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?
I will use the savings to buy a cow within the next six to nine months. The main reason why I want to purchase the animal is to be able to pay my dowry debt which has taken me quite some time to fulfill.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
Paying school fees for the kids has been the biggest difference for me. I always ensure that I pay approximately kes 1500 every month just to make sure that the kids stay in school and concentrate on their studies.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
An additional goal is to join a merry go round in the locality so as to be able to save some little cash at the beginning of every month when I get transfers from Give Directly. When I eventually get my shares after around nine months, I will use the proceeds to buy a cow.
19th 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 expectation in the next six months is to buy a dairy cow. I will have an asset that I can sell in case of emergencies. Apart from that, I will also be getting milk from it which will supplement our meals. I can also sell the surplus in order to meet my other family needs.
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 seeing my children going to school without being sent home due to fee arrears. I was able to pay their school fees on time and they have been able to settle well in school like other children. Before then, it was a challenge because my income was low and I had to take care of other all the needs using the meager income I got from casual jobs. They could stay for even two weeks at home. I am glad that they will never be sent home any time soon because of lack of school fees.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal is to save and buy a cow. I have goats which I bought with a transfer. It is a big asset for me because I will have something that I can sell in case of emergencies. I will never sleep hungry because I will be getting milk for consumption which I can sell in order to meet my other needs.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Currently, my life is different from how it was in that I am now hopeful in life. Now that I am sure to get my transfers at the end of every month, I can plan ahead and be sure to achieve most of these plans. I am able to manage my funds well and even when I take a loan from someone, I am not worried because I have a back up that I can rely on in case my casual jobs fail me. I have learned the art of prioritizing and planning so as to work around my budget well.
15th 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 have purchased two goats within the last two months and I still expect to buy more in the near future. I want to make sure that I have a large flock of animals so that when I sell them off at some point in the near future, then I can be able to buy a cow which will definitely come with a lot of benefits such as milk provision.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
One thing that makes me so excited about the transfers that I have been getting from GD is the fact that my kids have been able to go to school without interruptions by being sent away due to fees arrears. I even took my time and talked to their teachers to allow the kids to be in school even when I have not yet cleared their arrears because I will be able to do so at the beginning of the month when I get my share of the monthly transfers.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal is to ensure that I buy a lot of food and have a good stock in the house so that the family does not go hungry. For instance, if I will be able to buy maybe two or three bags of maize, then definitely we will be food secure and we will not have to worry much about what we will eat the next day and the weeks to come.
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 currently I no longer strain in meeting my financial needs. For instance, my kids are no longer sent away from school because I make sure that I pay their school fees right on time. Previously the kids used to stay at home for a number of days as I worked hard looking for money to offset their deficits.
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?
In the next six months, I expect to have acquired medical health insurance for myself and my family from National hospital insurance fund cover (NHIF ) hence accessing medical services won't be a challenge like before when I could hold a fundraiser to settle the lump-sum amount of medical bills.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
Before GiveDirectly came to my village making ends meet was difficult but now that I am a beneficiary I am motivated to save from the monthly transfers. Therefore, the biggest difference in my daily life is that I am saving 1000 KES on a monthly basis through a table banking sytem with my neighbors. The money I shall have saved I am planning to use on buying a dairy cow which I will sell the milk that comes from it to make an extra coin. This will help me feed my family comfortably.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal for the next four months is to register for a National hospital insurance fund cover so that I can be paying 500 KES on a monthly basis and through this accessing medical services won't be a challenge as before I used to hold a fundraiser to settle the lump-sum amount of medical bills.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Currently, my life is different in that for the last four months I have been paying school fees for my children and now I have a peace of mind as I am seeing them happily attend school with no worries of being sent home due to school fees arrears.
8th 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 month l expect to have started cattle farming.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in daily life is that can now pay school fee comfortably without any problem as compared to before.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal is to start cattle farming as my future investment.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
There is no big change as such because l am still using the money to pay school fee for my child.
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 that I am planning to register with National Heath Insurance Fund that will cover me and my family whenever we are sick for the next 12 years. with the monthly transfers,I am sure that I will get the money to pay without any delays.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently different in that I am more at ease and I live with hope. I can afford things that otherwise I would not have been able to buy. My family is also well taken care of because we can now afford a well balanced diet.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months,I expect to have my own livestock (bulls) that will help me with farming. This is because we have started a group that contributes 1000KES monthly that we use to buy bulls for each individual.
With the bulls,I will be able to cultivate with ease hence more farm produce for my family.
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 payments is that I am less stressed because I can be able to buy certain items with ease.When I don't have money,I can easily borrow knowing that I will be able to pay at the end of the month when I receive my transfer.
Enrolled
access_time over 6 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
"The biggest hardship I have faced is loosing my parents when i was still young, and lost all my inheritance, that paralyzed my education and dreams. "
What is the happiest part of your day?
"The happiest part of my day is morning, because this is the time I experience new day with high expectations and also it's the time i normally go to do my work. "
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
"I am planning to buy goats at every month i will get the transfer, after which i will sell them out to buy tool since I am a house constructor and i don't have adequate tools."
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
"My achievement which i am proud of is that, even though I don't have enough resources to meet my basic requirements, i have struggled for my daughter's education and she is in the second form in a high school. "