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.
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($491 USD)
access_time over 3 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 different than how it would have been had I not received the transfer. This is because I now have assets like dairy cow that have been able to acquire using my transfers. It had always been my prayer to expand my dairy project by buying more cows but had not been able to. This is because whenever I got money from my business, I would always channel it on my children's school fees and food.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my own opinion, GiveDirectly does well by helping many people in different ways through cash transfer and I do not see anything that they do not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I received my transfer, I spent KES 20,000 to purchase a heifer. I decided on this as a way of investing GiveDirectly funds. The income from the sale of surplus will also help me in paying school fees for my children. Also, I spent 20,000 to pay school fees for my children who had been sent back home. I used the remaining amount to expand my small business of buying and suplying tobacco to different retailers in different towns. I settled on this so that the profits from this business would increase.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($502 USD)
access_time almost 4 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was at 1pm and had just arrived from a short journey and was herding my cow when I was tod that my phone was ringing. On receiving, it was a neighbour asking if I had received the transfer and I told them that I had not. This got me worried but amidst all the questions on why I had not received the transfer message, my phone beeped and it was the MPESA message I thought I had missed. I was very excited and I immediately called the same neighbour to let them know that I had received the cash. Many thanks to GiveDirectly.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest differencee is that I got to send my children to school without selling a cow that I had planned to sell to offset school fees. I was also able to buy three bags of maize for use as food and this will take us a long way as I keep looking for more money to stock more food. My happiness is that I can still own my cow and have my children in school.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I bought maize seeds and beans seeds, potatoes and 3 bags of maize for food. I bought clothes for my household members and paid school feses for my 3 children who are in secondary school.
Enrolled
access_time almost 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My two children will be sitting their Grade 8 national exams next year and they are very bright students because they have always topped in their class since Grade One. We are very hopeful about them however we do not have electricity in this house and that makes them not to study in the evening. I feel that they can really improve in their studies if they could extend their studies into the night. With these transfers then I will be able to purchase a solar panel, bulbs and a battery for them. I can then be assured that they'll pass well in their exams and this means they'll have a bright future.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is usually in the evening when I am with my family sharing a meal together.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I didn't go to school because my parents were not educated and did not see any value in education. They did not realize that in our generation education would be essential. This has come to affect me greatly now because I cannot sustain the needs of my family especially school fees for my children. This has been the biggest hardship in my life.
