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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 > Charo's Profile
Charo's family
Charo
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Casual labor
faceAge:
53
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 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?
Before I started receiving the transfers, my goals were to assist my son pay dowry for his wife and build a house. Now that I have achieved all the goal that I had, I want now to focus on looking for a wife who will take care of me as I get older.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Personally, I haven't seen or witnessed anything that I would say you needed to improve. I think you do everything perfectly and I would like to encourage you to continue uplifting people in the community.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When my wife died, I focused all my energy to raise our two sons and it wasn't an easy journey at all. I was a casual labourer and the little that I got averaging from Ksh 200 to 300 would be spend on on paying school fees for our kids and basic needs. Then, I had strong semi permanent house but overtime, it weakened and all you could see was a structure with no door and holes everywhere. I am now old and unproductive and my oldest son is just a casual labourer with family to provide for so I couldn't help it but to just sleep in that house and on the floor. I wished to age gracefully but life had taken a different turn for me, I was living in poverty and aquish and I had lost hope in life. Being enrolled into the program felt like a miracle to me. I used the most recent transfers to finish up building my house which I had started building with part of my first transfer and bought a bed and mattress. Nowadays, I sleep comfortably in my house and I'm nolonger in fear of being attacked by wild animals at night. I'm so grateful to GiveDirectly for the amazing support.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($491 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I can clearly remember the day GiveDirectly put a mark in my life. It on 14th October 2021 at 9.25am when I was in the forest cutting rafters for sale when I received the transfer message. At the moment I was only having a single rafter that I had managed to get though was still searching for more. Due the joy that filled my heart after seeing the transfer of KES 55000.00 from GiveDirectly, I was unable to proceed with the job I was doing. I took my panga and slowly moved out and the forest and left for home.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Ensuring my son is comfortable taking his studies well in college has been a dream that came true. I feel I am indebted by the organization for the support it accorded me. I also lack words seeing my house having a door after 2.5 years of failing to fix it by myself. For sure I will live to remember this organization for the wonders and how it has changed my life.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The first priority after withdrawing the money was my children school fees. I have a child who is in college and it hasn’t been an easy way seeing him just at home due to school fees, thus I made full payments for him and he is doing well in his studies now. I also bought a door for my house. The house has stayed for 2.5 years without a door and I had no means of getting one. Again I bought a bed and a mattress because the ones I was using were the traditional ones. Due to the hunger that has stroked our area I opted save the remaining amount for family usage.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a widower and have been living alone for the last 15 years. I have a family of two boys who are now independent. Before my wife died, I used to work at Fort Jesus( a historical site in Mombasa) selling sea shells to tourists. However, the business collapsed and my boss fired me. Consequently, I had to come back home in 2018. Since then, I have been depending on clearing bushes for other people as they prepare to cultivate their land. Through this job, I only earn at most 1500 KES depending on the size of the land.This job is not reliable since our village is experiencing longer periods of drought. I have also stayed for long without being paid after clearing the bushes for those people. As we speak, I have someone who has not paid me close to two years now.This has made life more difficult for me. I intend to use the cash transfer to buy 10 goats that I will sell when they multiply to earn an income. I will also use the second cash transfer to take my second born to college.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My happiest part of the day is usually in the morning. This is because, at this time I wake up healthy with a lot of energy to face the day. Mostly I leave in the morning at around 7am to go for bush clearing. I spend the whole day in the forest and only come back in the evening tired and worn out. Upon arrival, I just cook food eat and sleep. Unlike in the evening when I get tired, morning gives me hope and energy to work and earn some money to meet my basic needs.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have ever faced in my life is loss of my job. I used to work in mombasa selling sea shells at fort Jesus (one of the tourist attraction sites at the coast of Kenya). However, the business collapsed and our boss fired all the employees at that time. Consequently, I had to come back to the village since I had nothing to survive on in the town. This made my second born child to drop out of college where he had started and was barely two months old. I had to find a way that would give me some money to get food for my two children. The only job I got was clearing bushes for other people as they prepare to cultivate their land. This job is not reliable anymore due to the longer periods of drought being experienced in our village. I used to earn 1500KES as my pay depending on the size of the land. Upon receiving this cash, I intend to take my child back to college and then use the remaining cash to buy 10 goats which I will sell when they multiply.