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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.
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Enrollment
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Transfers
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Completed
Newsfeed > Mbeyu's Profile
Mbeyu's family
Mbeyu
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Small business
faceAge:
32
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($438 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?
My new goal is to own assets in form of livestock more so goats and cows. I believe that once I will be able to own them, I will no longer be straining in fending for my family as I used to do. This is because I will be in a position to sell one or two and sort out any pending bills. Additionally, I trust that once I will acquire the livestock I can as well achieve some other goals through them such as starting a new business by selling some of them.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly has been doing well from the very first day they visited our village. They made sure that they enrolled all the deserving households without any discrimination. Also, the officers took us through the security information considering that for some of us it was our first time receiving money via Mpesa. This was of help to most of us hence there were no cases of theft or fraud. I, therefore, do not see any part that they did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent the whole of my second cash transfer on buying construction materials such as iron sheets, building poles, nails, timber, windows and wooden doors. I had intended to establish a rental house in the neighbouring town whereby I owned a piece of land. It has been my wish to start this project for so many years unfortunately, I did not have sufficient funds to finance it. For over the past twenty years, I have been relying on the charcoal business which has not been portable besides being seasonal. Therefore bringing up six children has never been easy at all. Most of the time my children would be sent home to collect school fees whereby they would stay for weeks. As a parent, it has been stressing me since it used to affect their academic performance in general. Currently, there is a relief because I already have two tenants and have been collecting rent for the past two months. This has for sure boosted our living standards because at least my children can now study comfortably without any disturbances and they can access their other basic needs on time.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($471 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 7 am when I saw an envelope-like icon on the screen of my phone. Since I usually contact my helper if I see such icons, I did so and he checked. Immediately he looked at me and smiled, I also smiled back, though blindly. Then he gently told me that I had received the promised transfer from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy for receiving such a huge amount of money at once for the first time in my life. It was like a miracle.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
For a while, I desired to have an investment that could help me to provide for my family. The line I was interested in was investing in livestock which I finally managed with the help of GiveDirectly. Currently, I rare a herd of 17 goats which is an assurance of a good investment for young investors like me. I am sure before the year ends, I will be having over 25 goats but I aim to convert them to monetary value and maintain a maximum number of 25 goats.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
For a long time, I had desired to invest in livestock only that, I lacked the capital. When I received this transfer, I saw it as an opportunity to fulfill the desire of my heart. I, therefore, bought 11 goats for KES 39600.00. These goats were an addition to the six goats that I had and now I have 17 goats. The aim of investing in goats is that they are cheap to maintain and they have read markets since they are affordable and thus can be converted to monetary value anytime the need arises. I also paid KES 5600.00 for school fees for my five primary school children who had been sent home for school fees. Thereafter, I bought 60 poles for KES 9000.00 intending to construct a new house once I get the second transfer.
 
Enrolled
access_time 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have four children who are attending school. My main source of income is charcoal burning and selling. This business isn't so lucrative and the highest amount I can make in a month is about 4000 KES which is still way too little for my needs. Two of my children are in a nursery school where they pay 500 KES each per academic term, the other two are in primary school where they pay 800 KES termly. It's clear from that math that the money I get can't pay for my children's education and feed a set of five of them. Getting this money is going to relieve my burden as I have plan to first offset the fees areas I already have then I'll buy domestic animals to rare as a store of wealth that I can resell in future to get money.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I extremely happy last year in the month of November when I got treated for ulcers that had been giving me problems a lot. At first I used to feel a lot of headaches, general body weakness and stomach pains that went on for some time. It got to a point I couldn't manage it with pain killers and had to go to the hospital. There I got treatment and issued with some medication to keep taking. These worked out so well and IND in the month of November, I was fully healed. To date I have not felt it again.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My challenge is lack of reliable source of income. I depend on charcoal burning and selling which earns around 4000 KES monthly. This is not enough to feed five children and pay for their education. I also seriously need a house as what I have right now is just a one roomed structure that has iron sheet roof, combination of iron sheets and canvas on the wall, with a mud floor. If I could I would like to build a house that has among others children's room so that they do not have to sleeping with their grandmother.