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 ($468 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?
No but I am grateful for this transfer from Givedirectly. I was able me to buy a cow who will earn me produce. I was also able to build a much bigger house now.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Givedirectly is doing a good job and I appreciate all the help I got. They have offered good services to my village.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Having a a wife and 2 children my main focus was to finish building my house. I am very excited to have new home to spend with my children. I also bought furniture of Kes 12000 and now I can have guests coming over. In addition I bought clothes for my family during the festive Christmas season.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($492 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was morning hours at around 9 am and I was on my way to one of my customer's houses when I heard my phone vibrating in my pocket. I took it out to check what it was all about and to my surprise, it was an SMS saying that I had received the lump sum transfer of KES 55000 that GiveDirectly had promised. I was filled with so much joy on seeing this that I stopped what I was doing for a while to celebrate. I couldn't keep the good news to myself and I called my wife whom I had left at home. She was so happy too to hear this and we gave thanks to God for the blessings.
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 save the money that I would otherwise use in buying food for my family. I used to spend KES 500 weekly on maize apart from other items like rice and cooking fat before and this is no longer the case because I was able to buy two sacks of maize using my transfers. With these savings, I am optimistic that I will be able to start some other developments that had seemed impossible before.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I received my transfer, I spent it to buy a dairy cow worth KES 25000 as an investment that I can rely on in the future. Also, it will be a permanent reminder of GiveDirectly good works in my life and that in our village. In addition, I spent KES 15000 to buy new clothes, food, and other household necessities that would last us for some time. I still have KES 14000 that I am planning to extend our bedroom from our main house. I will use this money to acquire the necessary building materials and I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for making this possible.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means living in a more comfortable house with my family. I will use KSH 30,000 to build a two-roomed iron-roofed house. This will ensure more comfort to my visitors whenever they come around, hence no more shame of requesting my neighbors to accommodate them at night. I will then use the remaining KSH 50,000 as capital to initiate a trading business of buying livestock from the neighborhood and selling them in the market at a profit.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am a husband and a father of three school-going children. Being the sole breadwinner of my family, waking up each day feeling energetic enough to work is a blessing to me. This, therefore, makes morning the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I have always wished to build a bigger house since the one I currently live in with my family of 5 is only two-roomed. It is such a shame that whenever I have guests, I am usually forced to ask my relatives to accommodate them at night due to limited space in my house. The small business (buying and selling livestock at a profit) which I am employed to engage in only earns me KSH 300 daily and this only caters for food for my family. Whenever I get higher pay, I save the amount for school fees hence my other family developments remain a dream. This is the biggest hardship I face.
