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Enrollment
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Completed
Newsfeed > Samwel's Profile
Samwel's family
Samwel
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
faceAge:
59
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
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My new goal is to construct a poultry unit. I would like to start rearing the chickens so that they can help me in getting more income that I can use in paying school fees for my two children who are in secondary school.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well by advising us to plan on how we were going to spend our transfer before receiving it. We also like the fact that they ran the program independently and that they did not affiliate themselves with the government. If this was so, we would not have received the money as planned.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent the second transfer on paying school fees for my two boys who are in secondary schools. I paid KES 10000 in one school and on the other I paid KES 8000. I managed to clear their school fees for the term and hence I no longer owe the schools anything. My children have hence not been sent home due to arrears. Getting money for paying school fees has always been my biggest challenge since I do not have a stable source of income. I usually go out to Kericho county to look for casual work of plucking tea to earn a living. The little money that I get paid at the end of the month is only enough to buy food and a little goes to school fee payment. Apart from that, I also bought school uniforms for them where I spent a total of KES 16000. I also tilled my land and I bought seeds and fertilizer for planting. I have, however, not planted because I am still waiting for the rains. With the remaining amount of money, I used it in buying two bags of maize for our consumption. We usually incur the cost of buying maize almost daily since the maize usually does not do well in our area. So when we got the transfer, I saw it best to buy the two bags so that they can last us for a while. All these were only possible due to the help from GiveDirectly and hence I am so much grateful to them for everything.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($493 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was morning hours, my wife and I were busy on the farm weeding when I suddenly heard my phone ringing to notify me of an incoming message. I stopped to check it and to my surprise, I found out that it was an SMS telling me that I had received the transfer of KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I was so happy that I couldn't hide my joy, I showed my wife the SMS. She was so happy to hear the good news and we celebrated for a while before we embarked on the job that we were doing.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference that the transfer has brought into our lives is that my two children who are in secondary school are happy. This is because they can now study well without troubling themselves thinking that they are going to be sent home anytime due to arrears. The transfer also enabled us to buy some food and some furniture because we didn't have any. We hence no longer go hungry and when guests visit, they at least have something to sit on. All these have only been possible with the help that GiveDirectly has given us. I am so grateful for this, may God bless you.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent most of the money on paying school fees for my two children who are in secondary school. I had not cleared their fees due to lack of money and as a result, they had faced many challenges of being sent home from time to time due to the arrears. I no longer had peace of mind and didn't know what to do because I do don't have a stable source of income. I usually go looking for casual labor of plucking tea in those parts of Kericho county where they grow tea. The income that I get from there, is not usually enough to cater to all needs of my family. I, therefore, thank Givedirectly a lot for the help that they have given unto us.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
When I get this money I will buy a dairy cow. I used to have cows but my son got sick and I had to sell them to pay for his treatment. His sickness deprived us of all the investment we had made though we thank God for healing him. A good dairy cow will cost around KES 30000. I also need to buy sheeps, so that I will sell them in future to pay school fees for my children. 2 sheep each costing KES 4500 is good to start with. The remaining amount I will use to pay school fee for my children.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the evening. This is the time I eat dinner with my family. It brings joy to me knowing they got something to eat.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship was when my son got sick. He was paralysed for very long time and I had to take care of him not mentioning the number of hospitals we visited. We spent all our savings for his treatment.He is now fine and he is even independent but we are still struggling to get money for our needs.