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?
In the first few months of receiving the transfers, I was much into casual labor as it was the main source of income. Currently I have witnessed a lot of difference since I am no longer working on casual labor. I have concentrated much on my farms to ensure that I increase my agricultural production which have always worked since I am selling the surplus produce.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
Alongside the medical expenses I have been working on, I have an additional goal to improve my agricltural production in out household. I have a plan to establish an horticultural farming where I wi major on vegetables since we have always had a ready market within reach. Vegetable farming is really doing well in our county and with the past records we've always enjoyed a good profit margin whenever we sell them. Currently I have already bought the seeds and will be planting soon.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
Ever since I started receiving the transfers, they have been so helpful to me. I have been able to sort all the household budget, pay school fees for my children, and also actively participate in the merry-go-round. Apart from all those, I have been settling medical bills for my son who have been undergoing cancer treatment. With the support form the neighboring community, Merry-go-round have enabled me to seek him good medical attention. This to me is the biggest difference in my daily life since so far, I am seeing great improvement on my son's health status which gives me a reason to smile every other time.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
Having been making some savings continuously both from the farming outcome and also from the monthly transfers I have been receiving, I expect to have saved enough in the next six months to purchase a heifer. We have been buying milk for a long time which have been straining our budget and it has been our prayer that we start keeping our own cow so that we can produce milk for our domestic purposes.
16th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
attach_money
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life is currently different from how it was four months ago in that I could do hard jobs to earn an income to meet the basic needs for my family but currently I devote all my time in my farm and I no longer do the casual jobs.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I do not have new goals now because I'm currently working on improving my farm produce. I do horticulture farming and this will help me to earn some income to meet other basic needs for my family.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer is that I have been able to get a good harvest. Before I could lack money to cultivate my farm and to buy seeds. This could always lead to a poor harvest and resulted in a high cost of buying food at the market. Nowadays I buy seeds on time I prepare my farm on time and also employ workers to cultivate my farm. I'm so happy because my family have enough food and also that I can get extra money by selling the supplies in the market to buy other household needs.
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 saved some of the transfer to buy a heifer. This will be my happiness because I admire to own one soon.
12th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time almost 6 years ago
attach_money
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
I have focused on helping my grandchild with medication in the past four months. His medical condition has therefore improved over this period. I have taken him to many different hospitals and he is now okay. He needs transfusion every now and then. We are even planning to hold a fundraiser in my village in order to provide him with medical insurance cover so that in case we spend less cash on treatment. Having the ability to pay his medication has brought joy to my family .being his caregiver the improvement in his condition makes me happy..
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I plan to save and buy a cow. I will keep this cow in order to maturity. It will provide milk in time to come.This will take off the burden of buying milk every day.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my life is the ability to provide meals for my family. I use this transfer to buy maize flour. I did not grow maize in the last season. My grandson was very sickly and we spend all the time and resource on him. we paid all the attention to the sick boy. As this was going on I was using the money I get from GiveDirectly to feed the family. This money continuously helps us to feed ourselves as we to try saving his life.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I will have grown maize on my farm. This is because I will have my money to spend on preparing the land and buying maize seeds.
8th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 6 years ago
attach_money
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Now we can buy food at ease as we previously depend on casual jobs only. We now have kales which when we sell we get some money for use.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
In the next four months I would expect to save money so that I can buy a cow since we usual buy milk for use which is so expensive.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my life is that now we can get food for the family unlike before we would spent a night without food.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months I would expect to buy a heifer so that I can stop buying milk for use.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time almost 7 years ago
attach_money
Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
My new goal is to build a new house. Our house is currently situated under an electricity pole and it is not safe for us. We intend to build another house and be safe once we get the funds.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently different because I feel happier than before. I have a plan for buying livestock so as to generate income from sale of milk and feed my family.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to be different in the next few months. I plan to work hard in farming so as to feed my family well and generate income from sale of farm produce.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
This was my first transfer. I am yet to experience a major difference in my life. I was however able to buy medicine for my children without struggling. My children were ill when the funds came and I did't have to borrow as I have been borrowing. It was a relief for me.
Enrolled
access_time almost 7 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have ever faced in my life is lack of enough income to sustain daily family needs. I always relie on daily casual jobs to feed the entire family members
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is during morning hours. That's is the time I prepare my grandchildren ready to school.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I am planning to spend my transfer to improve my farming especially on maize and vegetables .
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
The achievement I am proudest of is being in a position to have a better house after struggling a lot working in Tea farms for many years as a casual labourer.