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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 > Saumu's Profile
Saumu's family
Saumu
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Small business
faceAge:
30
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($465 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?
After successfully meeting my most pressing needs which included constructing a house and sorting my children's school fees for the whole year, I now have an additional goal to purchase proper bedding for my children. They currently sleep on a mat which they spread on the floor. Even though I still do not have a reliable source of income but I am planning to raise money from casual work to purchase the bedding since they are not as expensive as their school fees.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, the great work by Indirectly resulted in a huge transformation in our village. Allowing people to decide on how to spend their money was the best idea because it enabled people to meet most of the needs they never imagined they could accomplish. I never knew that I would ever own a house. Sharing the same room with two other co-wives is the most demeaning thing I have ever experienced in life. On the other hand, I have not heard of any complaints about the organization.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My spouse has three wives and each of us has more than five children. We all depend on him, but he also does not have a reliable source of income. This made it challenging for him to meet most of our needs including constructing a house for each of us hence the three of us had to share a house. Our children too owed the school a huge fee balance which subjected them to missing most lessons because on various occasions they would be sent home for school fees. Therefore, I spent 30000 KES on clearing their school fees and even paid enough for the next academic year. I am glad their performance improved at the end of the term. 16000 KES I spent on two goats for rearing with a projection of selling some of their young ones in the future once they will have given birth to help me raise my children's school fees and other household expenses. The remaining 8500 KES I paid for construction labor of a new house since I had bought all the necessary building materials with the first transfer. Owning a house is my greatest pride. I am more independent now that I no longer share a house with my co-wives.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
As I was resting from fetching some water at around 9am, I received a message in my phone. Lucky enough my helper wasn’t far, I contacted him and he checked the message so as to interpret for me. After reading he looked at me and slightly smiled. I involuntarily smiled back too. “You have received the money that you were promised by the people who came and registered you.” He said. My mind reflected back and remembered that, GiveDirectly staff came with this transfer information and I was registered. I jumped up in happiness knowing that some pending issues that I was unable to do them because of money were going to be solved.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The fact of me owning a decent house is was a dream that came true. I really desired to have a nice spacious house but the means of getting it was a puzzle. Thanks to GiveDirectly for fulfilling my dream though the house is still incomplete but I am sure with the second transfer, all is going to work well and my dream will be fully fulfilled.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I withdrew the money, I opted to buy some construction materials so that I build a good new house since the one I had was small and congested. I bought some materials for KES 30000.00. I also bought four goats for KES 12000.00 and paid KES 6000.00 school fees for my children and used the rest in buying some food.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means building a three bedroom house for my family. I have a family of nine members and we are all living in the same one bedroom house. It is not spacious and there is no privacy. I will build a three bedroom house at a cost of KES 90000. I will also use KES 20000 to pay school fees for my children who are in primary school.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My husband is a casual labourer, last month he got a two weeks job which gave him KES 30000. She did shopping for the family and even bought water for the family because there is no clean water in our village due to drought. The shopping done by my husband brought happiness to me.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I have seven children and two are grown up now. We all live in the same one bedroom house.It is very hard for me and my husband to change clothes in the house after taking bath thus we do change clothes outside the house. So lack of spacious house is the current challenge I am facing.