GDLive Newsfeed
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 > Mary's Profile
Mary's family
Mary
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Teaching
faceAge:
32
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($428 USD)
access_time 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My main goal is to complete the construction of my houses by the end of this year. A house is good because it will also help me to be remembering Give Directly. I need approximately $500 to achieve this. I was hoping that Give Directly would change their mind and add us more transfers but since it won't happen, I will take a loan from our merry go round group then pay in instalments.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Giving stranger unconditional transfers is the best thing you did. By doing this you ensured that everyone in our village solved their various financial problems. You know different people have different financial needs It makes more sense than deciding to build houses for people yet maybe someone already has a better house, but has a different need. Just continue helping people, economic times are hard out here. Maybe you can just issue phones for free and not deduct their costs from the second transfer.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I'm a primary school teacher and my income is insufficient to cater for all my family's needs. I had bought a piece land and began constructing houses, but this project stopped because I did not have enough money. So when I received this second transfer, I went straight to the hardware and bought the following construction materials; 10 iron sheets worth $96, 85 pieces of wood @ $1, nails worth $15, a bag of cement worth $7 and a steel door worth $100 . I paid $65 for labour and had my 2 houses neatly constructed Before, my children and I used to sleep in a grass thatched one room house, it was too small that it could not accommodate visitors. I'm happy that right now, I can host visitors and have them sleeping comfortably in my new houses. I also spent $300 on 2 heifers, I can't wait to start drinking milk from my own cows. I chose cows because of their many benefits, infact if things become worst, I can resell them at profitable prices.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($471 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
Receiving the transfers from Give Directly was a blessing to myself and my family. I had been struggling financially in terms of paying school fees for my children and buying food. I was so happy the moment I received the mpesa notification, I could not help but to call the hotline number immediately just to pass my gratitude. The transfers has changed my livelihood positively.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life since I received the transfers is that I nolonger get worried during rainy seasons. Before the transfers, I had to move my valuable household items in a certain corner as the house used to leak. Having built another house has restored my peace of mind.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have had a grass thatched house for the past 12 years now since I was married. It has not been in good shape, during the rainy season it leaks. I used part of the transfers of Kshs 30,000 to build a decent three bedroom house. I had a first born son who was to join form one, I used Kshs 20,000 to enroll him into a boarding school, he has been dreaming of a boarding school since he was a teenager. This was a dream come true to my family members. I used the remaining balance of Kshs 5,000 to stock food that lasted us for a whole month.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I want to renovate my House. The roof of my house is leaking and we are expecting heavy rains this month. Receiving this money means I will renovate my house and put an iron sheets roof instead of makuti roof which is leaking. I will start a green grocery shop business with domestic food items. We are away from shops and I believe I will be making alot of profit if I open a shop in our compound. Our compound is big with more than 39 houses and I believe all these people will be my customers because no body will accept to travel along distance to buy goods which are already available in the compound.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I have been paid half salary for the past 1 year because the parents were not paying for their children's school fees because of covid 19 but as from last month, I have been getting my full salary of 6000 KES per month.This brought joy and happiness because I can buy food for my family.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I am a primary school teacher employed by the school body of governors and therefore my salary is very little. My husband has no job and relies on charcoal burning business which is very unstable because there no forest any more because we have exhausted all the trees for charcoal burning. My house is about to fall down, I have no food in the house and now there is no water for drinking in this area.