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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.
Stages:
 
Enrollment
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Transfers
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Completed
Newsfeed > Isaiah's Profile
Isaiah's family
Isaiah
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
faceAge:
22
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($431 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?
I am looking forward to graduate in may this year and look for a job. Hopefully, I will get a job and I will be able to get some income and buy a land for farming and for building home for my family since I live on my fathers land now.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, I will propose that GiveDirectly enrolls young youth who do not have families and lives by their own. This is because, they also need to uplift their lives because they are no longer dependent on their parents whom they perhaps share kitchen and meals with. However, you have done a great job in terns of uplifting poor communities .
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Juggling between paying my collage fees and providing for my young family has not been an easy task because I don't have a reliable job and I depend on casual jobs. When I was enrolled in the program I felt a bit relieved because I knew I would pay school fees arrears and buy dairy cows. With my second transfer, I spend $200 to buy a dairy calf and the balance to clear my fees arrears. I will be graduating soon and looking back, I would not have graduated were it not for the transfers because I had huge fees arrears.
 
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?
On receiving the first transfer from GiveDirectly, I was filled with happiness. I was at the shopping center at that moment and had to inform my wife through a text message. I was glad that the money came when I had been expecting after almost everyone had received it within the village. Despite the delay, I hoped it will finally come. After anxiously waiting for two days, I received that message with excitement. I could not withdraw immediately but a week later, I collected from the nearest shopping center since everything had been aligned.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the renewed relationship with my in-laws after paying the part of the dowry that they have been expecting since I brought my wife home. I am grateful that after their long patience, GiveDirectly came in with the support that allowed me to make that payment after buying two heifers.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Spending the first transfer was so smooth for my family after taking an entire week laying down plans and making priorities on the allocation of the full amount. When I finally withdrew, I spent KES 28600 on obtaining two heifers that I drove with the help of two elderly neighbors to my in-laws to settle part of my wife's dowry. Since we got married, I had been struggling a lot to raise some money to pay but had never been easy because of other pressing obligations within the household. I am glad that they received the two heifers with thanks and wished me well as I work towards the completion of payment in the future. In addition, I cleared school fees worth KES 21000 for my wife, who is currently pursuing a technical course in fashions and design that we hope will equip her with enough skills to start her own business right after completion. I spent the remaining KES 5000 on buying clothes and enough foodstuff for my family of three.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
As a young married man, I have been much struggling to provide food, clothing,shelter to both my wife and my one year old son. After passing on of my mother in the year 2014 I and my aging father were left as the caretakers of young siblings. It has been a long and paining experience to make sure that they attend school and grow healthy. Receiving this transfer will ease my burden and allow me focus on my wife and son's welfare. It will be the genisis of furthering my education in building and construction engineering. I dropped out immediately after a one year enrollment due to financial constraints.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My salary was increased from KES 5000 to KES 7000 per month.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Currently I cannot afford to provide better housing and healthy feeding to my young family. Food prices have been highly inflated to the extent that, the amount I earn from tuition teaching cannot even sustain a half of my daily KES 300 household expenditure.