GDLive Newsfeed
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
attach_money
 
Transfers
check
Completed
Newsfeed > Lina's Profile
Lina's family
Lina
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
faceAge:
47
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($467 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
check
 
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Our new goal is to cement the floor of the house that we are living in. We want to do so because getting good mud for mudding the floor has become quite a challenge. It is no longer easily available, one hence has to go very far to get it. Cementing the floor will thus make our work easier and we will be able to save time.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well because they brought a big change in the village through the transfers that they sent to the people. The people were able to make many developments such as building new houses that are roofed with iron sheets, they bought livestock and some paid school fees for their children. I would like to hence urge them to continue with the good work of helping the needy.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent the recent transfer money on building another house. We spent KES 18000 buying iron sheets, KES 7000 buying trees, and we used another KES 5000 on labor costs. We decided to build another house because we use to live in only one house. The children lacked a conducive place to study from in the evening when I am preparing supper due to the smoke. We were not in a position to build another house before because we did not have the money. We do not have stable sources of income, we usually depend on casual jobs of farming to get money for upkeep and for paying school fees for the children. We use to have a lot of children that were in school, but we are grateful because two of them have already completed their secondary education. We still have one in secondary school and the other three are in primary school. We are thus happy because we were able to complete building the house and they hence have a nice place to study from. We also spent KES 10000 on paying school fees for our child who is in his final year of study in secondary school. We managed to clear the balance that we were still owing the school for the academic year. We are happy that our child has had ample time to study without worrying that he is going to be sent home due to arrears. We bought food with the remaining money. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for the support.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($497 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
attach_money
 
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was still early in the morning when I heard my phone vibrating loudly and on reading it, I was overjoyed to know that I had received money from Segovia Technology. I immediately reached out to my husband and informed him of the good news that I had received and he was equally happy. We all celebrated throughout the day with endless touches of laughter and stories on how our lives would change. I am grateful to have received the support that brought so much joy and happiness to our lives and that of my neighbors.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life now is that I have managed to buy a dairy cow for my family with my transfer and unlike before where buying milk was my norm, we now have enough for our consumption and this has enabled us to save some money. In addition to this, I was able to stock adequate foodstuffs that would last my family for a while and due to this, my children will no longer go to bed on their empty stomachs. GiveDirectly allowed us to change our lives for the better by giving us unconditional cash and we are happy and grateful for that.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 30000 from my transfer to buy a dairy cow after using KES 3000 to repay my mshwari loan and I am grateful to GiveDirectly for enabling me to achieve this. We settled on this as a family since buying milk has been our norm and due to this, we usually end up spending KES 50 daily on them. As a casual laborer doing any available casual work in the neighborhood, this is expensive to me as I usually earn around KES 300 which is to be used in buying all the foodstuffs for my family. In addition to this, I used KES 1950 to buy three plastic chairs since they are portable and one can sit on them comfortably when outside the house, spent KES 1750 on a Skyplast for water storage purposes and KES 6000 on new clothes for my children. Using the remaining amount, I bought one sack of maize and other foodstuffs using KES 8000 and saved KES 2000 for emergency purposes.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money would mean a better house for my family at the moment I stay in grass touched house and made of mud walls and when it rains the roof leaks, mud keep falling off making it very cold at night for my children. I also spend a lot of time repairing the walls and roofing.I will therefore spend ksh 50,000 to build a 24 iron sheet roof house for the family. The remaining amount I will buy a Dairy cow Worth ksh 40,000 and foodstuffs for the family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My happiest part of the day is in the evening when Iam done with household chores . I take time to rest and get ready for the next day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Extended period of drought and lack of a constant source of income has been the biggest hardship in my life. I do casual jobs in order to get something to eat since we cannot plant and havest successful hence we have to struggle inorder to sustain the family.