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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.
Stages:
 
Enrollment
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Transfers
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Completed
Newsfeed > Mercy's Profile
Mercy's family
Mercy
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
faceAge:
32
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($457 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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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 building a better and more spacious house for my family. I used the KES 45,000 of the second transfer on paying the outstanding balance for the land that I bought. My new goal now is to save some money from the small casual jobs that we do to enable us to purchase the building materials. I am so grateful for the support because were it not GiveDirectly all this could have taken quite some time.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly does well by giving money to the poor in the community to build better houses and purchase dairy cows among other activities. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well since the training and the enrollment was fairly done.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 45,000 on paying the balances that were outstanding from the land that I bought before using my saving. We depend on small-scale farming and casual jobs in the village. The money that we get is so small and we were not able to pay on time. I am so grateful because currently I have full ownership of the land and I am planning on building a house. The rest of the money I spent on food and household items that we were lacking.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($482 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 4 pm. I was away from home, I had gone for a visit somewhere else. I did not hear my phone ringing at the time the SMS was being sent since I was in a noisy place and my phone was on silent mode. I saw it later and I was so happy on seeing that I had received the promised transfer from GiveDirectly. I did not tell anyone the good news since I was in a new place. I only called my husband to let him know of the wonderful news. He was so happy when he heard about it and we gave thanks to God.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer has brought a very big difference in our lives as a family. We were able to make a big step towards achieving our dream of building another house having bought the building materials. The children are also happy because they now have new clothes for themselves. They kept asking if the new clothes that they got were bought with the transfer from GiveDirectly. We are hence so much grateful to GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent KES 10000 of the transfer money on buying food and clothes for ourselves and the children. We also bought 25 iron sheets, 500 bricks, and two bags of cement with the remaining amount of money. We bought the materials because we want to construct a permanent house. The house that we are living in it is made of mud. We want to build another permanent house because getting good mud for mudding the houses has become a big challenge. It is no longer easily available like before. We have always wanted to build another house but we did not have the money needed to do so. I usually practice farming where I usually grow vegetables for sale while my husband is a mason. The money that he makes most of it usually goes to the purchase of food, that is, maize, and at times when he has saved some, he usually buys a calf or a sheep. Maize is not usually easily available in our area because when planted, it usually gets affected by some disease hence low harvests. The calf and sheep are going to help us in the future with the children's school fees when they join secondary school. The money that I get from the sale of vegetables usually helps me in purchasing small household items such as tea leaves, salt, etc. This way I get to help my husband with the household costs. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for your help.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
In today's generation, it is always ideal to have your land. This has been my desire since 2013, which prompted me to purchase 0.1 acres in 2014 that I set aside for grazing my 4 cows. I currently live in the 5-acres family land that has unfortunately not been subdivided therefore limiting me on the economic activities to partake. When I receive this money, I intend to use KES 60000 to purchase additional 0.2acres to cultivate and hence secure a future for my children. It will be a sigh of relief as I will have an independent decision on my day to day life activities.
What is the happiest part of your day?
When I visited my relatives in Chemaetany, a village GiveDirectly had enrolled, I saw the benefits and transformation that had resulted from the transfers. I hoped and prayed that I also become one of the beneficiaries someday in the future. My hope was renewed when GiveDirectly started enrollment in my village. When I saw GiveDirectly approaching my house, I was thankful and full of joy that my prayer had been answered.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My husband, the breadwinner, is a casual labourer who moves between villages to construct houses. He earns KES 2400 per week which is insufficient as it only caters for food and school fees for my 2 school-going children. As a result, we engaged in farming as a second option. However, the lethal maize disease, as well as the harsh climate, has made the lands unproductive and we have less food for the family of 5. It saddens me that we have to stay hungry as we have almost nothing to eat.