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?
I have plans of constructing my own house once I am done with secondary school so that I can quit sleeping in my brother's house. I have plans of using the rest of my transfers to buy some of the necessary construction materials to construct the new house. Once I am done with school, I will struggle to raise money through casual jobs to buy the rest of the materials and finally construct the house.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I have always used most of my transfers to pay my school fees and to buy school requirements and revision materials to help me revise for the National examination that I will be taking from next month.Paying my school fees within the the required time has enabled me to stay in school consistently without being sent home. This has given me an ample time to concentrate on my studies which I hope will reflect in the final examinations through good results. The books I bought with the transfers have also been of great help to me because I can now revise and better prepare for the final examination.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I no longer feel very comfortable sleeping in my brother's house because I do not have the freedom I need as a teenager, hence the need to construct my own house once I complete high school. This may be tough because I do not have any source of income, but I hope I will have achieved this dream within the next six months with the help of the transfers I receive from Give Directly and through casual jobs.
16th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
attach_money
How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
When I started receiving these transfers, I spent most of them in paying my school fees. So far, I have managed to clear the entire fees for this year which is, fortunately, my final year in secondary school. Having no urgent obligations with the transfers such as school fee payment, I have been using most of the transfers I received in the past few months to support my family financially which makes me quite proud as a son. Even though I have no source of income for I am still in school, I am able to buy the household requirements whenever necessary which was not possible before.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I am at an age where I need to have my own house so that when I complete secondary school, I can quit sleeping at my brother's house and have my own privacy. For this reason, I wish to buy the required construction materials using my next transfers so that I can build the house. I know the rest of the transfers will not be enough, but as soon as I am done with high school, I will look for any jobs that can earn me some money to buy more of the materials.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
From the beginning of this project, most of my transfers have always been channelled towards the payment of my school fees which I was finally able to clear a few months ago. This has given me the opportunity to spend on other personal items such as clothes and shoes that I could not buy before. Lately, my general dressing and looks have changed a lot for I now have the money to buy all the clothes and shoes that I have always wanted to own but could not afford due to lack of money.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My hope is that in the next six months, I will have constructed my own house. I know the rest of the transfers will take me a long way in buying most of the construction materials, but I plan to engage in casual jobs within the village once I am done with school later this year to buy the rest of the required materials for the construction.
12th 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 in that I eat and dress well. Initially buying clothes was a luxury. We only ate a certain meal for a long period of time but nowadays I eat a well-balanced diet. We rarely eat the same meal twice a week. Lack of enough money is what used to force us to have the same meal over and over again. To say the truth, my health has improved and I also look decent. Generally, my living standards have improved.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal is to buy iron sheets which I will use in building my house. Currently, I sleep at my brother's house because he is away. I don't know where I will go when he comes back. Building a house is not an easy task but I know if I become discipline with my savings and buy the materials bit by bit, my dream of building a new house will finally come true
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 is that I an now peaceful and ambitious in life. For the first time in my life, I was able to buy decent clothes during the festive season. We used to wear patched clothes because I could not afford to buy new ones. I no longer feel embarrassed whenever I go for functions because I will be smartly dressed like other people. My self-esteem has also been boosted. I feel good and I love myself even more in new clothes.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I will have built my own house. This will make me have freedom in my own place. I can't wait to have my peace and independence after building my house. I know my brother can not send me away from his house but I will have to look for my place when he comes back. I normally ask for shelter in other people's houses when he comes over which is normally very uncomfortable. I am glad that Give Directly chose me as one of their beneficiaries because it has brought the dream closer.
8th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time 6 years ago
attach_money
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 good health because I'm not worried anymore on how to raise money for both college fee and daily meals.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
For the nexyt four months of my ife I have a new goal of constrcuting a house because I do not have a house as we speak and I stay in my elder vrother's house.
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 thecurent transfer is that currently, I can pay the college fee on time thus I haven't been sent out of college for the fee.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I expect to have constructed a house so that I can be independent. At the same time it will save me the inconvenience of staying in someone's house.
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?
Apart from the goals I had earlier, I do not have any new goal.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Since I started receiving this transfer I dress well and have good clothes. I also eat well.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I would want to save and start up a business.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I have not had good clothes for sometime and had to borrow from my friends whenever I had a function to attend but since I started receiving this transfer, I have my own clothes and this makes me happy.
Enrolled
access_time over 6 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced is lack of school fees particularly in third term.This has negatively affected my performance in school because most of the time am out of school.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is usually at midday.At this time,I always remember that my mother was in labour pain from midday until six in the evening as per the stories she tells me.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
My plan is to spend the transfer from GiveDirectly to buy books and other stationaries then after high school spend the remainder on constructing my own house.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
The greatest achievement that am proudest of is poultry rearing business that I engaged in last year.I was able to buy my own clothes and a goat from the income generated despite the fact that am still a student.