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 currently is to buy a piece of land for farming and where my children will build when they have come of age to have their own houses. The land I inherited from my parents was not much to accommodate us all well hence I would not want to wait until my children come of age to buy another piece of land.
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 that I have witnessed improved harvest in the previous seasons. This is because I was able to use part of my GD transfers to buy farm inputs such as hybrid seeds and fertilizer which I always use in the last three seasons. Before the transfers, I was farming using local methods such as local seed without fertilizer. As a result, I would only manage to get utmost three sacks but since I started using the fertilizers and hybrid seed, I have managed to get get a minimum of eight sacks every harvest. This has been very helpful in feeding my family and meeting other needs by selling the surplus harvest to raise money for their needs.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My life will be different in the next six months in that I will have bought a cow with part of my monthly transfers. I do not have any livestock now and it is my dream to have some. Since I did not have a stable source of income, I was not able to achieve this goal. Now that GD has elevated my financial life, I will be able to buy one even if I will buy on a hire purchase basis. In the next six months, I am determined to have my own livestock. In my area, livestock is considered a sign of wealth and I would not want to be considered poor forever because I do not have any livestock. I know I will be able to achieve this dream because GD will fulfil their promise.
18th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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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 in that I'm currently at peace and happy. This is because through the Give Directly transfers I have been able to restock my shop. I am now earning a good income as a result of this. This has even enabled me to meet most of my family's needs without straining too much like I used to previously when I only depended on casual jobs. In addition to that, the fact both my spouse and I are receiving these transfers has brought peace amongst us. We rarely fight or quarrel with each other because the cause of our disagreements has been solved.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I'm still staying at my parent's in-law's homestead because we don't have enough money to buy our own land or even construct our house. I, therefore, have the plans of saving some money so that I can purchase a piece of land where we'll build our home. With these transfers, I now have hopes of attaining these 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 is the pride I have for having bought a television set for my children. I feel at peace knowing that my children are safe at home and not out in the neighbor's houses watching television. I used to feel bad especially when I would find them peeping through the neighbor's window because the house was full and they did want to miss whatever program that was on the air. I feel so proud because I no longer solve cases of conflicts between my children and neighbors because nowadays they rarely meet.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My mum passed on two years ago. Since then my dad has not been able to construct a new better house. I always believe mom would have worked her way out and ensure we had a better house. Since I started receiving these transfers, I am planning to save the coming transfers and use it to construct a new house for my dad. I want to revive his hopes of living in a better house despite the death of my mother who would have helped him construct another one.
15th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Currently, I am able to meet my financial needs on my own without relying on my spouse. This is because of the business I started with part of the transfer I received from Give Directly. I have also been able to save some little money for emergencies. I would not want to seek help or borrow money from my friends as it was the case before the transfers. All thanks to GD for the support. I have now earned respect in the village because of my financial ability.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
For the next four months of my life, my new goal is to save some money which I will use to purchase a cow for rearing which is a way of investing. In the future after the cow has reproduced, I'll be able to sell the offspring in order to raise money to handle family needs such as school fee for my children. I would want to provide for my family in time and give them the best.
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 the feeling of financial independence. This is because I was able to start up a boutique with the previous transfers. I have been able to get constant income from the business which has helped me solve most of my family needs in time. I'm happy I no longer rely on my spouse for everything which caused us some quarrels since we had a lot of needs and the income was not sufficient. I feel at peace and the quarrels have reduced.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
For the next six months of my life, I expect to have met the goal of purchasing a cow. Thereafter, I'm planning to save some money so that I can purchase a piece of land which I will use to put up my home. The current piece I have now is too small yet I have a large family hence my children will not have enough land to put up their houses. I would love to also give inheritance to my children when I finally die.
11th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time almost 6 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Apart from being financially independent, I am happy because I have been able to pay a large amount of school fees balance for my children. Since I did not have any source of income, we would really struggle as a family to raise money to pay school fees for my children. This is because we depended on small income from casual work where my husband used to work in a construction site. Right now my children are not always sent home for school fees as I have been paying the balance bit by bit which has helped me clear the major part of the fees balance.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal is to buy a piece of land where my children can build their houses. My husband inherited a small piece of land in which all my children cannot be able to build their houses. I plan to save and pay for one acre of land which we will use for both farming purposes and place where they will build their houses when they come of age.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my life since I started receiving these transfers is that I am financially independent. Before the transfers, we used to have a lot of quarrels with my husband on financial issues. I literally had to ask for money to handle any issue in the house because I did not have any income at all. This would cause a lot of differences between me and my husband to an extent he will intentionally come home late to avoid the quarrels. When I started receiving this money, I have always avoided going to ask for financial help from him which has impacted positively on our peace. We rarely quarrel and we do enjoy each others company nowadays.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I would want to buy a cow. The cow will help in milk production of milk both for our consumption and for sale. The sale of milk will help me raise money to cater for daily needs of the family. I will also be able to sell the cow to raise money to solve other urgent family needs such as school fees and medication whenever one is sick.
7th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 6 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My children are always in school and never sent home for school fees unlike before, I have a new sofa set in my house and my life has been made easy by this transfer.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I wish to buy a cow as an investment for the family.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
Meeting my family demands has not been easy for me since I did not have stable source oof income but since I started reciving this transfer, I have never been overwhelmed by demands and I solve them without difficulty because I always have money every month.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I would want to save to help build a new house.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
455 KES ($4 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?
Yes I have a goal of renovating my house to make it appear like the other's in the village. Secondly, I have a goal of practicing livestock farming which I have seen making people prosper in the village.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Were it not for Give Directly, I would have not sat down and drawn a plan for my future. Similarly, I would have not acquired the peace of mind that I currently experience.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I see myself owning a very big flock of animals from the savings that I will be having at such a time.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have acquired peace of mind for I am assured of getting some cash at the end of each and every month.
Enrolled
access_time over 6 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I've faced in life was when my mother was sick, I was the only one to nurse her though I had a month old baby, my husband couldn't listen to me and even threatened to beat and divorce me. I was truly devastated when at the end my mom passed away.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the mid-morning having confirmed that each member of my family is a wake and alive, I get joy seeing my children playing happily and my husband calling from work to share how he is.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I'm planning to spend my transfer to expand my house to create more space to comfortably accommodate every member of the household. I'll also spend part of it to pay my siblings' school fees.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
The achievement I'm proudest about is saving objectively to buy furniture. Before my household had no chairs, I was laughed at. My husband and I started a saving scheme that enabled us purchase chairs, I no longer sit on the floor.