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.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal is to save towards buying a chaff cutter and to build a small dairy unit for the cows that I have. I will be transitioning into a semi zero-grazing system from the current which I believe will improve milk production.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I bought a water tank. I am using this tank to collect rainwater on my roof for domestic use. Before this, I used to have my family members making trips down a steep hill to the spring to fetch it. I was time-consuming and also strenuous. Everyone in my family is happy that we now have water right in the compound.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect to have changed my mode of livestock keeping to a semi zero-grazing system. I will have used the money from GiveDireclty to buy a chaff cutter and to build a dairy unit where the cows will be feeding in. I will also buy troughs for watering. I then will be earning a daily income as well as being busy at home with work to do. this will supplement my difficult hustle from the livestock trade. Milk production will go up and this means that I will not have to rely on the unpredictable marketing of cattle in livestock actions during market days.
24th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
In the next four months, my goal is to have a chaff cutter as well as build a dairy shed. This is in a bid to improve my dairy keeping business and increase the level of income for my family and ultimately bring about change in our living standards. I have always been passionate about dairy farming and I am looking forward to better days ahead doing what I love most.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my daily life that has occurred over the last four months is my children whom I was able to transfer from private school to a public school. This was made possible through the GiveDirectly transfers that empowered me to be able to pay their school fees and give them the best education, something that has always been my dream. Through the monthly merry go rounds, I have also been able to build a brand new house and made my family happy.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I expect my life to change in that I shall be more financially independent than now. This shall be possible more especially when my dairy keeping project shall have picked and it would mean more income for the family as well as more investments going forward.
20th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time 5 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Comparing my life currently and in the past four months, there is a really big difference. I have a cow which I purchased, bought a large water tank and a small one which I have been using to store clean water for drinking and also transferred my child from a public primary school to a private school. Apart from all that, my duty to avail food for the family has been so easy since my wife stepped in last month and took charge in ensuring that she avails most of the required goods in the household.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
There is only one additional goal that I want to achieve in the next four months. This additional goal is to improve my dairy farming. I plan to do this by constructing a dairy shed and obtaining a chaff cutter which would ease my feeding process and increase milk production which would translate to more income from my dairy farming.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my daily life for the past four months is the cow which I purchased after I received the contribution from the table banking which I joined. For a long time, I have been buying milk and this was quite expensive in the long run. It is for this reason that I really saw the need to buy a dairy cow. I was, however, unable to accomplish this due to my limited source of income. When I started receiving these transfers, I joined a table banking group and through this, I have been able to buy a dairy cow. I can now return the one belonging to a neighbor having obtained one of our own courtesy of GiveDirectly transfers.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
With my current plan to purchase and install a chaff cutter in my dairy shed, I am expecting that the whole process will be done within the next six months. I have put this as a priority since for the last few months, I have been having a great challenge in the preparation of the cow feeds every morning. The whole process has been taking much of my time. This machine will simplify the hard work I have been doing and at least spare me some time to work on other ongoing projects in our household.
16th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life is different from how it was four months ago because I was able to buy a water tank. It is big enough to store rainwater up to the next rainy season. This means I will no longer go without water. This will save me from going long distances in search of water, hence saving time to do other constructional duties. I also no longer overwork my self with casual jobs but concentrate more on my own farm and I feel I am more stable financially courtesy of Give Directly.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
Since I have the means to boost my capital, I am planning to put a zero grazing unit and plant more feeds for my cows. This is like my investment such that even after Give Directly have finished their program I will continue earning. Milk is a valued commodity in this village, therefore, the chances or of it doing well is high.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I was able to move my children from public primary school to a private school. Learning in public school does not give attention to individual learners unlike in private schools. I have always wished to give quality education to my children and when I got the means to do that, I did not hesitate. I always believe the best inheritance I can give to them is access to the best education because no one will ever rob the knowledge from them. I thank Give Directly for helping me to achieve this goal.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My expectation in the near future is to ensure that I invest more so that I will be able to educate my children in even better schools. If possible, cater for their school fees comfortably even when they join college. I am hopeful that I will never disappoint them as a parent by not having enough resources for them for their education.
12th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time almost 6 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life is currently different from how it was four months ago in that my family has enough time to do various activities unlike before where they could waste much time looking for water. We have clean water as a family and also my neighbors benefit from this project. This has really changed our lives.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goals for my life for the next four months is to buy the building materials to build a better house for my family. Currently, we live in a small mud house which is not so conducive and cannot host all my family members comfortably.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer is that I have bought a water tank for storing clean water for family use. My children and spouse could walk for a long distance to look for clean water and this was so tedious and time-consuming and because the whole community was using the river the water was becoming less and dirty. Nowadays, I have clean water and my family are no longer walking for a long distance. My spouse has enough time to work in her farms and this has led to good harvest unlike before. My children also have enough time to complete their assignment on time, before they could not get time for that. I am so grateful for the support it has really changed our lives.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to change in the next six months in that I will have completed building a bricks house. My family will have a good house to sleep and reduce the tedious work of smearing a mud house like what they are doing now.
5th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 6 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life currently has really changed in that I have a large water tank and it has really saved us a lot of time to do other activities , we have running projects which we never had before and even paying of school fees for my children is no longer as hard as in the past few months.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I have a new goal to start a poultry farming which at the moment I am planning to obtain a chain link so that I may start constructing a poultry house.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my life is that the search for water which we used to fetch from a distance common source has stopped. We now have plenty of water at the doorstep since I bought a large water tank immediately after receiving the contribution from the group members in the merry-go round I joined when the GD transfers came.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect to see my poultry farming fully established in the next six months. This is the project I am concentrating on currently and I am sure it will work out as expected since I have a friend who has a fully established poultry farming and he is really willing to guide me over it.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time almost 7 years ago
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Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
I have now enrolled my child in an academy and hoping to see him through.
I also plan to set up poultry farming.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I didn't have a cow and now i have bought one. I have also enrolled my child in an academy.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months i would have bought a machine in livestock farm and also grow more grass.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I bought a cow and and now i can get income from selling milk and get also for home consumption.
Enrolled
access_time almost 7 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The greatest hardship is source of capital for my business. Am starting up business of buying and selling cows which needs a bigger capital.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My happiest part of my day is in the evening when i sit with my family and we share a meal together.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
Am planning to save up the transfer for the first six months then buy a cow, then save up again for another six months, resell the cow i had bought, combine the money from the sale of the cow, with the transfer then buy a bigger dairy cow.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
Am proud that i have been able to buy one cow which is giving us milk.