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.
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Enrollment
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Transfers
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Completed
Newsfeed > Patrick's Profile
Patrick's family
Patrick
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Casual labor
faceAge:
24
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($462 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Yes I have a new goal and that is buying a piece of land, building a house ino it and relocating to it. Icurrently stay in family's land and I feel this may hinder me from pursuing my agribusiness since I rely almost entirely on agricultural production to make a living. I plan to make savings from my agricultural activities and be able to buy a piece of land soon. I know this is possible since IO have been able to accomplish bigger things before. I worked as a herdsboy before where I was paid KES 5000 as a monthly salary and with thaty little income I was able to build a house that my family now stays in.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly did very well in unifying families. Some of the households were forced to come back together once they heard GiveDurectly was headed to their villages. I am so happy to see them still together months after transfers were disbursed.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used KES 25000 of my second transfer to build a kitchen and used another KES 15000 to buy household furniture and clothes for my children. The remaining amount of money of almost KES 10000 was used to clear debts owed to me by a friend. I am happy that we will no longer use the main house as both the kitchen and main house-this was making the house were out very fast. My family which is comprised of my wife and one child are equally very happy to have this new space in our household. I will now concentrate on my famring to make sure that I keep improving the status of my family and to ensure that our living standards shall keep rising. For the debts that I was able to clear, it brought in a lot of relief and joy for the entire family. We are so grateful to GiveDirectly for the support and for evry help that came our way.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($488 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
While at home relaxing, I received a message at 9 a.m. On checking it, I saw that I had received KES 55,000. I was ecstatic because I had never received such a huge amount of money.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
This transfer from GD has been a blessing. My family has been in living in a tiny grass-thatched house, that can barely accommodate the four of us. It also has a leaky roof, which means we have had to endure cold nights during the rainy season. With this transfer, however, we have managed to buy construction material and begin the construction of our new home. I am so excited to see my children get to live in a decent, modern house. Thanks, GD!
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My family has been living in a small grass-thatched house, for years now. Even the situation is unfortunate, I am a farmer, and could not afford to build another house for the four of us. So I was happy to spend KES 30,000 on the purchase of construction material such as iron sheets and timber, for a new home. I then spent KES 10,000 on two sacks of maize, to ensure we had enough food for the household. I plan on spending the remaining amount on labour costs for the construction of the house, which is still in progress.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a healthy living standard. Even though we are a young family of 3, hoping to better our healthy living standards through taking the required nutrients, we could not acquire them. We have been unable to buy a dairy cow because we solely depend on casual labor within the village which is hard to come by. We feel by taking milk, we will lead to healthy living standards because it has various nutrients. Through an estimated cost of KES 35,000, we intent to buy a dairy cow and consume milk domestically. If we get surplus milk, we can sell it. I am hopeful that soon our problems will be drowned through this noble initiative.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I spend my morning hours doing my jobs such as digging, weeding, fencing on my 0.2 acres of land, and afternoon hours prowling within the village and in the nearby center. When an opportunity (of casual labor) presents itself, normally during morning hours, my spirit gets ignited knowing that I will be able to put food on the table. Therefore, the happiest part of my day is in the morning.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Fear of not being able to be the man I want to be; the man who provides, is the biggest hardship I have faced in life. Fear of having to lean on others financially, going around seeking financial support. Fear that other villagers, if this state goes on for too long, people might start seeing me in a different prism. All these fear have been brought about by financial inadequacies. The casual labor I do is unsustainable because of the village setup we are in. There is no casual job that one gets and or offers because of hard economic times.