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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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Completed
Newsfeed > Rehema's Profile
Rehema's family
Rehema
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Small business
faceAge:
34
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($440 USD)
access_time 2 years 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 have is to support the education of my children. At the moment, two are about to join secondary school next year where the costs of providing for their educational needs will increase. Currently, one is in class eight and the other is in grade 6. To achieve this goal, I intend to construct a temporary rental house on the plot of land that I bought since it is very close to our nearest town center. The income from the rent will assist me in educating them through secondary school.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, Givedirectluy did well in enrolling the poor households and sending them direct cash transfers. The fact that it was unconditional allows us to decide on how well to spend the transfers to better our living conditions. Through the transfer, I am happy that was able to relocate to my new place and our kids are near to school and no longer go to work late. Furthermore, I can access clean water for the family easily since we are living adjacent to water booths.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent my recent transfer to purchase building materials like sand, building stone and 12 bags of cement. This was to complete the construction of the new house that I build with the first transfer by putting up pillars and floor. Previously, I had bought a piece of land in the nearby town center and had desired to build it and relocate there. Earlier, I was living on communally owned land and it was very far from town and other social amenities like school and accessibility to clean drinking water. Additionally, it was very far from my small food outlet where I am working. Furthermore, I bought a new mattress for KES 7000 for the 3 children who were sleeping on the floor with rags as bedding which was not comfortable. I remained with KES15000 which I spent to start building a new toilet for the family. The one we had earlier was old and about to collapse which poses a very risk to the family members. Nowadays, I am happy having peace of mind and not worrying about the safety of my children due to the poor state of the toilet.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($465 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 6 pm while I was at my cafeteria shop serving some clients when I heard a message popping into my phone. I opted to finalize with the clients first before embarking on the message since the business language is money first and money comes from the clients. When I was done I decided to check on the message to see what was new and indeed it was new. I saw a huge figure of money KES 55000.00 which was from GiveDirectly. Immediately I remembered the registration which was done and I linked the money with the promise we were given by the officers who came to my home. I silently went to the washroom and ululated in a low tone due to happiness yet I did not want people to know of it. On reaching home, I called my husband and informed him of the first transfer and we celebrated together.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I am very happy and glad that GiveDorectly has done well for me. Initially, I did not have a defined source of income but now I have a rental house which is a fruit to me from GiveDirectly. In addition to the rental business, GiveDirectly empowered me to add stock to my existing cafeteria business which was shaking due to a lack of the basic foods that the customers were asking for. As of now, my customers are happy because they get almost all the foods they want. All this is because of GiveDirectly and if it were not for the organization I think I would have closed down my business.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Before receiving the money, I had already designed a structure of the priorities to handle once I get the transfer. When I withdrew the money, the first thing was to construct a rental house so that I get an income-generating activity that I could rely on in the future. Concerning that, I spent KES 46000.00 inclusive of the materials and labor of constructing the house. I also paid KES 3000.00 school fees for my five primary school children. Thereafter, I saw it prudent to add some stock to my cafeteria business so that I could meet the needs and demands of my customers. Based on that, I spend KES 5000.00 to buy more stock for the same.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a business woman operating a food vending kiosk. I will use my transfer to build another pit latrine as the current one is filled. This will cost around 20, 000 KES. I will also pay 9000 KES for my daughter to acquire boarding services in her final primary school year. This is because I want her to get ample study time and this academic year is very short. The rest of the amount will be used to support my other children and also the renovation of my business structures. I have two rental structures which will be reinforced with pillars to hence their durability.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Back in February, my children had been sent out of school due to lack of school fees. I had not paid a rental fee of 1000 KES at my place of work. My husband had to sell his TV for the family's rescue. I was happy that he values his family so much to the extent of forgoing his assets.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My business is struggling and my husband's job as a shopkeeper is not well paying. I earn 150 KES from the sale of pancakes in a day. This amount is supposed to also feed our family and my husband only sends home around 4000 KES. The high cost of living has also contributed to our struggle. This has been the major cause of our struggle.