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 different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently different from how it would have been had I never received the transfer is that my children are in school. I used my transfer to pay school fees for my children. If I had not received my transfer, my child could not have joined secondary school. The money I had was not enough to meet my family basic needs and pay her school fees. I am now happy since my child is in school. I also used part of my transfer to take my child from a public primary school where he was not performing well to a private school and I am very happy since his performance has improved.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life?
My new goal is to start a new business where I sell second hand clothes. I will use my third transfer to start this business. This will be a source of income to meet my family basic needs and pay school fees for my children. Currently I am employed as an house help and the I get is little and could not cater all my basic needs and pay school fees for my children.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used my most recent transfer to pay school fees for my child who was joining secondary school. I decided on this because the money I was paid as an house help was little and I was not able to pay all her school fees. I also used part of my transfer to take my child in primary school to a private school in Nairobi. He was living with his grandmother in my rural home and was going to a public primary school and he was performing poorly. I am now happy since his performance has improved.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
20000 KES ($195 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
attach_money
Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
I recently purchased a motorbike on credit for taxi business. So far all the money made from the business has been used in clearing part of the loan. I would like to see the benefits of that motorcycle hence the decision to use my next transfer to clear the rest of the loan. I also plan to clear my son's school fees for the entire year so that he's never sent away from school for fee arrears.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Before the money came, there was no hope of my son joining high school because of the excess debts I had against my little income. Receiving the money has restored the hope as I have managed to clear some of the loans and will use the remaining amount to buy his school the requirements and pay part of the school fees.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I had taken a loan from my table-banking group worth 10000KES which I cleared with part of the money I received. I saved the remaining amount in M-shwari locked savings account because I plan to spend it on purchasing school requirements for my son who just completed primary school and will be joining high school next year.
Describe the moment when you started receiving transfers. How did you feel?
A message woke me up at around 5 am and after reading the contents which indicated that I had received 20000KES, I could not go back to sleep. I was happy because the money came at a time that I had a lot of debts which needed to be cleared and I knew I would be able to do so in time to avoid extra charges.
Enrolled
access_time over 5 years ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
My first priority will be to give ten percent of that money to our church as tithe. I believe in putting God first so that you can succeed in future.
Secondly, I will buy a motorcycle. I will give it to my husband to work with it. The income from this business will help to pay school fees to my daughter as she joins form one next year.
Lastly, I will buy salon equipments to improve my work.
Describe your biggest worry.
My top concern is my family because am worried about my children's future. I struggle so much to make sure they get good education, so they do not end up in unemployment. I am worried that we live in slums and they might engage in bad company and start using drugs or engage in criminal activities.
What are your greatest ambitions?
I would like to be a successful business woman owning properties and building estates. I would want when I grow old to live a better life and not rely on my children. I would like to give a good foundation of self reliance to my children so that in future they do not struggle.
Describe your usual day. How do you spend your time?
I usually wake up early in the morning at 4:00am to fetch water. There is water rationing in my area and you have to wake up early to avoid long queues. After finishing fetching water I wake my children up at 5:00am and prepare breakfast for them and leave for school. I then arrange my house, take breakfast and wash my clothes. After I have finished washing my clothes, I normally go to my shop where I have a salon business. I wait for clients to come and by 3:00pm I go back to my house to wait for my children to come back to school.
On weekends I visit my friends and on Sunday I go to church.
