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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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Completed
Newsfeed > Chepkoech's Profile
Chepkoech's family
Chepkoech
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Teaching
faceAge:
23
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($440 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I have no new goal at this time. I intend to focus on saving some money from the work that I do as a primary school teacher. This will enable us to start building a better and more spacious house on the land that we had bought earlier. We will move with my family and start a new life there.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
The majority of the people in the village spent their transfer on building a better and more spacious house. This is because most of them had small houses and they wished to upgrade to much better ones while others started dairy-keeping projects. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 52,850 on the purchase of building materials. This includes the iron sheets, nails, and timber among other materials that are needed for construction. I am planning on building a better and more spacious house on the land that we had bought earlier. We live in a small house with my family. We are three members of the family and the house cannot host all of us comfortably. I had always wished to own a spacious house but this was not possible because I do not have enough money. I am a primary school teacher and my salary is small. The money that I would get is only for basic household needs. I had no extra money to buy the building materials. Currently, I am so happy because I have all the materials in place yet to start the construction of the new house. The remaining amount of money I spent on food, clothes and household items that we were missing. I am so grateful because GiveDirectly has enabled us to achieve our dreams.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($471 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was almost 8 am and I was at home preparing breakfast for my family when suddenly I heard my phone ringing notifying me of a new message. I didn't check my phone to see what it was all about immediately, I went on with some of the household chores that I was doing, and then I decided to check it after a few minutes. I was so surprised when I found out that the SMS was indicating that I had received KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I was so happy that I immediately called my husband who was at work and I told him about the good news. He was so happy too and we thanked God for everything.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer has brought a big difference in our lives as a family. This is because with having bought the cow, we no longer incur the cost of buying milk every day. The daily budget cost has thus been reduced and we have managed to save some of the money for making other developments. Thank you so much GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent our entire recent transfer on buying a cow. We decided to buy the cow because we didn't have one to provide us with milk for our consumption. We have hence been incurring the cost of buying some, where we mostly buy a liter of milk at KES 50. It has also always been our wish to own a cow but due to financial constraints, we were not in a position to buy one. I am casually employed as a pre-primary school teacher while my husband is also casually employed at a shop in another town. The money that we make is not that much hence most of it usually goes to the purchase of food and essential household items such as sugar, soap, etc. We are hence so much grateful to GiveDirectly for enabling us to achieve our dream.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means access to clean and safe water. Our area is prone to drought and our source of water is from the dam 1 kilometer away. It is usually tiresome to carry water enough for household use and besides the water is dirty and not safe for drinking. So when I receive this transfer I will spend KES 35000 of my transfer to purchase 5000 liters water tank. I will then harvest rainwater from my house and the remaining amount I will purchase a dairy cow.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Three months ago I was employed as a teacher in a nearby school. My pay is not much but I no longer have to depend on my husband but rather co-share in meeting our basic needs. This has brought joy and happiness into my life.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge is access to clean water. In our area, we have water scarcity and our water source is the dam 1 kilometer away however the dam is used by several people from my village, and sometimes it is depleted. Water from the dam is not safe for drinking since we share the same dam with livestock however, they do not have designated place for them to drink water. Therefore the water gets dirty due to livestock getting into the dam to drink water.