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 don't have any new goal for the next four months because I want to concentrate more on farming. I need to pay close attention to the crops and make sure I don't mess on any step. I don't want to skip any process that may cost me. For instance, I need to buy pesticides and herbicides for my fruits on time to ensure I get a healthy and quality harvest. I can't risk making moves that could interfere with my business. This is why I will focus and ensure everything is in place to ensure I they grow successfully.
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 past four months preceding the current transfers is that I recently ventured into fruit farming. I planted fruits and vegetables since they have a high market demand. This has made me feel happy and ambitious every day. It is a unique business and there is hope for it being successful. It will definitely boost my income hence improving my living standards. I can't wait to start reaping the profits of this business and start accomplishing my goals
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to change in the next six months because I will have purchased a dairy cow. I already started a business of selling fruits and I believe that the income I will get from the sale fruits will enable me to buy a cow. Owning a cow is my biggest dream because it has several advantages. One of the advantages is that I will no longer purchase milk for consumption. Apart from that, I can decide to sell the surplus and earn more income. The income will enable me to clear my children school fees balances without any problem/hassle
15th 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 four months ago in that I no longer spend most of my time doing casual jobs only but also devote my time on my farm and this has made me have enough food for the family.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal for the next four months is to start horticulture farming. This project will earn me an income by selling the produce after the harvest at the market nearby and I will be able to pay school fees and even buy the basic household items without much struggle.
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 that I do not struggle so much like I used to before. I used to work the whole day on someone farm picking the tea to earn some money. The money I could get was so small that it was not able to feed my family or even pay school fees for my child in primary school. Nowadays I have devoted half of my time on my own farm and in doing casual jobs. Working on my farm has enabled me to get a good harvest which can feed my family through the season. My child also is no longer sent home frequently to collect school fees like before and his performance has improved greatly unlike before. I'm so grateful for the support, it has completely improved our living standard.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect your life to change in the next six months in that I will have saved some money in the merry go round group that is in the village to enable me to buy a dairy cow. This will reduce the cost of buying milk.
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?
I used to do a lot of casual jobs for a living. On several occasions, we had to miss some meals in a day. This was because the income was not enough to cater for all family needs like schools and food. Now, I have to thank God for transformations he has done in my house. Right now we are using transfers to buy food and some in investing through farming.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal in the next four months is to plant passion fruits. I have been yearning of planting passion fruits for some time because of the good market I have seen in our area. WIth the transfers I have saved I will manage to buy seeds and other farm inputs required.
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 that I could not manage to purchase farm inputs but now I am able. My main source of income is doing casual jobs. The income for this job was not even enough to buy food and pay school fees for my family. Getting money to buy farm inputs was a problem because mostly I could prioritize to buy food and pay school fees. Thanks, GiveDirectly. With the transfers I managed to purchase farm inputs now my farm produces are doing well.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect in the next six months to have completed my house. Due to lack of money I was forced to leave completing my house and prioritize on buying food and paying school fees. I will facilitate this now using the income from farm produces and save some from the transfers.
6th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 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. We do not suffer anymore with casual work that gives meager wages. Now we are free to do our own farm work and we do not strain any more. We have enough funds for food and farm needs. Our crops are well taken care of because we can afford pesticides and get disease-free crops and a good harvest.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I plan to plant oranges for sale. This is my new goal. I currently plant maize and beans but once I add oranges my income will increase. Oranges take four months to produce fruit and ripen for harvest. We have already dug the farm ready to plant them.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my life is that my farming work is going on well. I do not strain anymore to get funds to buy seedlings or fertilizer. I used to really struggle with casual work to save little funds so as to get some cash for few seedlings but now my farming is on track because of Give Directly transfers.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to better financially. I will have different produce for sale - beans, maize and oranges. I believe that we will have a bumper harvest and a good income.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
455 KES ($5 USD)
access_time over 6 years ago
attach_money
Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
My aim at this time is to start poultry farming of chicken since they are easy to manage.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life currently is different since I have now been able to plant some vegetable seeds which are now still in nursery.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life will have changed since I will have started poultry farming and will have sold my vegetables and use the profit I get to improve my farming practice.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
At the moment, my life has not changed since the vegetables I planted are still in nursery beds.
Enrolled
access_time over 6 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Even though I have acquired sufficient skills and knowledge in grafting fruits and other plants, I have no capital to venture into the business. I lack funds for establishing a greenhouse and purchasing appropriate seedlings. Unluckily, I have failed to leverage my skills and knowlwdge to generate grafted fruits, and subsequently miss income. I feel that is the biggest hardship I have faced.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is around midday when I am done with my farming activities - weeding or harvesting. That means presence of food and some income for our family currently and in future. Hence, I am happy because I feel I am acting like a responsible and caring mother for my family.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I am planning to spend my transfer on improving my crop farming activities - I will buy quality vegetable seeds to increase chances of attaining good harvest and subsequent high income.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
When I got married in the year 2004, I found my husband and his family with no tea plants unlike other villagers. I uncovered that my father-in-law did not want tea in his farm, probably because he did not know its value. I successfully approached my father-in-law to allow us plant tea in our farm. We planted about 0.2 acres of land, which provided us with significant and consistent income. Accordingly, my father-in-law realized the importance of the tea, and offered more land and manual support for planting more tea. He further encouraged other people in our family to plant more tea. I feel that was my greatest achievement since tea serves as our main source of income.