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 ($442 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
check
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
The new goal that I did not have before receiving the transfer is starting a poetry-keeping project. This project will earn me some income through the sales of eggs. I will be in a position to me all the basic needs of my family. I have a contractual job in Nairobi and I will save some money to start this project. I look forward to a better future.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly does well planning on training and enrollment without any biases. Most of the people who received the transfer spent on building better houses and paying school fees for their children in various schools. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 40,000 on purchasing building materials and completing the construction of the house that I started using the first transfer. We lived in a small house which could not host all my family members confortably. Currently, we live in a better and more spacious house and we are so grateful for the support. The remaining amount of money I spent on food and other household items.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($479 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
attach_money
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was still early in the morning and I was at home having breakfast when I heard a message alert on my phone. I became so excited upon reading its contents as it was my first time in life to ever receive such an amount of money. I immediately informed my family and they were equally happy upon hearing the good news.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have been able to start building a house for my family. This has made my wife so happy and I am glad to have achieved this with the help of GiveDirectly. It will be completed very soon since the only part remaining is to fix the doors and the windows and I am eagerly waiting for the day that we will start living in this house.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used to live in a small single-room house that could not accommodate us comfortably since I am a family man. This was my bedroom when I was still single and I had not been able to build another one even after marrying. I do some casual work to put food on our tables and because of this, I had not managed to even start saving towards this goal and I am grateful to GiveDirectly for making it a success. This is because, with the transfer, I was able to spend KES 40000 building a more spacious house and used the remaining amount on food and clothes for the family.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a better livelihood for my young family. We are still a young family of three with one eight-year-old son. At the moment we do not have a source of income nor properties or investments to support ourselves. My priority as of now is to construct a poultry house that will earn my wife some income as I plan to look for a stable job away from home in the next months. I plan to use KES 30,000 for this. For the rest of the amount, I plan to construct a bigger house that will be our bedroom and living room. As of now, we live in a small house that acts as the kitchen, bedroom, and sitting room. We hardly have space to accommodate visitors whenever they come around.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I got a job four months ago. The much I earned helped me to offset hospital bills when my wife gave birth. It is the same saving that I am still surviving on to this moment. It made me happy because I had no other income.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I lost my job a month ago. We are surviving on savings which might see me through for about a month. Beyond that, I do not how we are going to survive considering I have a young family with a young child of less than a year. I purchase almost all foodstuffs from the market which strains me a lot. The main challenge is lack of finances .
