES 60,000 per year school fees for my son without straining.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I bought one acre piece of land five years ago which have been paying in installments. I am happy because in the last six months I cleared the last KES 40,000 that I owed after getting my shares from a village table banking. Since then I have had peace of mind because I am debt free.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
We live in a semi arid area and it hardly rains. Our farms have become unproductive and when we cultivate maize for consumption we do not harvest at the end of the season. This is due to maize disease that has infested our farms for the past four years. Purchasing food everyday when there is no stable income is difficult and we are forced to forego a meal for two meals per day with my family. Therefore lack of sufficient food is a challenge.
