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.
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($431 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Since I still live in my fathers land, my goal this year was to work hard so that I can buy land to build a house for my family. Accomplishing this means that my family will have somewhere to call home and we will enjoy our privacy as family.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
What GiveDirectly does well is uplifting the poor in the community by empowering them with unconditional cash transfers. Through this, people can choose what best works for them be it business, buying livestock, paying school fees, building houses, etc. In my opinion, all that you did from enrollment to the end of the program was fantastic, may you continue doing the great work.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Having a young family, I usually struggle as much as I can to provide for them. Since I don't have reliable job, I do any kind of casual work to earn something at the end of the day so that I can be able to put food on the table. If I had the financial capability to buy livestock, life would have been more easier because I would be selling milk or the livestock to cater for family needs. Since I spend my first transfer to buy dairy cow, I spend the second transfer to buy five goats worth $300, $70 to pay debt and the balance to buy food for my family. I am now looking forward to grow my herd so that it can be income reliant in future.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($460 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. I received the message at around 7:00 pm and I had to confirm if indeed we had received money from GiveDirectly. I shared the information with some of my close family members like my wife and my mother.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving payments from GiveDirectly is the investments that I made. In case I get any emergencies I will be able to meet those needs. I normally rely on construction work to raise income
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We used KES 30000 to buy goats for rearing and used another KES 10000 to pay for a course for my wife while the remaining amount was used to buy food and other basic household needs. I chose to invest in goats farming since there is a readily available gracing field for the public and this investment shall help me a great deal in making sure that I meet my personal needs
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a whole new start for my young family of two. I got married a year ago and life has not been so kind to us since we started living here because I do not have any source of constant income. I depend a lot on casual jobs in the vicinity and they are so hard to come by. This has made me regret even my decision to get married because we often quarrel with my wife due to lack of enough food and adequate housing. These transfers however will guarantee us a while new beginning where we want to purchase livestock especially dairy cows which we hope through the sale of milk we shall be able to earn an income. For the remaining little amount after we purchase two dairy cows we shall use it to expand our house because the house we currently live is so small, we cannot even host guests confidently.
What is the happiest part of your day?
We got our firstborn son 3 months ago and this gave me a lot of happiness because we felt so blessed to have a child within our first year of marriage.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The main challenge is lack of an income. I am still very young and I really want my family to succeed in life but I cannot find any job despite trying my best to look for it. This has really dimmed my hope of ever being happy in life. I feel that our living standards will be even worse than what my parents went through.
