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Newsfeed > Ketwony's Profile
Ketwony's family
Ketwony
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Casual labor
faceAge:
29
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($455 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?
My new goal was to buy a cow because I come from a humble background where we don’t own any livestock. I married my wife without paying a dowry because I had nothing. I have since hoped to own livestock, which will enable me to pay her dowry someday. Getting these funds has enabled me to at least buy a cow, which is the beginning of my plan to have livestock.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly is done well because I had nothing. I am a proud owner of two cows and my neighbors as well have either bought cattle like I did or built their homes, which is improving our lifestyle here in the village. I would not want GiveDirectly to do anything differently.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent my recent transfer of KES 25,000 to buy a calf because my plan is to keep livestock, keeping in mind the dowry payment expected from me. I found it fair to buy a calf and keep it together with the cow I bought with my first transfer as an investment. I also used KES 20,000 to improvise my home by buying new furniture, because since I moved in with my wife, we have not had the pleasure of enjoying our living room with furniture. The remaining cash was spent on planting beans on my small farm because it is the planting season and on brand new clothes for my family.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($485 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
attach_money
 
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I received the money at around 11:00 pm when I had already retired to bed. I felt so happy as I woke up my wife to share the good news with her. I was so anxious and couldn't wait for the next day to go and withdraw the money and spend it as per what we had l is planned. I had one Mpesa agent in mind whom I trusted with the withdrawal of my money. I called him that same night and informed him that I had withdrawn all the money and that I was going to pick them the following day. I chose to withdraw there and then to avoid too much wastage and save on time as well. I had never received such a huge amount of money before in my life and for a moment I couldn't belive it was actually happening to us. I felt so happy that my young family of 1 was going to be stable going forward.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
GiveDirectly came in to help me fully settle down with my family. We feel so happy as a family that we have been able to meet our needs that would have had to halt a little longer had we not received them. Life for us has not been the best one since we got married in the year 2020. I have had to struggle to to make ends meet even with only one child to take care of. There was a time we chose to travel away from home to my sisters place thinking that we could be able to get a better life there. Things were no different and we chose to come back home. Right now I am happy that I have been able to settle my family, planted crops in my farm and most importantly bough t a dairy cow that is going to sustain my family. I feel this has been the greatest difference in my life.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used KES 35000 to buy a dairy cow. In my community starting a family without having a single livestock like dairy cow to meet the protein needs of a new born as well as selling the produce to meet other needs one is considered a failure and life for them is normally hard. It was no different for me. I had felt the pain of buying milk and other needs while the source of income was only casual work within the village which was sometimes hard to get as well. The dairy cow bought has brought a ray of hope for my family and I am looking forward to April when we shall be able to start milking and cut a lot of costs. Considering that we were a young family we chose to buy some of the needs that we did not have as a family among them being blankets, bed and other basic household needs. The money has made me have a sense of responsibility as the head of the household.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am passionate about doing business. Some years back I was employed by my grandfather to assist him in taking cows to the market for sale. I loved seeing him doing the business as he made a good profit. Since then I have been wishing to start the same business of my own. I need a capital of around KES 40000 to start the business. Two calves will kick me off, each costing KES 20000. The remaining amount I will spend on buying new clothes for my wife and child since their clothes are now old and torn. I will also buy them food and certified seed for planting.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Six months ago we were blessed with a baby girl. As a first-time parent, this brought joy and happiness as it motivated me to work hard to meet all their needs.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge is financial constraints. I am a casual laborer weeding people's farms where I get paid KES 200 per day. This money ends up in purchasing other household needs hence I remain with nothing more to save up to start up my business. This has demotivated me as I have always wanted a better future for my family. I was expecting the business to be a good source of income.