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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Newsfeed > Kahaso's Profile
Kahaso's family
Kahaso
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Other
workCampaign
Kenya Basic Income
Upcoming Stage
Next Payment
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Follow to be updated on Kahaso's next check-in.
 
21st Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($22 USD)
access_time 3 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My goal as I said is to build a house for myself. Building is not cheap. It is an expensive affair that would take up a lot of finances. This is especially for roofing. I plan to take out around $60 from my savings and pay a down payment so that the shops can start delivering roofing materials. I plan to continue saving so that I am able to afford building myself a house that would be one worth showing and living in.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I joined a savings group where for the last three months I have made a savings deposit of $30. The $4 left has gone into buying maize flour. I have 10 children, my oldest, a lady, is married but the other 8 stay with me. I have 2 houses for them one for the girls and the other for the boys. I have three boys and 6 girls living with me with my two youngest living with me in my small house. My house has no rooms its a single roomed small house that is not even sufficient for myself. I have this savings up to ensure I achieve my goal of building for myself.
 
18th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 6 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I talked about my children in school but I also have children out of school. I have two of my children who finished form four but cannot join secondary school because I cannot afford to take them to school. I dig up tree stumps and sell in order to make some cash but the money I make from this is not sufficient to pay school fees for all the eight of my children. I hope that as from beginning next year I will have some money to enroll the two into secondary school which ensures that all my children are able to get through school.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I was part of a village that was registered for the Giveidirectly program. Interestingly the schools are also aware of this that a large number of parents are beneficiaries are parents and some are even beneficiaries. So normally toward the end of the month they will chase children home to collect school fee balances to ensure that parents pay their children's school fees since they would mostly have received the money. I am not any different. A big chunk of what we received would be directed to the school. In July I paid $20 for my two secondary school children while $14 went into procuring food. This was similar to August as $10 went to secondary school while $8 went to junior secondary, I also got books for the children in junior secondary. In September I was also able to pay $15 to secondary school and $19 went into buying uniform for those in junior school.
 
14th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($25 USD)
access_time 10 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My hope and plan is to build a house, so I typically invest in cows as a way to save money. Additionally, I want my kids to complete their education and become independent in the future.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My top priority is my children's education, so I used the money I received from GiveDirectly to pay for their school fees. I have four children, two in secondary school and two in primary school. I allocated $30 towards their school fees, ensuring they can continue their education without interruption. With the remaining $4, I purchased food for our family.
 
10th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($28 USD)
access_time 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My short-term goal is to open a grocery shop. With the current drought, not a lot can afford to buy water for irrigation but if I can come up with enough capital and be getting the groceries from the market, the business can flourish.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have been in the charcoal business for the longest. I produce five sacks of charcoal in a week which gives me $22. I spend this money to buy food for the family. But with the prolonged drought that we are currently having it is difficult to find trees. Luckily, my husband is the primary caregiver and he works as a Mansory where he gets $15 a day and mostly helps in paying school fees for my children. I have eight children, six in school, it has been a challenge getting school fees but thanks to GiveDirectly money I was able to enroll my two boys in high school. Currently, we are supposed to pay $70 a term and with GIveDirectly transfer I am confident I will manage to keep my boys in school as I work to get money for other bills in the house.
 
6th Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($25 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The arrival of the transfers were such a huge relief for me especially because my kids had been out of school for almost a fortnight and I was concerned because they were about to sit for exams. Therefore when I got the opportunity to withdraw the funds I went ahead to pay tuition fee for two of my children were in high school which cost me KES 2,000 and then I used the rest of the money which was KES 1,000 to pay more fees for their two siblings in elementary.
 
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($26 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
The staff members from Give Directly were very friendly. This created an environment for me to share information with them. I would like to commend them for the good work they did in our village. I want to urge the organization to increase the monthly stipend so that we can cope with the high prices of the commodities.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Both my husband and I are casual laborers. I make and sell charcoal whereas my husband builds people's houses. Both our earnings are very little owing to our jobs. The charcoal selling business is not doing well because the demand is low, forcing me to sell cheap. My husband does not workdays due to the difficulties in finding houses to build or repair. When I received my transfer, I spent KES 2000 on paying school fees for my seven children who were on the verge of being sent home due to school fees arrears. Six of them are in primary school and cumulatively they owe the school KES 6000. The other is in secondary school and owes the school KES 15000. The fee balances are huge and it is a challenge for both me and my husband to pay due to the low income. Besides paying school fees, I spent KES 1000 to buy food. I did not make any sales, hence I had no money to buy food for my children.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
1200 KES ($10 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
On that day, I stayed the whole day without my phone since it had been taken for charging in the morning by my husband. When he came back home in the evening, I noticed an unusual excitement in him. Before I could ask him about how his day was, he informed me that my transfer was sent. Since we were all sitting together with our children, everyone expressed his/her joy. That was least anticipated since we had missed our meals during the day. The previous night we slept hungry and I was not sure when I would get some money because the charcoal business that I was doing was overflooded thus yielding less than what I expected. Thanks to GiveDirectly for such timely support.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Before I received my first transfer, I did not have any business to run. Instead, I was always focused on charcoal making which was not yielding much because of the low market. Courtesy of the transfer, I started a small business of selling food. This I began with just KES 800. However, I am so excited that from the business, I can always get a profit of about KES 200. Consequently, supporting my family has not become burdensome compared to how it was before.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
In our locality, we have been affected by prolonged drought. This situation has subjected us to famine since food is scarce and its prices are extremely high. As soon as I confirmed my transfer receipt, I opted to buy 3 packets of 2kg maize flour. On that day, we had depleted food we had and I had no money for buying additional foodstuff. I am glad that out of the transfer, I was able to use KES 800 to start up a business dealing with the sale of foodstuff in the nearby market. From this business, I am assured of raising a net profit of KES 200 daily, which is relatively better and can comfortably support my family. Previously, I was relying on making and selling charcoal, a venture that was strenuous and less profitable.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I feel so happy and now I have confidence that my life will completely change, I never expected that give directly will visit my village especially my household that is at the furthest end, I now see my self fulfilling so much I could not do
What is the happiest part of your day?
Despite the hard life, and drought sometimes we spend days without a meal but because no one is sick, it gives me joy that everything will work out for the better.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Paying school fees for my kids has been a headache, I have a daughter in form 1 and have other 1 child in class 8 and two in class 7, and they are on and off from school and it's affecting their performance, but now we plan to put the transfer together and educate our daughter, because all of us as parents never got a chance to go to school and we don't want the same to repeat in our generation.