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 spouse and I agreed to purchase a motorbike on loan. Although it was second-hand, we bought it for $500. My spouse operates the motorbike, and the earnings he makes, combined with a portion of my transfer, go toward repaying the loan. This business also helps cover our family's basic needs. We also have a hotel business that has become more stable thanks to these transfers, so while I’m still caring for our newborn, my spouse is running it. Our top priority for the coming year is to fully repay this loan. Once my child is old enough for me to bring to the hotel, I plan to focus on expanding the business by adding more stock. I intend to use my transfers to make this possible so that when the transfers eventually end, the business will be able to sustain itself through its profits, supporting both my family’s needs and my own.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I want to thank GiveDirectly for the financial support I’ve been receiving. The most recent transfers arrived at a time when I was in great need of funds. I received the money on the day I was admitted to the hospital for delivery, as I was expecting a baby. This support was invaluable as I welcomed my child. I used $17 to buy essential personal items like basins, clothes, and some food. I also spent $30 on a bed, as I used to sleep on the floor, and this was a much-needed improvement now that I have a newborn who requires a clean, safe environment. With the remaining amount, I invested $30 in our small hotel business, which is our main source of income for my spouse and me. Lastly, I purchased a goat for $25 as a future investment for when these transfers come to an end.
28th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($27 USD)
access_time 3 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My goal is to purchase a motorbike and hire it out to diversify my income and improve my family’s living standards. I expect to earn about $10 each day from this venture and plan to use this income to support my family. I intend to acquire the motorbike on credit and repay it using the transfers I receive from GiveDirectly. The motorbike costs around $1,000, and I will negotiate a manageable monthly payment with the seller. I believe that once I have the motorbike, it will generate additional income that will significantly benefit my family.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I currently own five goats and used $34 from the transfers to purchase two more, with the hope that they will multiply and allow me to start my own business. I am expanding my vegetable-selling business, and I spent $15 to increase my stock in order to boost my profits. I also spent $14 to buy new clothes, as my old ones were worn out, and $10 for new shoes to complete my outfit. Additionally, I spent $20 on food to ensure my family has enough to eat. With the remaining $9, I bought three chickens to add to my current flock of six. I believe investing in chickens is a good strategy, as they can multiply and eventually be exchanged for goats.
25th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($27 USD)
access_time 6 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I am staying with my mother-in-law, because my spouse married me when he had not built one. Currently he works in Mombasa but pays visits are short because there's not enough space. This makes it really important for us to have our own place. So, our main goal for the next few years is to build our own house. We're saving money to make this happen. I'm thankful for Give Directly because their help will make a big difference in building our home.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Since getting married, I've been determined to work hard to build a home for my family. When I received my recent transfers, I chose to invest them wisely. I allocated $34 to purchase additional vegetables for my grocery business, which I started to support my family and myself while reducing dependence on my spouse for financial support. Another $34 went towards buying new clothing for myself, as my old clothes were worn out or no longer fit. Lastly, I invested $25 to buy a goat and used the remaining funds to hire farm labor. I'm truly grateful for GiveDirectly, as without their support, I wouldn't have been able to take these steps towards securing my family's future, and for that, I'm sincerely appreciative.
21st Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($22 USD)
access_time 11 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
As a newly married woman I know that I will grow my family and have children. I would want to have the financial capacity to take care of my family as it grows even as my husband provides. I decided on the grocery business as food is something people have all the time. I knew I would have business all year round and so I knew that was the best business to invest in. I plan to expand this business further using the Givedirectly transfers. I want to add more things so that in the process I can get to a point where I am selling most things.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am recently married, I moved into my husband's house in October. I received my transfer having moved to my new home. I bought a goat at $20, bought a few clothes at $10 and food at $4. In November I had purposed to start a business, i spent $30 setting up my grocery stall business. I also got some essentials sugar and rice at $4. In December it was my first time in my new home. I shopped to take care of my new family. My husband was also coming back from the city. I bought wheat flour at $10, I bought Cooking oil at $10 and fish at $4. I also got myself a new dress at $3 and shoes at $7.
17th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($24 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?
My primary goal is to establish a small eatery business by the end of this year. Despite completing my elementary education, my health issues prevented me from pursuing further studies, and I no longer wish to burden my parents by fully relying on their support. Instead, I aim to become financially independent and contribute to my family's well-being. To realize this dream, I plan to be saving a portion of my monthly transfers and use the savings to start my eatery venture, which will not only provide me with a source of income but also support my parents and six siblings.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Ever since I completed my elementary school education, I had been unwell, a condition that had been ongoing to an extent that I was not able to continue with my studies. It had been a challenging time for my parents as well in terms of catering for my medication since my mother does not have a source of income, and the only money we rely on as a family is the little income that my father gets from his hotelier job. GiveDirectly's financial support had been of great relief because the transfers that I have been receiving had been paying part of my bills. With the most recent one, I got it at the right time that my condition worsened, and upon receiving it, I immediately settled the medical expenses of $20. The remaining amount of $14.70 was also of great help in terms of buying more clothes because the ones I had were worn out. I would forever remain grateful to GiveDirectly for the support.
