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 children's education will always be my top priority, and in the coming years, I am committed to supporting them as it will greatly benefit their future. To achieve this, I plan to continue using a portion of my future transfers from GiveDirectly to pay their school fees and ensure they receive a proper education, just like their peers in the village. Also, given the current drought and hunger we are facing in our region, I also intend to allocate part of these transfers to buy food for my family, preventing us from starving until we receive good rains and can harvest from our farm. Once we have a stable food supply, I will redirect the funds previously used for food toward purchasing more goats. This will add to the goats I already own, which I bought with hopes of them multiplying in number and value. My ultimate goal is that these goats will help me support my children's education and care for my family, especially when this program comes to an end.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a father of five children who are in school, and as the sole provider for my family, I am determined to ensure that my children continue their education so that they can secure a better future in their lives. The transfers from GiveDirectly have been very supportive towards my children's education and recently, I used $60 from my latest transfers to pay their school fees, and seeing them in school brings me great joy. Knowing that my children can attend school without the worry of being sent home for unpaid fees is a relief. However, we are currently facing tough times due to drought and hunger in our region. To prevent my family from going hungry, I spent another $38 on food. Additionally, I’ve been saving some of my previous transfers, and I recently set aside another $4 to buy a goat. I hope this goat will multiply, providing us with more resources in the future. I am truly grateful for this assistance, as it has helped my family move forward during these challenging times.
21st Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($27 USD)
access_time 5 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My greatest accomplishment is financing my children's education and ensuring they receive the necessary education to be successful. I grew up in a not well-off family and didn't have access to good education, which partly explains why I am currently struggling to take care of my family. My determination to provide a good education for my children is inspired by a neighbor whose children are very successful because they received a good education and now have good jobs that ensure them a better life. I am grateful for the financial support, and with this help, I will be able to finance my children's education. This support gives me hope that my children will have the opportunities I didn't have and will be able to lead successful lives.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I earn a living as a peasant farmer, and my income heavily depends on favorable weather conditions and the yield from my farm. Recently, adverse weather conditions have led to a decrease in my income. The unconditional transfers have significantly eased my life and alleviated the hardships I have faced in taking care of my family. To make ends meet, I have been forced to take up casual jobs, working on other people's farms and even digging up tree stumps to make charcoal for sale. I spent all my transfers of $102 to pay school fees for my five children. Two of them are in secondary school, in Form Three and Form One, respectively, while the remaining three are in primary school. Before being enrolled in the Give Directly program, I struggled to keep my children in school due to the huge school fee debt that I couldn't pay. However, this situation has improved, and they are now consistently attending school and continuing their education without any problems. I am very grateful for the financial support I have received from the unconditional transfers.
16th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($24 USD)
access_time 9 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Being aware of the appreciating value of livestock over time, I am eager to allocate a larger portion of my forthcoming transfers towards livestock investment. As these animals reproduce and their value grows, they will serve as valuable assets, especially in funding my children's education in the future. I intend to sell some of the livestock when needed and utilize the proceeds to cover school fees. I am pleased that the transfers have alleviated the difficulties I previously encountered in meeting my children's educational expenses.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
A significant portion of my transfer funds was allocated to covering the school expenses of my five children. Among them, the two eldest are attending secondary school - one in Form 3, and the other in Form 1. The remaining three are currently enrolled in primary school. I am grateful that these transfers have enabled me to support my children's education. Specifically, $68 went towards school fees. Additionally, I invested $34 in purchasing a goat, a strategic move towards securing my future. By acquiring the goat, I am laying groundwork for potential emergencies or times of need, anticipating its reproduction. As a casual laborer relying on construction jobs, the transfer money has proven invaluable, particularly in facilitating my children's education.
14th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I have been diligently allocating all the financial support I receive towards covering the educational expenses of my children. Among them, one is pursuing a high school education, while the others are in primary school. My source of income primarily hinges on casual jobs at construction sites, an occupation that is inherently uncertain. I, personally, faced the unfortunate circumstance of discontinuing my own education, and it remains my unwavering aspiration to ensure that my children do not encounter a similar setback. Despite the financial constraints I grapple with, I am resolute in my determination to enable them to attain their educational goals. Additionally, I have plans to invest in livestock, particularly chickens, as I believe they can serve as a valuable supplement to my modest earnings from these irregular construction jobs. This endeavor represents an opportunity to enhance our financial stability and overall well-being.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am deeply appreciative of the support provided by GiveDirectly, as it has brought a profound sense of tranquility into my life. My family consists of six members, with four of my children currently attending school, while the remaining two are yet to begin their educational journey. Among the four in school, one is in high school, and the others are in primary school. Until recently, I had been sustaining our livelihood through sporadic construction jobs, which made me anxious about how I could simultaneously address the increasing demands of providing for my family's basic necessities, such as food and shelter, alongside their education. As the sole breadwinner, I held a fervent desire as a parent to witness my children excel in their academic pursuits and achieve success. Despite the heavy financial burden on my shoulders, the monthly transfers from GiveDirectly have brought a significant sense of relief. I made a heartfelt commitment to ensure my children's school fees were paid promptly, eliminating any disruptions to their educational journey due to financial constraints. I am delighted to share that this commitment has enabled them to remain in school, undistracted, and fully dedicated to their studies. Furthermore, I now have the freedom to allocate the meager earnings from my irregular casual jobs to other essential household expenses. On some occasions, I find myself tending to our subsistence farm to supplement our resources.
