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 ($492 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Build a better
Small house
Small scale farming , visitors
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly does well by giving money to the poor in the community to build better houses. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Build a better house
Top up and bought a land.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($502 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 10 AM when and I was engaged in my farming activities as always when I got a new message. I decided to check it and to my surprise, It was a Mpesa message confirming that I had received money from GD. I felt so happy knowing that I will be able to construct a decent house and move in with my family.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
My life is currently different from how it was before because I have been able to construct a spacious iron-roofed house. Before the coming of GiveDirectly, I had been sleeping under a small Mudd walled house and it was becoming uncomfortable to live in since it was slowly getting cracks on the walls. I had dreamt of building a better one but this was never realized due to limited resources. Currently, we live in a spacious decent house, we are so comfortable and proud to live under this new house. Thank you GiveDirectly for the support.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I had been living under an old house that had started degenerating with cracks on the walls. It was turning uncomfortable to live in but with little resources, I wasn't able to build one. When I received money from GiveDirectly, I took KES35000 to build a semi-permanent house. I feel so happy and proud of my new house. I used KES8400 on farming. I took some to buy seeds, chain links, barbered wire and to use on land preparations. In addition, I spent the remaining amount on my daily household needs.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
As a middle-aged person whose children are beginning their secondary school studies shortly, receiving this money will dramatically relieve me of the looming stress and struggle of raising fees. Since I am a peasant farmer yet climatic conditions in our area have become unfavorable, we have not been reaping well from our farms. Precisely, the little produce that we usually attain from our farm is barely enough to sustain us. In that regard, our eldest son will join a secondary school in the year 2021. Besides, our second-born child will begin his secondary school studies in 2024. As such, I have been having sleepless nights since I could not imagine where and how to raise the needed fees. Thank you GiveDirectly.
What is the happiest part of your day?
As a farmer and primary breadwinner for my family, the happiest part of my day is around midday. This is the time that I would have completed my day's farming tasks, and I would be taking some rest to restore energy in readiness for the following day's activities.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I was brought up in a polygamous family where disputes and conflicts were common. As such, I had no peace and could not imagine settling and establishing my family in such environments. So, I was forced to go buy a small piece of land elsewhere, something that isolated me from my lovely mother. However, I had to return to my motherland since she has been having mental problems. I strongly believe that her depressions and stress emanated from the previous family disputes. Precisely, family disputes that we have been facing act as the biggest hardship we have faced.