14th 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 ambition as a young girl who has completed school and is still living under my father's roof is to no longer be a burden to him. With my five siblings still relying on him for their education, I wish to alleviate some of that responsibility. I aspire to achieve financial independence and contribute to the betterment of our family. Instead, I aspire to attain financial independence and support my family. To achieve this, I plan to open a business selling vegetables in my village as a source of income.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
During the past three months, I have utilized cash transfers primarily on livestock, clothes, and food. Out of the total of $102 that I received over this period, I allocated $30 to purchase a goat and $20 to acquire four chickens. I believe that as these animals reproduce, they will contribute to increasing my wealth, as I can sell them and use the proceeds to support the household's needs. Currently, I rely on my father, who works at a food point, to provide for our family. Aside from myself, he carries the burden of providing for my five siblings, all of whom are still in school. To alleviate some of this burden and not be an additional source of dependency, I aim to establish a source of wealth that can contribute to the household's needs, which is through livestock keeping. The remaining funds were used to purchase clothes and shoes since I had only a few of them. I am happy to have acquired more clothing than I had before. This has prevented me from repeatedly wearing the same clothes, which in turn helps to preserve their quality.
10th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($28 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Even though I have a business from which I can obtain daily income, I regard it as a small one. As I continue to receive my monthly cash transfer this year, my primary goal is to boost my business by pumping in more capital. Consequently, I shall find it easier to support myself. I will also be able to offer financial support to my mother when the business picks up well. She struggles to pay both the family's bills and the tuition for my four siblings. It will be possible for me to diversify my business by adding new items, like secondhand and ready-made clothing.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Even though I am still a young single woman, I run a canteen shop where I sell vegetables and cereals. I always realizeg a $3 net profit per day from the business. Since my mother does not have a steady source of income, I always strive to help support our family of seven by contributing some of the profits from my business to cover my siblings school fees. With the recent transfer, I spent $20 on a new wardrobe because the clothes I had, had shrunk and were no longer appropriate for me. I also spent $6 on a cock because I desire to expand my poultry farming. I look forward to a large stock in the future. Finally, I spent $14 on food because we were out of foodstuff, and my mother was unable to acquire some.
6th Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($25 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My life has greatly improved as I have been recieving Givedrectly transfers. I am feeling happy as I have had a chance to add afew more clothes for myself as I had 20 pieces of clothing before. I spent $1.9 from 4th transfer and $1.6 from the 5th transfer on clothes. I am also glad that I was able to help my family with accessing food for the past three months. My father is our breadwinner and his finances have been spent on paying school fees of $60 monthly for my 4 siblings and this means that he is unable to buy food. I was able to help with food purchases from my transfer by spending $1.2 from my fourth transfer, $1.3 from my fifth transfer and $2 from my sixth transfer on food. I was also hoping to add an animal to my animals and so I spent $2.6 from my sixth transfer on a goat.I have also not been fairing on well due to a stomach complication that arose a while back so I spent $2 on pain medicine for this issue.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($26 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly helps to raise the living standards of the less fortunate in society through direct financial transfers. For example, with the transfer, I was able to get treatment, and my life is improving. I am confident that if I had not received financial assistance, I would not have begun to see the progress that I have now since I would not have been able to afford my medication. In contrast, there is nothing that GiveDirectly does not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My lifelong ambition has been to raise goats. I immediately spent KES 2500 on a goat after receiving my transfer. This, however, would not work because I do not have a consistent source of income. Previously, I ran a grocery store that made an average profit of KES 250 per day, allowing me to easily support my family. However, I no longer engage in that business because I have been sick for the past three months. I am hoping that by raising goats, I will be able to amass assets that will considerably assist me in obtaining funds in the future.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
1200 KES ($10 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
On that day, I was unwell thus I could not frequently check on my phone. However, late in the evening, I felt unusual urge to check on my phone. What a surprise? I was so glad to notice an Mpesa message. Upon going through it, I realized that it was my transfer from GiveDirectly. I felt so excited and
relieved at once. Without taking long time, I was able to get out of my bed. I was so much moved with joy and surprisingly, I regained strength. It was then that I learnt that my sickness could have been caused by stress related to my finacial contraint.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Currently, I have a few set of new clothes
that I acquired courtesy of GiveDircerly's
transfer. As a result, I am no longer ashamed
to move out of the home contrary to how it used to be sometime back. I am so glad that my dignity has been restored. Consequently, I can confidently engage in other businesses
such as selling of charcoal without looking
down upon myself. Thanks to GiveDirectly for
the timely financial aid.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a young lady who is still fully depending on my parents. As a result, I do not have any income generating activity. Despite this, I have not been have descent and presentable
clothes since my parents are overwhelemed with the household responsibility. Therefore, when I receieved my recent transfer, I prioritized to spend them on buying a new set of clothes. Initially, I only had very few and old clothes. I often felt afraid and asshamed to put them on whenver I was to get out of home to the market. This could lower my self-esteem as a young girl.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I dropped out of school in class four when I developed some conditions that could not allow me to continue. It just started with a mild neck pain which grew into stronger pains right from the neck down to my back. Finally my neck got stiff keeping my face sideways for about a year. The whole treatment took about seven years in Mombasa and when it was done I was too old to go back to primary four. Right now I'm just thinking about doing business to keep my life going. When I receive this money I want to start investing in livestock farming specially goats. I'm picking on them because they're affordable that I can just get a number using each transfer. We traditionally consider livestock a store of wealth and so instead of saving money elsewhere you can improve its value this way. Later on I would also like to inject more money into my current business that offers vegetables alongside other essentials to expand it for more profit.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I was very happy mid last year when I went back to Mombasa for more medical tests to ascertain my condition. It turned out negative meaning that the neck problem was completely healed! It really felt good like being normal again after a long time. And I still enjoy that I haven't had such severe pain anywhere on my body since last year.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My main challenge is the recurrent health issues. First off I didn't continue with my primary school education beyond class four because I had a terrible neck pain that took around seven years to treat. Over that time my neck was facing strictly one side and I couldn't produce sound until when treatment was about two thirds way. This completely healed, but now I still experience a lot of headaches that are on and off hindering my productivity.