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 be producing milk from the heifer that I have already bought. I may also have added another heifer to my farm because am going on in the merry go round group. I hope to achieve this as dairy farming is the main source of livelihood in my community.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I have made a big difference in my daily life because I managed to buy a heifer. I had been participating in a merry go round group that pooled money in September for me. Having this cow will enable me to stop buying milk for my family consumption from my neighbors. It will reduce my household cash expenditure and allow me to spend on other family needs especially in paying my children's school fees.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I don't have a new goal but to continue saving in a merry go round group. I intend to join the many dairy farmers from my neighborhood that sells milk to a milk processor not far from home.
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?
I expect my life to change in the next six months in that I will have leased a farm and planted maize and beans. I will use the money I will get from our merry go round group to achieve this. This will lead to increased farm production hence my family will have enough food to last till the next harvesting season.
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 now own a solar lamp. My house is now well lit at night and my children can do their assignments on time. Before, we were using one kerosene lamp and my children had to wait until we were done taking supper before they could start doing their assignments. I am now glad I have been able to save the money I would otherwise use in buying kerosene and that my children now have enough time to do their assignments and to study.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
The additional goal for my life in the next four months is to lease a farm where I can be able to plant maize and beans. I have settled for this because I have been planting in small scale and the production has always been less. Increasing the acreage under maize and beans cultivation will increase my production hence my family will have food that will last us till the next harvest period.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Owning a dairy cow had always been my dream but I was not able to achieve it due to lack of money. I am now glad I was able to achieve this recently using my savings from the merry go round group I am part of. Due to this, I no longer buy milk on a daily basis like before. Owning a dairy cow is the biggest achievement which has made my life to be different from how it was four months ago.
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 be fully self reliant. I expect to have at least three dairy cows that will enable me raise a more healthy and happier family. I expect to be a proud family man.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The last four months has brought in tremendous changes in my family life. We hardly had anything as a family. We were basically living from hand to mouth. My daily hustle could only provide enough for me to feed the family and which sometimes could not even be enough.We had only one cow to take pride in as a family asset. We now have an additional cow which is a constant reminder of better days ahead for my family. I can also provide comfortably for my family as I make other investments that are driving me and my family to be self reliant in the coming days. GiveDirectly transfers has enabled me to invest more and secure my family's future . All this has been made possible through the monthly merry go rounds that were initiated in the village immediately we started receiving the transfers and in which we have participated as a family.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My dream is to move away from over reliance on casual jobs to earn a living for me and my family. I am driven by the desire to be self employed. In the next four months, I want to have another additional dairy cow as I focus on full time dairy farming. This I plan to do by continuing to work hard and make sure that I continue contributing without fail towards our merry go round. It is at this time that I expect to be fully engaged in my dairy farming business.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Four months a go, I could not be trusted with even the lowest amount of loans since I did not have a reliable source of income. I am now credit worthy in the eyes of my friends as they know that I can always repay back any loan given to me through the monthly transfers from GiveDirectly. My living standards has also risen now that I own assets that I never owned before.
7th 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?
I expect my life to change in that I will have bought a cow.
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 happiness since my children nowdays do not lack food anymore.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
The only goal have is to buy another cow.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life currently is different since I now have a calf which I did not have before.
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?
I am planning to keep poultry so that I can have reliable income which I can spent to buy food for my family.I believe when I have chicken I will have eggs for sale and some as food.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Currently my children are sleeping soundly on warm blankets which I bought using Give Directly money. Unlike before when they had a light blanket and sharing for covering themselves during cold nights. Now they are sleeping well on warm blankets.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months I expect I would have started poultry rearing and believe with this venture I would have generated income and my living standard improved.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that now receiving this money has relieve me from tedious masonry casual which I do engage in . Now I can buy food for my family with less stress since I spent part of the transfer in buying food which we all enjoy with my children.
Enrolled
access_time over 6 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My biggest hardship is last year when there was alot of drought and I had to go a long distance looking for water for livestock and domestic use.
Also during that drought season,through farming ,the yield was very low and I was not able to get enough money for paying school fee.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My happiest part of my day is in the morning when I wake up and everyone is healthy.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I will spend my transfer on taking my three children to boarding school so as to get good education.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
My greatest achievement in life through farming ,it has enabled me to pay school fee for my children with ease.