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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 > Rosemary's Profile
Rosemary's family
Rosemary
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Raising livestock
faceAge:
57
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($435 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?
I raise livestock like goats, cows, chicken and sheep to earn a living although in small quantity. In the coming year and beyond, I will be adding more livestock. Since I still have young children in Primary School, I will be practising subsistence farming like maize, beans, potatoes, cabbages and onions. I will be selling some of the farm produce to get money for my kids school fees. Currently their performance have been affected by them missing classes due to lack of school fees. I am looking forward to have a long term saving plan which will be catering for the school fees till end of college. I will be topping it up with the profits from the groceries shop which I have been running since I got my last transfers.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, what GiveDirectly does well in this program is that we receive the transfers in lumpsum amounts. This helps in planning as one is in a position to do something huge as compared to when the transfers are given in small instalments. Another thing that GiveDirectly does well is that the unlearned recipients are taught how to use mpesa. This has reduced the number of theft cases in the community as most of us managed to change our pins to a more secure code. Giving out unconditional transfers without any restrictions is also a good idea since the community members have different needs depending on various sources of income. To avoid household conflict, what needs to be done differently is enrolling all the individuals in the household. During enrollment, those individuals who did not have responsibilities by then were left out of the program yet these are the same people who steal from their old and vulnerable parents. Another thing that needs to be done differently is enrolling all the communities in a specific village for uniformity purposes and this will prevent too many complaints coming from the communities that are left out during the registration to the programs.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
-I am a parent of three boys who are still in Primary school, they are in classes two, four and five. Before the GiveDirectly transfers, I never had any stable source of income and providing for my family had been the most difficult task I have ever faced. I used the whole of transfer of kshs 53,000 to purchase a power saw for my business. Before I bought the machine I used to hire it from someone else and this was quite expensive as I remained with very little money for my family's basic needs like food, clothing and education.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($466 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I had left my phone charging in the house. When I went back to get it, there was a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and immediately informed my spouse who was at home. We all celebrated as a family. It was one of the happiest days of our lives. We wen to withdraw the money after two days. We had enough time to plan for it. We knew we would be able to purchase a shaft cutter machine. This would help us on cuttings the Napier grass for our cows.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Purchasing a shaft cutter machine is the biggest difference in my daily life. This was our priority since we do have dairy keeping project. We used to spent much time on cutting the napier grass. I had always wished to own a shaft cutter machine but I did not have the money to purchase. When I received the transfer from GiveDirectly I felt so happy and we decided to invest on purchasing it. Currently I have the machine and I spent less time feeding the cows. I have saved much time to do other activities at home. I get the best returns since I am in a position to get the best feeds. I am so grateful because GiveDirectly has enabled me to purchase the machine and eased my work. My workers are not complaining like before. I am so grateful for the support because were it not GiveDirectly all this could not have happened on time.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 28,000 on purchasing a shaft cutter machine. This was our priority since we have dairy keeping project. This has eased our daily work of cutting the Napier grass. I am in a position to save much time on feeding and get a good return. I spent the remaining amount of money on purchasing a chain link wire. I have fenced my farm and this has Prevent the goats and chickens from destroying my crops. I will get a good harvest this season since my crops are not destroyed.
 
Enrolled
access_time 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I had a well-paying job after I completed my degree. I maximized it and made sure that I educated my children well. In the year 2017, I resigned to take care of my youngest child who had a chronic illness. I spend the much I had from my pension on his medication and daily household needs. It was unfortunate that he succumbed to it. I felt bad losing him and being jobless. I ventured into dairy farming to make ends meet. I am thankful that it has picked up and is doing well enough to cater to my needs. This cash means a boost for my farm. I am planning to spend the entire transfer to buy a pure breed of the dairy cow. This is my retirement plan thus having my farm produce a higher liter of milk means I will enjoy my old age. I will use the income to meet household needs and settle any financial crisis arising.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I have learned the hard way that poor health is a source of stress and poor living standards. I had accepted my son's being gifted differently that is why I resigned from my job to take care of him. I felt a lot of pain and was deeply stressed when he succumbed to the disease just two years after I resigned. In the last six months, the good health among my family members has been my greatest joy. It has given me hope for a better life again among my family members.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial constraints are the major challenge I am currently facing. I was lucky that I had a good job but my child's sickness saw that I lost it went bankrupt. I started a dairy farm to help meet my needs. My milk sales of 25 litres a day at KES 40 per liter have made my life easier. Though I enjoy this income, I hardly venture into other activities since it only meets my son's school fees and daily household needs.