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?
My expectation in the next six months is to have bought sheep. Having sheep will mean a lot to me because it will be a long term investment. I will be selling them when they increase in number in order to pay school fees for my children or in case of emergencies.
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 owning decent seats. I accumulated my transfer for the last three months and used the money to purchase seats. I wanted so much to have decent seats but I di not have money to buy them at ones. I could use the old ones but whenever I had visitors, I was forced to borrow from my neighbors. It had always been embarrassing to borrow seats but I had no other means to make my visitors comfortable. I am glad that my house looks beautiful because of the new seats and I no longer have to worry about borrowing seats whenever I have visitors.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My additional goal is to buy sheep. When they increase in number, I can sell some and use the money to pay school fees for my children or take care of emergencies that might arise easily.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Currently, my life is different from how it was because my life has transformed. I can take care of my needs easily unlike before. I have also managed to reach some goals like buying seats which always seemed impossible to own. I have also been able to pay school fees with ease. My children have not been sent home lately due to fee arrears unlike before where they could stay longer as I look for casual jobs to pay their school fees.
15th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time 5 years ago
attach_money
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
Currently, I am quite stressed about ways to raise money to clear fee balances owed by my two children in school that I can barely focus on anything else. I hope that in the next six months, I will have cleared most of the amounts owed so that I can have peace of mind and focus on other development projects.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
Due to the lack of stable income in my family, we have always raised school fees for our two children in college and high school respectively by selling some of our livestock and farm produce that is meant for family consumption. This usually makes it hard for us to cope because after we run out of food stock, then we have to always struggle to raise money to buy them at a very high price which again is a problem owing to our lack of income. Receiving transfers from Give Directly made it possible to pay our children's school fees without having to resort to selling our farm produce these past few months which ensured that we had enough cereals throughout which kept us away from starvation.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
With my children still in school, I cannot afford to have any other development plans because my main goal is to ensure that their school fees are paid on time. I do not wish for them to be sent out of school due to delayed school fee payments because that will disrupt their studies and affect their general performance.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Amidst all the stress of raising money to pay school fees for my children and taking care of my household needs in an environment where there is no stable source of income, I am proud that I managed to save part of my transfers and purchased a sheep that will soon have an offspring. Adding one more sheep to the little herd I have left after selling most of my livestock in the past to raise school fees feels good because I know that I will not have an empty shed.
11th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
attach_money
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months l expect to have harvest enough produce from my farm and l know l will not lack food for a longer period .
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, since l started receiving the money l have been able to do large scale farming being that l can hire so many farms and cultivate. where l get plenty of food as compared to before when l would only cultivate my farm which is very small. I am also paying school fee to children with ease.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal is to buy manure and put on the farm because in the look of things, this season it may not do well, so manure will make it more fertile.
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 because l am able to pay for my children school fee without any difficulties.
7th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time almost 6 years ago
attach_money
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I will be able to pay school fees for my child who goes to Nyabeda secondary school so that he does not have to be sent away from school every now and then. I also have a son who finished his form secondary school education last year and I now plan to take him to college which needs quite some money.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The money has really helped me to make my budgeting become so easy because I know that every month I have some source of income. Like recently I enjoyed using modern manure that will help me get bumper harvest at the end of the season.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I am planning to make repairs on my house which has been depreciating overtime starting with the walls that are almost falling off. I need to transform the building from a mud-walled to a semi-permanent house so that it can last for long.
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Right now, I do not find it difficult in providing food for my family because I normally get cash transfers from GD every month. My family feeds so well and keep healthy most of the times, which is a good thing.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 6 years ago
attach_money
Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
I have a new goal of plastering my since it is very dusty and repairing it also it is noyt
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life different if l could not have received the is that l could not harvest enough produce as l have done.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months l expect to have started plastering my house.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that l am eating well and very comfortable, since l got enough produce from the farm that l bought.
Enrolled
access_time over 6 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced in my life is inability to raise enough school fees to pay for my two children in secondary day school.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is midmorning because I go out to meet my friends and chat.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I am planning to spend the transfer on improving my farm yields by buying fertilizer and I know I will have a bumper maize harvest from my two acres of land in the next three months.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
The achievement I am proudest of is farming because I harvested 10 bags of maize in 2010 and I was able to sell the maize and paid college fees for my son.