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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.
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Newsfeed > Jenifer's Profile
Jenifer's family
Jenifer
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Motorcycle or bicycle taxi
faceAge:
23
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
Upcoming Stage
Next Payment
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Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
18010 KES ($136 USD)
access_time 2 months ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
After enrolling in the program, I anticipated receiving a notification confirming the first transfer. In one evening at around 4:00 p.m., the notification came while I was home alone. I was overjoyed and eager to tell my husband, who was out on his usual motorcycle taxi job. Unfortunately, despite calling him three times, I was unable to contact him. I then sent him a message for the first time on my new phone, which was delivered properly. I waited patiently for him to return home, and when he did, he was equally excited. However, before collecting the money from the nearby shopping center on the third day, we needed to align our goals.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
After spending so much of the first transfer on food, I am grateful that we have never gone a single day without eating since. This has been the biggest difference in my daily life thus far. We have enough food for my household, which I can easily replenish with the proceeds from the casual jobs I have been doing. I am looking forward to the second transfer, which I hope to use in other new projects as I work hard to ensure that I venture into sustainable farming to ensure a continuous supply of foodstuff for our use as well as surplus for sale.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
For a long time, I relied entirely on casual labor to supplement my income, while my husband worked as a rider providing motorcycle taxi service after acquiring a motorcycle on loan. Since starting the work, the majority of his earnings had gone toward repaying the $4 daily to the motorcycle seller, and he was unlikely to come home with any extra cash. Casual work on my side had been hard to come by, particularly during the dry season, and all our expectations rested on the first transfer after enrollment. Buying enough food for my family of three was an issue given our limited funds. I paid $90 for a sack of maize, 5 kg of dry beans, a carton of milk with 12 packets, sugar, tea leaves, and salt. We have been eating hearty meals without missing a beat since then. I also spent $30 on two goats that I hope will assist us with milk production in the future and whose offspring will be useful in an emergency. In addition, I needed gutters to gather rainwater from the roof, so I purchased two for $16. Despite the fact that I don't have enough collecting materials, I hope to purchase enough gutters to surround the roof in the future. I used the rest of the money to purchase a $2 rechargeable torch to supplement the solar lighting system we were using, as well as $2 toiletries. I am grateful for the support that I received and look forward to accomplishing much with the second transfer.
 
Enrolled
access_time 5 months ago
 
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
Even though I completed my secretarial course up to the college level, securing a formal job has been difficult. I have been a stay-at-home mum just raising my children and fully dependent on my husband who does motorcycle taxis to provide all the basic needs for us. If I had a source of income, I would supplement his making our lives easier and better. I then plan on buying goats with the transfer which will earn us a living after some time. Also, my child will get nutritious milk rather than buy it from the shopping center. The last transfer will go into purchasing a water tank that is efficient to harvest drinking water in case it rains or even storing enough water. I am happy that my family will get enough and balanced food upon receiving the transfers
What is the happiest part of your day?
In December last year, our new president introduced a interest free loan accessible to the general public through mobile banking. This is termed a hustler fund and is convenient for me since I earn a living daily, repaying it will be manageable. This has brought me happiness to borrow $15 which I use to buy food for my family. Since then, we have been taking three meals a day compared to before when we would take two.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
We live in a semi-arid area, and there has been a prolonged drought for the past three years. As a result of that, we do not do crop farming, therefore relying on the market to produce to get food. Secondly, we trek two kilometers to access salty water from a canal that we use for cleaning and cooking but we purchase drinking water. Our lives have become more difficult due to the lack of water directly leading to food insecurity.