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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 > Mary's Profile
Mary's family
Mary
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Security (works for others)
faceAge:
29
workCampaign
FSD / Urban Youth
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
3rd Payment
Transfer Amount
50000 KES ($495 USD)
access_time almost 5 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 currently different from the way it would have been had I not received the transfer in that I'm proud and happy my mum now has a home and a cow. I did not have any form of investment because I did not have any stable source of income. When I received the money, I decided to put up a house for my mother who had struggled to raise us and this was one of the ways I promised to support her. I did not like seeing her put up in a rental house with her small income. She could not invest because most of her income was channeled in paying monthly house rent. I felt its time she moved on and live a decent life with her little income and this was the only way to achieve it.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life?
I have an additional goal of saving some money and purchase a piece of land where I'll construct a home because I'm a single mum with two children. I did not inherit any land from my parents nor my in-law's parents but I would want to continue living in a rental house but use the money for paying rent for other urgent and pressing needs such as school fees and savings for an investment for my children. I would want them to have a better future than mine. (edited)
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Ever since I was born we have been staying in a rental house because my mum didn't have a house. I used the previous transfers to construct for her house by buying building materials such as iron sheets, timber, and nails but I didn't manage to plaster it. So I used a larger portion of the last transfer to plaster her a house because my mum is aged and she can't manage to smear the house as regular as she would want to. Part of the money I used to purchase my mum a cow so that when she relocates home she'll have something to keep her busy. A portion of the money I used to clear the hospital bills for my late nephew who had been admitted at the time I received the transfer.
 
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
36800 KES ($368 USD)
access_time 5 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 currently different in that my mother now has a house in her rural home in Khwisero constituency, Kakamega county, and I am able to comfortably feed my sons. My children also have school fees for the whole year and I will not have to worry about them being sent home from school for school fees.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life?
My new goal is to purchase a piece of land in Kakamega county where my sons can settle. I am a single mother of 10 year old male twins. In my culture, my son's will need some grounding in terms of a home which normally should be at their paternal home, but since I am raising my sons on my own without the involvement of their father, I will have to find them a place where they will settle.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent part of my transfers to complete building a house for my mother that I had begun building with my first transfers. My mother is widowed after she lost her husband, who was also my step father. Her house in her rural home in Khwisero constituency in Kakamega county had collapsed and she did not have a place to stay. I felt it would be in order to restore my mother's dignity and bring honor to her home by assisting her to build another house. I also spent part of the transfers to assist my bother to pay for the medical bill of his 12 year old son, who has been hospitalized at the Kenyatta National Hospital since mid January of this year, 2019. We have never been given a comprehensive diagnosis of my nephew's illness. He is not able to breathe on his own and has to depend on oxygen therapy since he was first hospitalized. I assisted my brother as he has been struggling to raise the medical bill.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
20000 KES ($195 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
So far I have only managed to purchase some of the required building materials that I will use to construct my mother a house. I plan to use the next transfer to purchase the remaining materials and pay for the construction expenses. Once my mother has been relocated home, I will also use part of the money to open her a business where she can earn her own income. I will also buy her livestock such as chicken and a dairy cow to provide her with milk for personal use and for sale.Whatever is left will be used to pay for my children's school fees.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I have managed to purchase building materials which without GD I would not have managed to afford due to little income. This has reduced my stress because I know that soon,my burden will be greatly reduced.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My mother has been living in Nairobi for as long as I can remember. She has been depending on casual domestic jobs for all those years, but she recently developed a heart condition that does not allow her to work anymore. This has really placed a huge burden on my shoulder as I have to take care of all her needs including her rent and personal needs. To ease this burden, I decided to use the whole amount I received to purchase building materials which I will use to construct her a semi-permanent house back at home so that she can permanently relocate there.
Describe the moment when you started receiving transfers. How did you feel?
The text message came at around 5 am when I was still at work. I was really happy because I knew that God had given me the opportunity to solve all my life problems through GD. I could not wait to get home and share the great news with my mother who will be the greatest beneficiary of these funds as almost all of it will be used in her benefit.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 5 years ago
 
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
I want to start a new business a hotel that will help me reach my daily needs the by land for my kid's because we don't have one and educate my children.
Describe your biggest worry.
My top concern is housing because I have children and I want them to live a good life. Meeting my daily needs is something I am concerned about because my children need to eat and lastly, unemployment because I need a job to sustain myself and my family.
What are your greatest ambitions?
My ambitions is to become a successful business woman so that I can educate and provide for my children. I would want them to live a better life just like the rich kids .
Describe your usual day. How do you spend your time?
I wake up early to prepare my kid's for school and after they leave, I go back to sleep. I wake up then prepare lunch for them. After it is ready I take the food to them to school then come back at home and wait for them to come later from school. Mostly at daytime I sleep because I work at night as a security guard.