GDLive Newsfeed
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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Enrollment
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Transfers
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Completed
Newsfeed > Stellar's Profile
Stellar's family
Stellar
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
faceAge:
35
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($467 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I do not have any new goals in life at the moment since I want to concentrate on educating my daughter and adopted son. I have hope that she will pass her upcoming examinations and will join university. With this, more money will be needed and I am ready to support her to achieve her dreams. My long-term goal is to continue buying land if God blesses me just like He recently blessed us through GiveDirectly since the one we have is small.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well by unifying the families, especially those that were constantly fighting. This is because the officers made it clear that the transfer should be spent after the all family has agreed on what to spend on. Due to this, people were able to do some developments that have transformed their lives. I do not see anything it did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have a daughter who is in her final year at the secondary school level and an orphan who was left under my care though he is still at the primary level. I have a small business of selling groceries in the neighborhood and I usually spend all the profits on food. Because of this, they were constantly in and out of school and this had started affecting their performance. I settled on paying school fees for my daughter using KES 10000 upon receiving my transfer so that she would be able to concentrate on her studies. In addition, I spent KES 20000 to purchase a heifer since I have never owned one ever since I got married. When it calves, I will not only save the money that I usually spend on milk but I will earn income through the sale of surplus. From the remaining KES 22000, I spent KES 15000 building a bedroom for my daughter who has been sleeping in the kitchen and used the remaining amount on food. I will forever remain grateful to GiveDirectly for enabling me to achieve all these.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($497 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 9 am when I overheard my neighbour who is also a relative talking about the transfer they had received, that morning, I was inside the house but I could hear them, I never bothered asking them what was going on but instead rushed to check if I had a message in my phone, I was overwhelmed with joy on learning that I had received the promised transfer of KES 55,000, I embarked on planning on how I would spend my transfer, I was optimistic that I would accomplish them because I heard the money at hand. I am so grateful for the support that brought so much joy and happiness to my life.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Farming is my main source of income, this is what I depend on to pay for my children school fees, this has been my major challenge because I have eight of them, therefore my life is different now because I was able to pay for the fee arrears, and also managed to buy a piece of land so that I can increase the yields which would mean getting an extra income. I also bought a dairy cow which I am hopeful that I will be able to get enough milk for our daily usage hence cutting down on the cost of buying milk daily.GiveDirectly gave me hope of a better tomorrow and I am thankful for that.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a farmer, I rented land for farming to earn an income, I am a mother of four children, though I live with four of my late sister's children who are total orphans. school fees have been my major challenge. Hence I bought a parcel of land worth KES25,000 so that I can use it in farming so that I at least get more yields, I then paid KES10,000 as school fees, I also bought a dairy cow worth KES 17,000 so that we can have milk for our daily consumption. I am grateful for the support that owned new avenues in our lives of earning an extra income.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I bought this land when my matrimonial parents didn't accept me to marry their son. My husband and I decided to move out and so we bought this land. I need to expand it since the owners are selling another piece of land near my house. I need to buy 0.2 acres each cost KES 25000. I would also like to buy dairy cow this will cost around KES 30000. The rest of the money will go to school fees for the coming terms.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of the day is in the evening. This is the time I get to enjoy dinner with my children. It brings joy to me knowing there is something to feed them.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship has been financial constraints. I have children in different schools and I am taking care of two orphans who are my nieces. Sometimes it's hard to find school fees for them. We use to rely on maize farming but since the arrival of maize diseases we can't plan much like before. Food shortages has also been a challenge, with the little money we get from farming it cannot sustain our needs.