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, for now, is to use the transfer on plaster my house. I built a new house a year ago and I feel I need to make it durable by plastering it. I would want to handle the housing issue once and for all. This is why I want to plaster it in the next four months.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I want to use my transfers in saving for my son who will be joining secondary next year. I would want to prepare in advance so that when the time comes, I don't have to struggle through loans and seeking help to raise money to take him to school. I would want to raise enough money in advance to help me with buying school requirements and paying school fees when he will be joining. HE has promised to do well in his final examinations and I would not want to let him down by not being ready.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I have always depended on farming as my main source of income. In as much as I have a small casual work in a nearby secondary school, I have always considered farming as my main source of income. Since I only had one piece of land in which I always do my farming, its production had gone down and I only used to get a maximum of three sacks of maize. This would be consumed by my family before the next planting seasons which was really strenuous for me because I had to ensure there is always food in the house. When I started receiving these transfers from GD, I have been using them to buy fertilizer and hybrid maize seeds which I have been using on my farm on every planting season. As a result, my harvest has increased to 18 sacks. This has ensured food security in my house and I can also sell some to raise money for other needs.
21st Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
Currently, I have not managed to finish my previous goal of plastering my house thus I do not have a new goal until I finish this then I will think of what to do next. I do masonry work since where we are staying in a rural setup, I get very little daily income, and I have to budget with the little I get. Therefore I have to plan properly to achieve my set goals.
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 am now relieved with the burden of buying food in my house. Since I started receiving money from Give Directly I have been using on buying food thus the little I get from the business I use on other developmental activities. I thank Give Directly my children are eating well, and we have never missed meals unlike before , at times I could not afford three meals a day. I would also recommend my wife for having been supporting me since she always chip in when I am financially down to help buy food for the family using her transfers from Give Directly.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I had started plastering my house and I did not manage to finish the work because of lack of enough capital. Therefore my additional goal in the next four months is to buy sand and cement to enable me to finish the plastering work. I would wish to stay in a decent house now that I have an additional source of income.
10th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My life will change because finally, I will have managed to do the final finishing bits at my house. This is something that I have always wanted to achieve for a long time but then due to financial constraints, I have never been able to accomplish it.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference for me is that I have been able to buy a solar-powered panel which I have been using to illuminate my house especially during the night hours when my kids will need to be doing their night time studies. They no longer have to struggle with the chocking paraffin lamps which are quite harmful to their health.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I currently live in my small house which I built some time ago but then doing the final finishing bits has never been forthcoming due to financial constraints. I, however, see myself accomplishing this in the near future courtesy of the cash transfers that I will be getting from the organization.
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 plastered my house. I want to use my monthly transfers for savings so that I get the required amount of money for plastering my house. I would want to make it strong and presentable.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
In my life, I had struggled to raise money to pay for school fees for my children. They would be sent home regularly because I could not keep up with paying in time. This is because my income from casual work was not enough to raise money to meet all my family needs in time. In case they were sent home, I would forgo other family needs just to pay for their fees. Since I started receiving these transfers, I have been paying their fees arrears bit by bit and at now, I have paid most of their arrears. They are nowadays not being sent home as they used to be before the transfers.
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 plaster my house. I want to use my savings in our merry-go-round group to buy building materials such as cement and sand. I want to keep on savings till I get the required amount to plaster and even to raise money to pay masons who will plaster the house.
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 always had food for my family. I did not struggle as I used to in putting food on the table. I had a very little income from casual work which was not consistent at all. In most cases, I would be overwhelmed by needs and that is why I would fail to provide all the meals for my family. In the last four months, I have always bought food in bulk which has helped me in feeding my family. We have never missed any meal because of GD transfers.
14th 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?
In the next six months, I expect my life to change in that I will have cemented my house. I have struggled for a long time searching for materials to repair it which have now become scarce and difficult to find. I am glad that when this happens I will have a decent house just like other people in my neighbourhood.
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 is that I was able to buy a goat. I am a happy man because I know that it will reproduce and increase in number in a very short period of time hence I will be in a position to sell them and use the money to pay school fees for my child who will be joining high school in three years time. I do not want to fail him like my parents did to me. I never completed my studies because my parents could not afford to pay school fees. As for me, I will do anything to make sure he gets proper education. This is why I have started planning early. I also thank GiveDirectly for giving me hope and helping me realize my dreams.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal is to cement my house. Currently, I am living in a house that is in a bad state. My mud-walled house is difficult to maintain. One needs to repair it every rainy season which consumes a lot of time and energy. The mud-walled house poses health risks. The dust is capable of causing respiratory diseases. When I finally cement my house, I will avoid all these challenges. I will also have a decent house that is easy to clean.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life is currently different from how it was in that we now have two sources of income. My wife started a business using her previous transfers and nowadays she helps in settling some of our bills. Currently, my family does not depend on me fully. Today, I can use my money to handle other things that I could not manage to do before like recently I was able to buy a goat. This is something I don't think I would have done before Give Directly came to our lives. The goat I bought is an investment for my family. I plan to sell it's offsprings later in order to pay school fees for my son.
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 expect to save more of these transfers to buy building materials i.e cement and sand to plaster my unfinished home. I will be living in my own home and in a beautiful house that can accommodate my growing family.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I was able to save and buy things I could not afford to buy on a normal basis. I bought a solar lamp worth 33,000/= for lighting my home hence I can pay monthly and still enhance my home security.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I do not have any new goals.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
I was able to buy a solar lamp for lighting my home. This has helped reduce the number of times thieves want to break into my home. Currently, I do less budgeting as my wife has a business we started with the transfers we received from GD. This business generates more income and we can now pool together our transfers and savings to do any household budgets and pay school fees for our children. There is more togetherness in my house as my wife and I have fewer conflicts.
6th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 6 years ago
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How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My life will have changed because I will have plastered my house and I will be living in a better house.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I am now in a position have a solar lighting system in my house as opposed to paraffin powered lights.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I now plan to plaster my house and make it more presentable and more durable.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
I recently bought a new solar powered lighting system that I now use to illuminate my house, something that makes my life quite different from how it used to be in thepast.
2nd 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 start a business for my wife so that she can also be independent and be able to assist me with the daily household budgeting.This will give me the opportunity to save for other things other than spending all my earnings on food and household requirements.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently different from how it would have been in that,we are able to combine our transfers and take care of our household needs without straining too much or having no other choice but to borrow.
My family can now eat well because we have money to buy food,(especially maize) in bulk. Getting proper meals was a big challenge back then.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months,I expect to have completed renovating my house,and hopefully,my wife will also have her own business by then.This will mean less burden on my side and more of shared responsibilities between me and her.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving these transfers is that, a lot of my burdens has been reduced because I can now be able get extra money to buy my family's requirements.
Enrolled
access_time over 6 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced in my life is when I lost my job as a fish monger. This in deed made my life to be difficult since I can't provide for my family
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is everyday when I woke up in the morning and everyone in my family is in good health
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
Cook
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
My greatest achievement which I have done is the savings I did from my salary to build an house