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
53200 KES ($484 USD)
access_time over 2 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 now very different since our living conditions have changed greatly. Now I can proudly call myself a farmer since I have some animals in my homestead that will help me more so financially in future. I am not stressed like before but rather very happy and always looking forward for a new day since I have the motivation to wake up and work hard on what I have achieved.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly through this unconditional transfers has raised my living standards and brought happiness to me and my family. The option of me spending the money the way I want was the best since I a lone knows where the hurts more. I am yet to see their bad side but for now, they are the best.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent my transfer in buying a cow and some goats because I didn't have any of it. This animals will help in income generation when I start selling the milk from them. They will support my family nutritiously since they will have enough milk to drink and it will enable me save the cash I used to buy it with.. I will also sell their offsprings later when need like school fees arises for my children.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($508 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
At the moment I received my first transfer, I was alone in the house. I first treated it as a normal notification when I first heard the phone ring. On checking it later, I was shocked and could not easily believe that such an amount was finally in my account. It took me a full day thinking of how best I will spend the money but first I had to at least confirm with my neighbors whether they had received the same fortune.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the purchase of three sheep. This investment in livestock was one of the greatest plans I had on receiving the transfer. This will see me through payment of school fees in the future as I will be able to sell towards raising of school fees for my kids.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent the first 10500KES of the first transfer on obtaining a new piece of furniture for my new house that I had just completed constructing when I received my first transfer. I also bought two sheep worth 10000KES, foodstuff with 9000KES of the remaining amount, and also paid school fees with 5000KES for my children who are still schooling,
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have two kids who are still studying. One is in a local poly technic pursuing engineering while the other one is in college pursuing an agricultural course. The former is in his first year while the latter is in his last academic year. I usually pay a combined 60,000 shillings per annum as school fees for each academic year. Raising this amount has not been easy since I do not have a reliable source of income. Receiving this money will bring a sire of relief as I will be able to clear the outstanding fee balances amounting to 70,000 shillings.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Being a housewife, my usual day entails doing household chores for the better part of the day. The happiest part of my day is in the morning when I wake up feeling healthy and energized. This will mean that I will be able to carry on with my usual duties without any health setback.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Educating my kids has been my top most position in life. All of my seven kids have been able to finish primary education. Two of them managed to finish their secondary level and proceeded to college. For the rest, they enrolled to youth poly technic courses and gained valuable skills. Paying for their school fees has been an uphill task for me. My husband is a casual labourer(a cook) at a nearby local secondary school while myself, I am a housewife. The little pay my husband gets is hardly enough to cater for all the basic needs including education costs. As a result, we have sold some of our limited resources like livestock to cater for these costs. My inability to help my husband in settling these costs sums up the biggest hardship I have ever experienced.
