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 > Denis's Profile
Denis's family
Denis
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Casual labor
faceAge:
30
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($443 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 be able to be able improve my clothes selling business. When I received my second transfer injected Kes 20000 into this business in an effort to expand the said business and make more progits. The business has been doing good and I have a goal of injecting more money in it to be able to make more profits and make my family to be more independent financially going forward. The current economic times have resulted in very low profits but am looking forward to getting more funds and expanding this business
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly did well by enrolling everyone without biasness. This gave everyone an equal opportunity to receive the money. I did not see any mistake on the officers side in terms of how they ran the enrollment process. Their way of doing things is worth emulating
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used KES 20000 to improve my business of selling fashion clothes and used another KES 18000 to buy additional livestock for keeping here at home. I then used the amount that remained to pay school fees for one of my children. I am a father of three and the investments that I made were so that I would be able to pay their school fees in time and without a struggle.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($500 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
My phone had gone off at the time the M-Pesa SMS’s were being sent and I had taken it to the nearest center for it to be charged. My wife went to pick it the following morning and she switched it on. She was so happy when she saw the message saying that we had received the fortune from GiveDirectly. She came straight to the farm where I was working and showed me the SMS. I was so happy too to see this because we had been eagerly waiting for the transfer. We rejoiced for a while together giving thanks to God for the help that we had received.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer has brought a big difference in my life and that of my family. I have been able to achieve the dream of building another house for my family that is bigger and hence enough for all of us. Guests visiting our house will thus not have to suffer because they will be having somewhere to sleep when they visit us. My children have also been able to have their room to sleep and study. The calf that I bought will help us in the future. I will sell it when it matures enough and use the money to buy another cow that can be milked. This way my children will have milk to consume and I will no longer have to incur the cost of buying milk. The chickens that I bought are going to be of great help to me. I will be able to get eggs that I can sell and use the money to buy small household items that are needed every day like sugar, soap, etc. The bag of maize that I bought will sustain us for a while and hence I will not be having any stress about where to get money to buy food for my family. My children too are very happy because they have new clothes for themselves and enough food to eat. Thank you GiveDirectly for making this possible for me.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The transfer from GiveDirectly has helped me a lot. I have been able to build another house for my family. I also bought a calf and ten chickens with part of the transfer and with the remaining amount, I used it in buying a bag of maize for our consumption and clothes for my children and ourselves. I have always wanted to build another house that is bigger for my family but I have not been in a position to do so due to financial constraints. The reason why I wanted to do so is that we have been living in only one small house and space has hence not been enough for us and the children. Guests visiting us have also been lacking somewhere to sleep and we have been forced at times to borrow somewhere for them to sleep. I also bought a calf because I have never had a cow of my own and hence I have been buying milk for quite some time. I plan to take care of the calf so that when it is mature enough, I will sell it and use the money to buy a cow that can be milked. I also bought a few chickens because I know their benefit. I had once reared them before and they were able to help me a lot in terms of meeting the needs of my family. Casual jobs are my source of livelihood. I have hence not been able to do the above developments because the little money that I get from casual jobs has only been enough to buy food and other small household necessities.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have been desiring to build a new house for the longest time now. I am intending to use my transfer to build a two-roomed house since this has not been spacious and it acts as both kitchen and bedroom. To make the situation worse it has been leaking.I plan to purchase 30 pieces of iron sheets at 500 each and 40 pieces of roofing frames at shillings 300 each. The motive of my aspiration is because whenever I have visitors I feel embarrassed because of smoke. Receiving this money will a lot to me as it will change the face of my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Morning is my happiest part of the day. Waking up healthy with my family and refreshed for my day's work gives me a lot of joy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced is a lack of finance. I depend on casual jobs at a nearby school as a cooker which is being paid shilling 300 a day this is not enough to cater to my family's basic needs. Because of this, I have been struggling with providing the most basic needs hence and this is the reason why we have been living in a small leaking house with my growing family. This has lowered my dignity especially when I have visitors because my house is not spacious enough to accommodate them.