10th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($25 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My main goal is to educate my children to a higher level. I have 4 school-going children with the last one yet to join school, and since getting money to pay for their school fees had been a great challenge, I plan to venture into an income-generating project that would be of help in the long run. Therefore, I would want to start a livestock rearing project and buy goats with the transfers that I will be receiving from GiveDireclty then later find a market for them. In addition, I would also be saving part of the transfers.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My family has been facing tough times owing to the fact that my wife and I do not have a reliable source of income. Getting money to pay school fees for our children had also become a great challenge and recently 4 of my children had been sent home for school fees; 1 in secondary school and 3 in primary school. With no money, they were forced to stay home for a while as I was looking for other alternatives to take them back to school. Fortunately, GiveDirectly came to my rescue and the transfer that I received was of great help in terms of paying for their school fees. I took $20 and settled the school fees balance for the one who was in secondary school and divided $4 amongst the remaining 3. With the remaining amount, I bought food worth $10.70 and I felt so relieved.
6th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($28 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I have dedicated my monthly transfers towards educating my four children currently in school. I have been struggling to raise fees for them for quite some time, and since I do not have a source of income to rely on, my children were frequently sent home, thus missing classes. My goal now is to ensure that, once I receive my monthly transfer, I pay fees on time to avoid having their studies discontinued. This will allow them to realize their educational goals despite the financial hardships that I am currently facing.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent my most recent transfers mainly on paying school fees for my four children, one of whom is in high school and the others are in primary school. Before the transfers, my children were frequently sent home because I wasn't able to pay fees on time. I have been seeking support from several offices to support my children but to no avail. I do not have a stable source of income that could assist me in paying the fees. Receiving the transfers was a huge relief to me. I am grateful to GiveDirectly because my children are now in school despite the financial challenges. I am at peace because I am assured of paying the fees on time every month, and the little money from casual jobs fends for foodstuffs and other household needs.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($25 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, Give directly funds has supported most of us here in the village, especially the people working as charcoal burners. The funds have given most us new business ideas to generate sustainable income to support our families.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Drought and famine have been the biggest challenge that has faced my village this season. The impact has been dry rivers and a lack of water, which is essential in our day-to-day lives. I am married with six children because of the lack of jobs here in the village. My wife helps me in the charcoal business, which lately is a challenge because of the raw materials needed to generate charcoal for sale. As soon as I received the funds, I used $20 to pay school fees, and I spent the rest $10 on buying food and water. They sell water for $2, which is a minimum of 80litres that are normally used for my home consumption daily.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
1200 KES ($10 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I received the money at around 9 pm when I was prepared to go to sleep. Before then, our children had stayed at home for two days without attending school because they owed the school KES 3000, and we could not afford it. All that while I kept wondering how I would raise that amount. When I saw a confirmation message of the receipt of that money I knelt and thanked God for the miracle. It was sent when I least expected it.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
It is the wish of every parent to provide adequately for their children. It was one thing to have my children back at home while others were in school but being not in a position to provide for their meals was hurting. We are casual laborers, but we had not got a job for a whole week hence the challenge to provide for our family. GiveDirectly came to our rescue, and I am proud of having been able to take my children back to school and even bought enough foodstuffs to sustain them for some period. This is the biggest difference in my daily life.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a father of six children, four are in school while two have not joined yet. Both my spouse and I do whatever casual work that we come across, but they are not reliable. The highest amount of money we can make in a day is KES 500 and there are times we miss getting the work for a week. This has led us to face hurdles in providing for our family hence we end up owing the school huge arrears, I, therefore, spent KES 500 on my children's school fees so that I could reduce the balance. KES 200 I sent to my daughter who is in a secondary boarding school for her upkeep and spent the remaining KES 400 on two packets of corn flour for my family. I am grateful for the transfer since it enabled me to meet my household needs without struggling.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a professional mason currently working in the village. This job is quite great as it has been my only source of income for more than a decade and I have always paid all my bills as well as supporting my mother. But all they has changed lately with the job getting too seasonal depending on the availability of water. Sadly I have noticed that whenever there's drought potential clients keep off building projects because they do not want to attract the high cost of getting water from far places. This has badly affected my income that l have been thinking of switching to keeping goats when I receive this money to keep afloat. On top of that, I also want to be using my transfers to top up school fees for my son who's in high school right now paying 35000 KES annually.
What is the happiest part of your day?
It was two months ago when the results were out for the national examination that marks the end of primary school education. My son's performance was extremely good that he got a calling from two different extra county schools, one of them being outside the coastal region. I was really happy because he made me proud.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My biggest challenge at the moment is scarcity of job that has made it impossible for me to effectively pay my bills. I have four children who are schooling right now; one in high school paying 35000 KES annually, three in primary school each paying 2600 KES per academic term. With the 10000 KES I'm averagely able to make per month, I can not afford all that and still feed the rest of my family and support my old mother.