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
53150 KES ($461 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?
With the expertise I have in greengrocery selling, I have a new goal of starting a new one after closing the one I had a year ago. It was profitable to me and would wish to establish one that would help in settling household bills. The financial constraints that I was struggling with pushed me to use all the running capital I had, and since then I have never been able to pick it up again.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
I am thankful that everyone that was found in the village and visited by the field staff got a chance to be heard, enrolled, and received an equal amount of transfer. GiveDirectly was not biased in their enrollment right from the beginning when they chose the villages to work with. There were no political or religious biases and this encouraged everyone to be part. The current results are amazing. I have no complaint at all but wish GiveDirectly the best as they even move to the next villages.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
On receiving the second transfer, my daughter was planning her wedding, and I had to chip in and support her preparation. She needed to make a lot of purchases, and the visitors who visited needed adequate facilitation in terms of foodstuff and their general wellbeing. Out of the support I had received, I spent approximately KES 20000, and I am glad that the wedding was finally successful. I also obtained a heifer at KES 20000 to add to the lactating dairy cow that I had been rearing. This is a long-term investment that will help me in the future establishment of other income-generating projects. I also obtained clothing for my son, husband, and also mine at a total of KES 8000, and used the remaining on buying foodstuff for my current family of four.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 11pm when I heard a message notification from my phone. I had not gotten some sleep. When I check it out it was a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy because I have never received such amount of money before. It was one of my happiest day. I woke up and immediately informed my family members and everyone celebrated with joy. I felt so happy because I knew I would be able to pay the school fees for my children in various schools. I slept well and in the morning I went to withdrew the money and paid the school fees. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have paid school fees for my son who is in secondary school. My son used to be sent home and this was affecting his performance in school. I used to do village merry go round to ensure that I save some amount for school fees. Sometimes I do causal jobs and this was earning a small income. The money that I used to get was only for household basic needs and save some in merry go round. When it was my turn to receive the money I spent all for school fees. When I received the money from GiveDirectly I felt so happy and immediately felt so relieved. I paid KES 20,000 for school fees for my son. Currently he is studying well without being disturbed. I expect better performance come next results. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has improved our living standards and enable us to pay school fees on time.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I paid KES 20,000 for school fees for my son who is studying in Tenwek high school. This was one of my priorities because I used to struggle so much to ensure that he is in school studying. I bought some mattress, household items for my daughter who joined polytechinc to do a course. The rest of the money I bought food and furnitures. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has enabled me to educate my children.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
We have a son in a national school and it is quite expensive. So when we receive this money we will use it to pay for his school fee. We do not have arrears but for his peace of mind and to concentrate on his studies I would love to clear one academic year. In a year I pay KES 45000. The remaining amount I will spend on other household needs including purchasing food for my household. I had cows that I used to depend on as a source of income but I sold them to pay for my other son's education but by bad luck passed away due to electrocution.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Recently we have witnessed riots in school and my son's school was also affected. They were sent home and were asked to return to school with zero balance. Since it happened unexpectedly and money was needed urgently to repair damages it disturbed me but my elder son and daughter came in handy and cleared all the fee arrears. This brought joy and happiness into my life and the nightmare of finding school fees ended.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge is food insecurity and financial constraint. Nature has not been fair to me, I sold all my cows to pay for school fees for my son who was in university but died due to electrocution. Those cows were our source of income. I am a retired veterinary officer and my pension has been delayed to be released thus complicating everything. I now depend on casual jobs where I am paid KES 300 per day weeding. The money I get is insufficient to meet all our needs like food and education.
