GDLive Newsfeed
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 > Yeri's Profile
Yeri's family
Yeri
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Small business
faceAge:
44
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($445 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?
Immediately after I received my recent transfer, I developed a goal of raising livestock. Initially, I had only one cow and three goats. Although I had been longing to add more, I had no money that dream could not materialize. After my second transfer, I bought one cow, four goats, and a sheep. Raising livestock will increase my asset value, therefore, creating an avenue for raising some money for my children's school fees.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly does an outstanding work of improving the communities living standards by giving them cash transfers. It does not practice favoritism since its staffs do door-to-door visits during the enrollment stage. There is always no swaying of any GiveDirectly staff on whom to enroll in its program. In addition, the way its staff relates to the community members, both physically and through phone calls, is courteous. As a result, we feel good being direct beneficiaries of its program. Even though it never comes back to the village and enrolls people, there is nothing that it does not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
With my first transfer, I spent KES 4,700 on buying more food since what we had as a family by then was insufficient. I also spent KES 28,000 on paying school fees for my six children. They had fee arrears then. As a result of unpaid fees, they were frequently sent home from school, a situation that deprived them of an opportunity to concentrate on their studies. Lastly, I bought a new set of clothes for my children. They are currently presentable. All these I could not do previously because I only relied on casual irregular jobs.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($482 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
attach_money
 
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was at the bush burning charcoal trying to make ends meet. I heard my messager ring and an Mpesa massage popped on my phone screen. This was the first time to receive such amount in my life and I was so happy because I knew I was going to do something meaningful with it.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference is that my children have stayed in school for the longest time without being worried that they might be chased out of school anytime and that they nolonger walk around with torn clothes.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
For the longest time, my four children have been sleeping in their grandmother's house because my one roomed house couldn't accommodate us all. My dream has been to build a bigger semi permanent house so that I can stay with all my family under one roof but since I had no reliable job, I wasn't in a position to save enough money towards this project. My goal was to build a house with the first transfer but by the time I was receiving the transfers, my two children in high school had been send home for school fees so I had to settle their fees arrears worth KES 18800. I bought iron sheets at KES 16500 and bought my children clothes worth KES 2000. For the remaining transfers, I'm planning to buy building materials so that I can finish up building a house after receiving my Las transfer.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means building a house for my family. I have a family of 8 and we were all living in the same one bedroom house something that resulted to separation between me and my wife. I am a casual labourer and I have very little income. Building a spacious house for the family is not possible because I have no money. Two years ago (2019) , my wife complained very much. She said that she felt a shamed living in the same room with our children. The argument persisted and she decided to leave me alone and left with the children. I am now leaving alone. Upon receiving the money, I will use KES 100000 to build a four bedroom house . This is enough to accommodate all my family. I will use KES 10000 as transport to go take my family and bring it back home.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My father has been sick for around five years. Last year on December 2022, there came a charity organization that brought free medication in our village. He was attended and got well. The charity organization brought happiness to my life.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I used to live with my family but due to lack of money to build a spacious house, my family separated with me. This has really caused loneliness to me . It is also had to provide food for my family because of the distance factor. Loneliness is the current challenge I am facing.