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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 > Mercy's Profile
Mercy's family
Mercy
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
faceAge:
28
workCampaign
Standard Kenya
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($525 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently different in that I now have two bigger houses that has seen my family live more comfortably. We were living in one house before which made it quite uncomfortable for us to live freely especially with the increasing size of the family and the growing children. We now have two iron roofed houses which has provided us with enough space to live freely and comfortably as a family. This is a very fundamental change to my family which I think would not have occurred had I not received this transfer.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly did so well in giving us unconditional support and doing so without discriminating against anyone who stayed within the village. This money has greatly transformed our lives and we feel proud that we were chosen as beneficiaries.On the other hand, I personally did not find anything that I thought GiveDirectly should improve on in terms of the way they do their operations. They did everything perfectly well and we congratulate them for that.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
I used KES 30000 to build a second house having used part of my first transfer to build the first one. Before I received money from GiveDirectly, my family and I were living in a small grass thatched house which made it uncomfortable for us to live happily. We now have two iron roofed houses that has made my family happier than we were before. The remaining KES 25000 was used to buy household furniture and this has made our stay even more comfortable. We shall forever feel indebted to GiveDirectly for the unconditional support they offered to us.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($545 USD)
access_time almost 6 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
Living in a squeezed house with a big family is not easy. We had no privacy and we could dress in turns at least to offer ourselves just a little privacy. This was so embarrassing. My dream for having a spacious house came to reality after receiving money from GiveDirectly. I managed to build a modern, two-roomed spacious house. What warms my heart every day is the privacy we can now enjoy and that fact that I also have a good house of my dreams makes me feel so happy and this is so far the biggest difference in my daily life.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was in the morning at 8:00 am when I was taking breakfast when I heard a text message notification from my phone and I removed the phone from my pocket to check it. It was a message from MPESA notifying me that I have received 55000KES from GiveDirectly. I felt very happy because I had never received that kind of money in my entire life. For this reason, I want to thank GiveDirectly for this financial support.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent part of my first transfer to purchase Iron sheets and other building materials. Before, I had a small house which was not enough to accommodate my growing family. We had to squeeze our selves in that small house with my grown-up children. I have been dreaming of building a bigger one at least to accommodate them but I did not manage to build it because I did not have enough money. I thank Givedirectly because now I have materialized my dream of having a bigger house. The rest I used to purchase food. The past few years our maize production has not been doing well because there was an outbreak of a certain disease and this affected the plantation so much that we could hardly harvest anything.
 
Enrolled
access_time 6 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Being a small scale poultry farmer, i will use this money to add more chicken in my farm. I will in turn sell eggs and earn a source of income in order to help my husband who is the bread weaner of our family and works in a quarry as a casual labourer earning 1 USD per day which is barely enough to cater for our needs in the family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Every morning when my husband leaves home for work, i engage myself in activities entailing going to the river to fetch water and back home to engage in household chores. When i am done with all these, i rest with my children as i prepare their midday meal. Seeing my children happy and playing tirelessly during this time makes me happy
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My husband signed to be a loan guarantor to one of his friends two years ago in a sacco yet the friend failed to pay back the loan. Due to this, my husband was sermon and told to pay the loan on his behalf. This has affected us as a family since he uses a half of his daily earnings for the loan payback. I am worried since i always ask myself when this will come to an end so that he can in turn focus on family matters alone.