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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 > Sharon's Profile
Sharon's family
Sharon
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
faceAge:
32
workCampaign
Standard Kenya
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($525 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Before my husband would borrow a loan at times to sustain the business during hard times. Now we are so happy that he has enough capital to run the livestock trading business with less struggle. All the profit he makes we spent on buying food, paying school fees and to cater to other family necessities which we couldn't afford before.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
At my age, I had never seen such an organization like Give Directly which has a mission to change livelihoods of the poor. They did amazing work by enrolling everyone in our village. which has seen the lives of the residence improve to another level. Ther is none which I can say Give Directly didn't do well as their operations are very transparent.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
My husband has been carrying out livestock trading business which has been helping us to meet our daily needs. Previously, he would be forced to spend part of his capital to meet family needs and would make him secure loans. When we got our second transfers, we only spend KES 10000 to buy a heifer and the rest of the money as capital for what he does. Now we have seen good income as the profit he makes he spend on buying us food and paying school fees for the children.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($529 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that we have boosted our business that we were doing before we received the money. My spouse used to borrow money from friends and relatives to conduct his business of buying cows and selling at the market at a slightly higher price to earn a profit to support our family in meeting the basic needs. This activity was not easy because sometimes there were no profits and sometimes he could not get the money from friends. Lack of capital in any other business can stop the continuity of that project. Sometimes there were losses and my spouse could get a lot of pressure from the relatives who he had borrowed the money from and this was stressing us all as a family. Currently, my spouse is at peace of mind and his business is doing great he no longer gets pressure and all the profits that he gets from the business are not shared among the friends like before. We have started some saving culture to gather for the emergency and school fees for our children. We are so happy because our living standard has changed compared to the previous one that we had.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy when I received money from GiveDirectly. I had never received such an amount of money before in my entire life let alone the fact that I did not have to pay back. I remember very well early in the morning that day when I checked my phone like I usually did every morning. I could not believe that I had indeed received a sum of KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I shared the good news with my spouse and children and they were equally happy to hear this. We knew that this money was going to change our living standards in a very special way.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent part of my first transfer to buy a heifer, clothes and food for the family. The remaining amount was used to boost my spouse's business of selling cows. This was in a bid to try and increase the income that we get as a family and improve our living standards out of this.
 
Enrolled
access_time almost 5 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means that i will be able to add one dairy cow to my farm, since i know the benefits i will get upon selling milk from the experience i have with the one i currently own. I also intend to buy some sheep to rear in my farm. My children have not started attending school yet and so by the time my sheep start multiplying, it will ease the burden of paying school fees
What is the happiest part of your day?
I usually spend my mornings and afternoons weeding some vegetables, beans and maize in my farm till evening when i head back home carrying some vegetables for the evening meal. This is also the time my children arrive home from school and my husband is back from work with some maize flour and other food for the family. I consider evening the happiest part of my day since its time for reunion with my family after a long day of being apart
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Having being employed as a motorcycle rider, my spouse earns close to ksh 200 per day which is barely enough to adequately provide for our family. All this money ends up in buying our daily food and the little amount he saves goes to paying school fees for our four children in primary school. We have some goals in life such as building an iron roofed house, starting up a business among other which we got no hopes of ever achieving now that we lack finances to support us in doing so