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?
Currently, I am able to pay school fees for my child who in turn gets to stay in school and study as he has plenty of time. I also bought building materials that I used to plaster my house. I had built a new house but could not afford to buy the plastering materials to finish it. I was also able to pay a contractor who plastered the house. I now have a very beautiful house to my name that is the envy of the entire village.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I do not have any new goal as I still wish to save towards paying school fees for my child who is in primary school.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
With the transfers, a burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I do not have to work twice as much to raise income to provide for my family. I used to work very hard to earn just a meagre income that could hardly cover us on the food part. I can easily pay school fees for my children and the best part is when the children get to stay in school because they do not have any arrears that need to be settled. They also get to stay away from bad influence in the village from other bad-mannered peers.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect to save more, add to my other savings and buy a motorcycle to help in generating income for the family. This is the main source of income for my family. Having one more will guarantee that we will never actually lack finances during constraints.
12th 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?
Currently, I can easily pay school fees for my child as I can access money monthly to help any outstanding fee balance. My family can easily afford healthy food daily. Previously, we would have to work so hard to get money to put food on the table which mainly a meal a day. I can't be grateful enough to GiveDirectly.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I have a new goal of saving and buying another motorcycle to help generate more income for my family
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 been able to pay school fees for my child. I registered the child in a private school using the transfers I receive from GiveDirectly. When I started receiving the transfers, I transferred my child from a public school to a private one so that the child can get a quality education. Thanks to GiveDirectly for making this transition easy.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect to save and buy building materials like cement and sand to plaster my unfinished house. I look forward to owning and living in a beautiful house. I also plan to buy another motorcycle to help my family earn more income hence change in our living standards.
8th 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?
My life is currently different from how it was four months ago in that I am always able to pay school fee for my youngest son comfortably. Currently, he is enrolled in a nursery school and I am able to pay his fees from the transfers. I do not get worried about him being sent back home for school fee arrears.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new or additional goal in the next four months is to buy some bags of cement and building sand which I will use to complete building my house which I had started some few months ago. My dream has been to plaster my house first before I can fully begin to concentrate on educating my children. I know that it is always difficult to educate children whenever one has a pending project.
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 being able to take my youngest son to a nursery school this year. Due to inadequate funds last year, I did not manage to take him to school though he was old enough to start schooling. I always feel happy seeing him go to school. I also feel proud of him whenever he comes home and shares what he has learned in school with his siblings.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I expect to complete plastering my house. I have only fixed its windows and a door although I have plans to plaster it and make it a semi-permanent house. In this area, a non-cemented house does not last long, yet I do not have any plan of building another house for the rest of my life. I only have the plans of raising some money for paying school fee for my children who will be enrolled in secondary school next year.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
4560 KES ($45 USD)
access_time over 6 years ago
attach_money
The recipient was not asked any questions as part of this follow up.
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, how to get money so that I can complete my wiring course. This will eventually help me to get a job to take good care of my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is,in the evening when I am through with my days work and I get money to buy food for my family.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I am planning to spend my transfer on, improve my house by plastering the walls and the floor since its in a bad state and can even cause jiggers infestation to us more so the children.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
The achievement I am proudest of is that, I used to stay in a small grass thatched house but now through my table banking savings in our self-help group, I managed to build a bigger semi permanent house that now accommodates me and my family.