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.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My life will be different in the next six months in that I will have saved and started a business. I have not decided on the kind of business to do but I am sure I will start a business. I am tired of the struggles I have gone through because I did not have a stable source of income. I have seen the struggles I have gone through and through this chance provided by GD transfers. I want to start a business which will be my main source of income and help me get a stable income to ensure I meet my family needs in time with fewer struggles. I thank GD for opening my eyes.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I have been struggling to pay school fees for my children in the past years because I had a small income from casual work only. Farming was an income but since I used the same plot over the years, its production has reduced much. I have always had to depend on income from casual work. Since there are so many other family demands and needs, I have had to forgo paying school fees for my children so as to ensure I balance the needs. As a result, I had to take my children to a different school because I could not be able to keep up with the school needs of their first school. It was not a wise move for me but I had no option. Since I started receiving these transfers, I have been able to pay school fees arrears for my children on a monthly basis which has made a whole difference in my life. My children attend private schools and I pay for their fees on time. I am glad their performance too, has also increased which really pleases me a lot.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
In the next four months, I plan to buy building materials such as iron sheets, nails and timber which I want to use in building a house. Currently, the one I have is grass thatched which is not in good condition. The roof is leaking and I am also tired of repairing the roof on a monthly basis. Grass too is hard to find nowadays. I would want to handle the issue once and for all by putting up an iron-roofed house. This will save me the resources I use on a monthly basis to repair the house.
18th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time 5 years ago
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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 managed to build a new house in my own compound. I feel it is time that I should have my own home due to my age. My children would require a place to build and they can only build when I have my own home.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I have always depended on a small income from farming and casual work which has never been enough to meet all my needs. I have always struggled to raise money to meet our family needs especially when it comes to paying school fees for my children. Due to many family demands, I have not been able to ensure my children are in school studying. They are always sent home on a monthly basis because I could not pay up the arrears in time as expected. Since I started receiving the transfers, I have been paying their arrears bit by bit on a monthly basis. Right now, I have cleared major part of their fees and they are rarely sent home.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
In the next four months, I wish to buy building materials such as iron sheets, nails, and timber which I will use in building a new house. I am living in a grass thatched house which has been my home for the last two years and I feel it is time to get a new one.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
The difference in my life in the last four months is that I have never failed to get food for my family. I have always used part fo my transfer to buy food in bulk on a monthly basis. This has been very helpful because I don't strain to get food for my family as before the transfers. Income from casual work was not enough to meet all our needs sufficiently as we expected. We would struggle in most cases as we would be forced to miss some meals to accommodate other needs in the family.
16th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time 5 years ago
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How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I want to use the savings to buy building materials to use in building a new house. The one I am currently living in is in a bad condition and buying grass after every six months to renovate the roof is costly. I would rather build a new house once and sort the issue once and for all.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my life since I started receiving these transfers is that I was able to plant using hybrid seeds and fertilizer on my farm. I had desired to plant using the inputs but because I did not have the resources to buy them, I had to use local seeds without fertilizer. This is because I only depended on income from casual work and sugarcane business which could not provide for all my needs and that of my family. I used to get only a sack when I harvest and it was worrying me. I felt I was working a lot and getting nothing. Therefore when I started using the inputs, my harvest has increased from just a sack to 5 sacks which has really helped. Thanks to Give Directly.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal in the next four months is to start a savings account. I would want to use the savings to buy building materials such as iron sheets, nails, and timber to use in building an iron-roofed house. Right now, I am living in a grass thatched house which is small and costly to maintain by renovating the roof after every six months.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life is different from how it would have been had I not received these transfers four months ago in that my children are not sent home regularly for fees arrears as before. They would be sent home thrice in a term before the transfers because I was not able to keep up with paying for their fees in time. This is because of the low income which could not sustain all our needs. Am glad my children are ever in school now and their performance has really improved as a result of attending classes always.
12th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I hope to get a bumper harvest from my farm in the next six months. With the good seeds and fertilizer that I am planning to use, I know this will be possible. I will then be able to sell some of the farm proceeds and raise enough money to comfortably pay for my children's school fees and save some for my house enlargement plan that I hope to achieve by the end of this year.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
Lately, I have been able to comfortably pay my children's school fees much more ease as compared to how it was a while ago. When we decide to combine our transfers as a family, we are able to pay a larger part of their school fees which in turn ensures that they are not sent out of school.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I am planning to buy quality farm inputs such as fertilizers and hybrid seeds for this coming planting season. This will boost my harvests and therefore increase my earnings that will enable me to reach my goals of taking care of my family as a father.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
All my children are in a private school where I decided to enrol them so that they can get a better education which is not available in the local government school within this village. This, however, comes with a price, the fees is way too expensive which has always been a struggle to raise. This always led to them being sent home most of the time, but lately, this is no longer the case as GD transfers have assisted me with the fee payment and even when they are sent home, they don't stay as long as they did before.
7th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time almost 6 years ago
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How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I expect to have constructed an iron roof house.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my daily life preceding the current transfer is that being a farmer I've been able to buy modern seeds and fertilizer without any challenges.This has resulted to improved production.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
In the next four months, I expect to have started saving some money for purchasing building materials for constructing an iron roof house because currently, I have a grass thatched house which is expensive mantaining.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life is currently different from the way it was four months ago in that my life has really improved and I've been at peace because I have been able to meet most of my family's needs without any challenges.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 6 years ago
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Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
My new goal is to build a new house because my current house has a looking roof and the walls are falling apart.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently different from how it used to be because I am able to buy household items such as sugar, cooking oil and other food substances.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect to start a small business of selling food substances such as maize.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my life is that I am now able to get into the merry go round where I will be able to get a loan in the future.
Enrolled
access_time over 6 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My biggest hardship came in the year 2010 when my mother passed away. Mum used to take care of me so well in terms of food and financial assistance. I became so devastated when she died.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My happiest part of the day is in the evening when I am done with the days work and I am relaxing with my friends making stories as we have a reccurp of the days activities
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I am planning to spend the transfer on building a new house. My current house is in a bad shape. My intention is to build a nice semi-permanent house.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
My proudest achievement is that I managed to learn how to do welding job way back in 2003 when I was still living in Nairobi city. The knowledge I gained during that time is still with me and the good thing about it is that I can work anywhere as opposed to subsistence farming which I can only do when I am here at my rural home.