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 > Karisa's Profile
Karisa's family
Karisa
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
workCampaign
Kenya Basic Income
Upcoming Stage
Next Payment
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Follow to be updated on Karisa's next check-in.
 
3rd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
For a while, I have been struggling to pay school fees for my children. I do manual jobs for my survival and that of my family. I mainly do construction work. The pay per day is KSH 500. Work is not daily and I can sometimes work three times a week or even none. The earnings are enough to just budget food for my family. In a good month I can save some money to pay for school fees balances. I have two children who are currently in school. My daughter is in form one and her favorite subject is biology. My son is currently in class eight, preparing to sit for his final primary examinations. When I received the transfer, I spent KSH 1500 plus my savings and cleared part of the KSH 8,960 fee balance I owed the school. I also spent KSH 800 to buy food in bulk for my family. With all my saving spent in paying school fees, I so it was wise to spend part of the transfer in buying food in bulk for my family. The idea is good because I can have enough time to save enough money to buy more food. I also saved the rest of the money to give myself plenty of time to plan on how to use the rest of the money.
 
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, Give Directly is doing a job by giving people cash and letting them decide on how to spend it. I have so far seen so many children who had dropped out of school in our village go back to continue with their education.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 4000 on my child's secondary school fee to clear the fee balance she had. I am glad she was able to concentrate on her studies which enabled her to improve in her grades. I also bought chicken for rearing with part of the transfer as I have a goal of starting a poultry project. KES 200 was spent on airtime and KES 1000 on foodstuff for the family.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was just from the field grazing some animals. When I got home I was very tired and much stressed. While resting thoughts of where to find the money for my daughter to go back to school engulfed my mind. While still in that state I heard a notification from my phone. When I checked it out, I could not believe my eyes, there it is I had received the transfer. I was happy and even became emotional about it. I called my daughter who was in her room studying and asked her to get ready to go back to school.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Yes, the money has made a big difference in my life. I have always wanted to provide for my family's needs but the situation is hard for me. Having received this transfer was a boost for me. My daughter is back in school, I am grateful. I am no longer stressed as I did before. My health is also slowly improving which is a good thing for me.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
It is the joy and expectation of everybody that he/she lives a good life. Just like other people I have always dreamt of having a good job and also raising my family in better living conditions. The abject poverty I am living is one thing that makes me wake every day go out there and hustle for my family. With all these desires at heart, I have still not been able to achieve all my dreams. I still do not have a job and depend mostly on manual jobs such as weeding other people's farms to earn a living. The biggest challenge is paying school fees for my daughter who is in secondary school, providing a three-course meal for my family. It is currently really difficult to do that for my family. When I received the transfer I quickly withdrew the money and paid school fees for my daughter who had been sent home from school due to fee balances. I also used a portion of the amount to pay bus fare for her to go back to school. I bought food for the rest of my family with the remaining amount.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My daughter just joined high school. Raising her fees has not been easy. Sometimes I'm forced to sell my livestock to educate her. She is a bright child and I would not like her to drop out of school. With her fees per term being 13,000KES, I will use transfers from Give Directly to add to what I'll have made from farming and offset fees. This will give me peace of mind.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My immune system has never failed me. I am so grateful that for a very long time of not all my life, I have not been admitted to the hospital neither have I had an ailment that required medical attention or caused panic to my family and me.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I like to joke that I am a late bloomer. I got my children quite late. At 67 years, I still have children at Primary and secondary school. With age, I have slowed down on productivity, therefore, my income is not high. My family needs to be fed, clothed, and their medical attention sorted. My challenge is, I cannot even have two jobs to at least complement each other. I pray that after they are done with school, God will bless them with we'll paying jobs.