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 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. This is because I have been saving part of the transfers in a Merry-Go-Round and when I earned my share I bought 10 pieces of iron sheets which I'm planning to use to construct a home. This has given the hopes of soon having my home hence I'll be more independent and have enough space for making other developments. In addition, I do not rely on my spouse for everything as it was the case before. This is because I have been using part of the transfers to boost the food kiosk business which I started with the previous transfers. Since then, the business has picked and I earn good profit from it which has been sustaining us.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
For the next four months of my life, I have an additional goal to save the coming transfers so that I can use them to purchase the building materials which I'll use to construct a home. We are still staying in my father-in-law's home but since there is not enough space, I can't do much in terms of investments. I'm hopeful that after moving to my home I'll enough space for keeping livestock, poultry, and farming. The income I'll from them will help me to pay for school for my children in the future.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
In most cases, I spent the transfers on boosting the food kiosk business which I opened with the previous transfers. The business is currently stable and I'm glad the profits have increased too. This has enabled e to meet most of my family's needs without a lot of challenges. I feel happy and proud of myself because I'm currently independent. I do not rely on my spouse anymore for everything as it was the case before. This is the biggest difference in my daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfers.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I'm currently running a food business along the streets. I'm grateful I'm able to earn some income from it which has been sustaining my family. Street vending has some challenges and unexpected rain is one of them. I do get inconvenienced by the rains at times which forces me to close early. This scares my customers and they feel I'm not predictable. I'm afraid I might lose them. I'm, therefore, planning to save some money and construct a room where I'll be operating the business. This will not only provide comfort and make the customers build trust in me but it will enable me to offer a variety of food to my customers. In the next six months, I hope I'll have constructed a room for the business and hopeful I'll be earning an improved income from it thus expecting my living standards to improve.
7th Payment
Transfer Amount
4560 KES ($45 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
attach_money
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
For a long period of time, I have been relying on casual work which wasn't reliable and in most cases, I relied on my spouse for most of the things. This resulted in conflicts because he couldn't afford them since he didn't earn much. I'm happy through the GD transfers I'm able t meet most of the household needs without relying on my spouse. We no longer quarrel anymore over petty issues because currently, we are sharing responsibilities thus my spouse is not overwhelmed with a lot of responsibilities as it used to be the case before.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I'm staying in parents-in-law home which doesn't make me comfortable and at the same time I do not feel independent. At the same time, we are already of a reasonable age to own our home so for the next four months of my life, I have a goal of saving some money so that I can use it in the future to construct our home.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
Previously I was staying in a grass thatched house which had a leaking roof. It was hectic staying in that house especially during the rainy seasons because we had to pack our household items in a safe corner and cover them with a polythene bag so that they couldn't be rained on. I'm happy we are no longer in that situation anymore and finally, I can have a peaceful sleep because through the transfers I was able to replace the leaking grass thatch roof with a new iron roof house.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months of my life, I expect to have constructed my own compound. I find it so challenging to stay in my parents-in-law's house and I believe once I move to my home I'll have the freedom to achieve a lot of things that I can't achieve currently.
3rd Payment
Transfer Amount
4560 KES ($46 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
attach_money
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that, l am now staying in a nice iron roofed house, l do not need to worry when it is raining, as compared to before when l could put thinks in one place feel that it might rain while l am away.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months l expect to have started started build my spacious house.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently different from how it was four months ago because l am now staying in a nice iron roofed house as compared to before when l was staying in a thatched leaky house where l was being rained on.
Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
My new goal is to start saving the money and buy building materials to build a spacious comfortable house
Enrolled
access_time almost 7 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I'm currently facing in life is the lifestyle in my grass thatched house, it leaks a lot when it rains and I'm never comfortable with visitors during such times.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My happiest part of the day is in the evening when my children are safely back home from school.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I am planning to use the transfers to build myself a new spacious house because the one I have is small and leaks during rainy season.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
I have managed to feed my family with the little I get from the farm and at times without fail.