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.
Stages:
 
Enrollment
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Transfers
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Completed
Newsfeed > Dama's Profile
Dama's family
Dama
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Casual labor
faceAge:
41
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($469 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
check
 
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Currently I do not have any new goals yet. I usually work with whatever is in my hands i.e once I get some money I compose myself and picture what I need and I start with the top priority. This is a way of avoiding stress and depression. If I set goals before getting or having no plans of getting money, the goals will deprive me of my happiness and peace of mind once I fail to fulfil them.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly is a white organization. Whatever it did to us has no comparison at all and we are happy for that. It enabled people to buy livestock while others constructed houses. Some people were starving but GiveDirectly rescued them by giving cash transfers. As far as I can speak, I haven’t seen any fault in the organization.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I got the second transfer, the first thing I did was paying school fees for my children who are in secondary school. Since I wanted them to have a smooth learning environment, I decided to pay fees for the two terms so that I get a break as I hustle for the third term fees. In that regard I paid KES 35000.00 for them. Having settled that, I bought two cows so that I start raring too and for the remaining amount I bought some food.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($496 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I can still vividly remember it was around 9 in the morning when I was preparing breakfast for my children then I heard a long vibration from my cellphone. I was a bit nervous but since I am illiterate I realized my spouse had to check the contents of the message. Upon checking, he confirmed that it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly, they had finally debited my KES 55000 into my Mpesa account. I was overwhelmed with joy and I remember leaving the cooking and started celebrating with my spouse for we knew that we would achieve a lot through this financial support.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that through the transfers, I was able to send my children to school. They have been on and off due to the huge school fees balances and this forced them to stay home for weeks. s a parent I was always stressed up because I felt I had failed them. They used to miss important exams and they were always forced to repeat which was so demoralizing. Being jobless, my spouse has been the family breadwinner who depends on casual jobs( burning and selling charcoal) which he could sometimes earn KES 150 a day. With a family of nine that was not enough to sustain the family's needs and pay school fees on time. However, we have always been hopeful that these troubles would come to an end. I am happy GiveDirectly has restored the joy in life especially when seeing my children in school courtesy of GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent part of my first transfer on buying three goats at a total of KES 7000. This has been my long-time dream to at least own one but because of the financial constraints, I couldn't afford it. I also bought a plastic water tank (240litres) at KES 2500 which will enable me to harvest and store the rain water for my domestic purposes. I addition, I bought ten pieces of iron sheets at KES 10000, building poles, nails, timber, and threads. This was for the construction of a new house for my three sons who have been sheltering at their friend's houses which was relatively far from the village. I also paid the school fees of KES 11000 for my children and I am happy they will be able to sit for their examinations in three weeks' time. With the remaining amount of money, I bought sufficient foodstuffs for my family and other household items.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a reliable source of income for my household. I am planning to spend $300 on my first transfer to buy 10 goats which will act as long time investment project for my family. I will sell the goats at a profit when they multiply. The remaining amount of my first transfer will help me to construct a separate house for my children. I will further use $300 of my second transfer to buy 2 indegious dairy cows for milk production. I will sell the milk produced to earn an income. The remaining amount of the second transfer will help cater to some basic needs of the family like paying school fees for my children and buying food.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The evening is the happiest part of my day. Unlike in the morning and afternoon when I am busy with my charcoal vending job. I only come home in the evening to relax and meet my family after tiresome day of work.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Lack of sustainable income is the biggest challenge that I have ever faced in my life. Both my husband and I are unskilled people getting a good job to sustain our family of 10 has been a challenge to us. The only source of livelihood is charcoal vending a job that is tiresome and earns us a little amount that can not fully support all the basic needs of the family.