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.
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($483 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
check
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
The goals I had for this second transfer were the ones I had been having all along which were adding some more livestock to the one I had bought with the first transfer. This is because I consider livestock an investment and the larger the number the better the position I will be in to address such financial challenges I will be facing in the future. The other goal was to make a partial payment for the purchase of a piece of land because I needed to live on my own land and have somewhere I'll call my own place. I had started making partial payment from the little I could raise from my charcoal burning and selling business, and therefore, this assistance I received from GiveDirectly came as a very huge boost that I needed so much to get to where I am at the moment.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
I am so grateful to GiveDirectly because through its program I was able to achieve a lot of things. I was able to buy land and get my own place to live freely and independently. I was also able to get some livestock that I believe will continue to take care of me, and give me the ability to address the financial challenges I will be facing in the future long after GiveDirectly is gone. I am so grateful and I don't see anything that it didn't or doesn't do well, in my opinion.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent most of the transfer which was KES 30000 on making a partial payment for the purchase of a piece of land because I needed to live on my own land and have somewhere I will be calling my own place and move from the borrowed land that I've been living on before. I used to live on this borrowed land as I made partial payment a little by little from the money I could raise from my charcoal burning and selling business in which a half of it went into the partial payment for the purchase of the land, while the other half was used to meet my family's immediate needs. My heart is full of happiness because I now have my own land where I will be living comfortably and independently, very free from such interruptions or disputes over its usage especially when it comes to the projects I intend to undertake. I am so happy and grateful to GiveDirectly, for making this dream come true.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($488 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
attach_money
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I received the money because I had received an amount that I wasn't expecting expecting to hold in my hands anytime soon. It was a moment of pure joy and happiness, and I felt so grateful as well.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that since I started receiving money from GiveDirectly, I stopped going to the forest to look for logs and trees to cut down and burn charcoal because it was such a tedious job with very little or nothing in return. However, I am now very grateful I will have goats that I will be tending to instead of going to the forest. All thanks to GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent most of my transfer which was KES 30000 on building a new and better house because the one we have been living in was so small and hardly had any space to accommodate us and the household items. It was basically crowded which couldn't even allow me to host visitors or friends. It used to make me so sad and unhappy. Right now, however, I am a happy and proud owner of a bigger and better house with an ample space to keep all household items and still have some space for family and friends to sit and catch up. I am so happy. I also kept aside KES 20000 to go buy 6 goats because they are an investment that is both long-term and sustainable, since I believe they will multiply and increase in numbers which inturn I will be able to sell one or two in the future and address the financial challenges I will face. This makes me so happy and hopeful.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a second wife in a polygamous family. I gave birth to three daughters. All of them got married and I am left alone with my spouse. According to our tradition, if you do not give birth to a male child, you are likey to suffer because you have no one to provide for you especially when you become old. I depend on charcoal burning business to put food on the table. My spouse and I engage in the same economic activity. However, all the money he gets, he uses it to educate male children of my co-wife. This makes me to be independent. The charcoal burning business that I depend on is not reliable because there and no more trees for burning. This makes life more difficult as I only earn less than 2000 KES a month. This is not enough to meet my basic needs. My ambition has been to own livestock. Upon receiving the cash transfer, I will buy 20 goats which will cost 80000 KES that I will keep and sell when they multiply as an income generating activity. I will then use the remaining amount to buy a bed and a mattress so that I can sleep comfortably.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Last week, a donor came to our village and offered to teach us how to start fish farming. We were taken to a hotel in Mombasa where we spent two days of training. After that we were divided into groups of forty women ready to start the business. Next week we shall start fish farming as the donor has availed all the resources we need. This opportunity has brought a lot of hope to me as I will have an opportunity to make money that will help me and my family.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Unreliable source of income is the main challenge that I am currently facing. I have been raised up knowing that the main economic activity that can help me put food on the table is subsistence farming. However, due to the prolonged drought, farming has become impossible in our village. This has made life more difficult because every single coin I get is solely used for food and remain with nothing to save. Sometimes I fall sick but I have no money to even buy pain killers from a Kiosk. Upon receiving this money, I will be able to buy goats that I will keep and sell when they multiply as a source of income. I chose goats particularly because they survive longer periods of drought unlike cows.
