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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.
Stages:
 
Enrollment
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Transfers
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Completed
Newsfeed > Norah's Profile
Norah's family
Norah
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
faceAge:
29
workCampaign
Standard Kenya
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($517 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is improved because I have a dairy cow for milk production to use in household consumption. I used to buy milk using my hard-earned money from menial jobs. Sometimes I could not afford to buy it and ends up drinking tea without milk. It was difficult to see my children go to school having taken water, sugar and tea leaves. I am currently expecting the cow to calf. I am so happy that I will soon be having milk from my own farm.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well bur first having a meeting with us to tell us what this aid was all about. It made us aware of the fact that we could spend the money whichever way we would choose in order to get the biggest assistance we needed.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
I spent the money I received on my second on buying a dairy cow. I had been buying milk for consumption. Even this is a heifer, I am hopeful because I know that there is a time when I will be milking on the farm. It is always expensive to keep buying milk for the household. I then paid school fees for my children in a secondary school.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($544 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my life is that I am happy that my son has his own house to study and sleep in. For quite a long time, my son has been sleeping in my neighbor's son's house since we had not built him his own due to financial constraints. Since he had to walk to this house every night, it always troubled that he was exposing himself to insecurity and on top of that he never got ample time to study. I am happy he can now study with less disturbance. I was also able to pay my daughter's high school fees. I solely depended on the proceeds from the sale of milk to pay the fees but it was always barely enough to pay the school fees and still meet other needs. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for giving us a helping hand!
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around six in the morning, I had just woken up and was preparing to cook breakfast for my family. I got a notification that I had a message on my phone and upon checking, I got excited and joyful to see that I had received the transfer that GiveDirectly had promised us. I was so happy!
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent a large portion of the transfer received to build a house for my son. My son has been sleeping in a neighbors house and I thought that it was right to build him his own. I also bought some chicken for rearing using part of the transfers. These will come in handy in the near future to meet the daily needs from the sale of eggs. I used the rest of the transfers to pay my daughter's secondary fees.
 
Enrolled
access_time 5 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My first priority upon receiving this money is to demolish the house i currently live in (made of mud) and build a new one made of timber, now that maintaining this house has become hard since i always have to travel long distance in search of mud to smear the house. This will cost me a total of $400. I then will use $100 to buy barbed wire for fencing and sub dividing my land into paddocks for easy grazing of my livestock. I will use the remaining part of my transfet to pay school fees for my daughter in secondary school
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am always happy in the morning since it is the time my spouse and I go to the farm to cultivate crops. We depend on crop farming to earn a living hence engaging in farm work is what i enjoy most.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My spouse and I are subsistence farmers and the crops we grow include maize and beans. However the greatest challenge we face is poor harvests attributed to soil borne diseases as well as prolonged droughts resulting to poor yields, hence supporting the needs of our family especially school fees for our two children has become an uphill task