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?
My life is different in that I was able to plant my maize farm on time. Before, I used to plant late because of lack or inadequate finances. This would really affect the yield from the farm. I also bought some building materials for building. I want to build my own house now that that of age to own one. I am glad that most of the materials are already at the site and I am confident that I will soon have my own house.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My goal in the next four months is to start and finish building my own house. I am currently still staying in a house my parents built me but I want to have my own. Now that I already bought some materials, what is remaining is to get buy the rest and start building it.
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 am less worried that I may not meet my family's needs whenever I am expected. Money is hard to come by, and this was one problem I faced before GiveDirectly visited to a point where I was sometimes not able to meet the basic needs. This is however not the case anymore because GiveDirectly has brought a turnaround. What I get from the monthly transfer is able to take me through the better part of the month.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My expectation in the near future is to be living in my own house new house. I have been living in my parent's house ever since and I have been planning to have and live in my own for awhile. Once I am done with the house, I would like to start and run a retail business that will act as one source of income. This will help improve my financial status and enable me to take good care of my family.
16th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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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 buy milk. This is because am getting milk from my dairy cow which I recently bought with the transfers. I have also devoted most of my time on my farm and I no longer depend so much on the income from casual jobs like I did before. Apart from this, I also earn a daily income through the sale of milk.
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 continue saving part of my transfers which I will use to buy building materials to put a better and spacious house for my family. This is because the one we are currently living in is small and cannot accommodate us comfortably.
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 had saved some amount from GiveDirectly and also from the casual jobs that I usually do in the village and I was able to buy a dairy cow. Nowadays I do not have to buy milk from my neighbors which were so costly for me. Sometimes I sell the surplus milk at the center near home to meet additional needs for the family. Before I used to buy milk and it was so costly for me. The casual jobs that I usually do at the village earn me a small amount of money which cannot enable to meet the high cost of living. I am so grateful for the support from The GiveDirectly because it has really changed my living standards and those of the people around me.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to change in the next six months in that I will have completed building my new house. My children will have a good place to sleep unlike now where they sleep at my neighbors' house. With this, I would have reduced the risk of them being attacked or violated physically while walking in the darkest bushes at night and it worries me when I think of their safety.
12th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Boosting my farming has really changed my life. I use the money from GD to buy farm inputs. Providing for my family has also become an easy task. I use the milk I get on my farm for food. Selling milk to buy food was the order of the day. We used to sell milk to buy maize and sugar, vegetable and cooking fat. Getting transfer means I can buy these things without selling all the milk. Therefore we keep it for our own consumption a luxury we did not have before.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I plan to use it on buying sheep to raise on my farm. This project will help me because they multiply quickly into many that will become a source of money on sale.
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 the seamless is farming operations. I get to buy farming inputs that protect my crops on time. Since receiving these transfers, my crops do not fail due to attacks from diseases and fungicides. I don't see a time in which my crop will cause losses as I spray them with pesticides on time. This makes my farming reliable venture. I make profits that help me to meet my daily needs.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I will have increased the size of my tomato farm and increased my profits.
7th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 6 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life currently is different since I have been able to buy some iron sheets which I want to use in building myself a house.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
The new goals I now have is to build a house for myself and buy a cow.
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 happiness.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to change in that I will have built myself a house and I will have also bought a cow.
Initial 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?
The new goals i set for myself when i stated receiving the transfer is to buy a cow,sheep and to build new house .i also plan to buy furniture.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently different because in now have a poultry system. Without GiveDirectly's transfer,i wouldn't have bought the chicken to keep.i now have a daily source of income.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months,my life will have changed because i will be living in a new house with good furniture.i will also have increased the no of chicken i have and therefore will have a source of income.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference since i started to receive payments from Givedirectly is that i established poultry farming. I am happy when i see the growth in my poultry,my life has changed as i get an income and my brood keeps growing.
Enrolled
access_time almost 7 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship that I have faced in my life is when I was in high school and I had difficulties in paying my school fee. This frustrated me a lot especially during the time that I was forced to repeat.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the morning when I wake up strong and healthy. Am also happy when I wake up to find all the members of my family equally healthy.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
Am planning to spend part of my transfer in opening a small kiosk that will enable me generate profits that can help me meet my daily needs. I also intend to use part of the transfer in building a new house for myself.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
The achievement that am proudest of is when we had a huge maize harvest in our household that filled the stores. During that time we paid school fees for the school going children in the household comfortably and had enough food for the entire year.