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 have no additional goal at the moment because I am still in the process of realizing my dream of building a permanent house. My family has suffered enough as a result of living in a squeezed house where is there no privacy since is one-roomed. I want to ensure I finish this project of building a house first before I indulge in any new 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 that I a nowadays hopeful and ambitious in life. I now have a lot of hope that soon I will build my dream house. I have been buying building materials every time I get my monthly transfer. Through the help of Give Directly, I have accumulated enough building materials and soon I will look for the builder to come and start the work.
I believe very I will be living in my new house, I decide to the builder a better that is more spacious. The one we are currently staying in now is too small hence cant accommodate my family comfortably.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I believe I will have finished building my new house in the next six months. I expect to have shifted to the new house. I will be enjoying the freedom and privacy in the new building since it will be more spacious compared to the one we are living in. Currently, we are staying in a one-room house that I share with my children. It is normally very uncomfortable sleeping with kids who are fast approaching their teenage years in the same house.
18th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Within the past four months, I have managed to buy chickens as a little investment of part of my transfers. I bought the chickens hoping that by December, they will have increased in number so that I can take advantage of the festive season and sell them at a good price. I have also managed to buy a few roofing sheets within the same period and now have hopes of one day achieving my goal of expanding my current house.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My current house is very tiny and I wish to enlarge it which is the main reason I have been buying roofing sheets every month with part of my transfers. I have been buying the materials but I have not gotten enough yet, so, I wish to keep spending most of my transfers on them untill I have enough and with the assistance, I am getting from my wife, I know I will achieve my target soon.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
Being that I do not have a stable source of income and only rely on casual jobs, these transfers have been of a lot of help to my family as we always find it easy taking care of our daily household needs even when we have no income. I am glad that my family did not face the wrath of the recently witnessed famine and drought that cause a hike in most food prices. I do not want to imagine what our lives would have been like if we had not been receiving the transfers because I am sure we would have been forced to go hungry on several occasions due to lack of money to buy the expensive food commodities.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I hope that I will have a bigger and better house in the next six months so that when I have visitors, I have enough space to host them and not have to ask them to sit outside under a tree or request my neighbours to host them in their spacious homes. My children are also growing very fast and will soon need to have their own bedrooms which is also why I hope this project will soon be achieved.
15th 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 family's general life has improved because we have always managed to buy the critical requirements in our house even during those periods that I am unable to get any jobs. This is possible because of the transfers we receive which have kept my family from going hungry. Just recently, I was able to buy a large quantity of maize for which otherwise would have been impossible without GD. My life as a parent has been a much easier one as I am able to provide for my family with ease, all thanks to GD transfers.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I have plans of enlarging my house which is very tiny and is usually very uncomfortable especially when I have visitors. To be able to achieve this, I will keep using my transfers to buy the materials required in bits until I can get enough just like I have been doing in the past few months. I entirely depend on these transfers to make this possible as I am not capable of buying the required materials on my own due to low income.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
There was a lot of drought and famine witnessed in our area in the past four months, but my family did not feel much of its effects even though we do not have stable sources of income. These transfers have made our lives quite easy especially in the past four months which otherwise would have been unbearable due to the hiked prices of foodstuff and other vital household needs.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I hope that in the next six months, I will have gathered enough resources to enlarge my house so that I can comfortably host my visitors without having to sit outside under a tree as is currently happening.
12th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time almost 6 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
I have been able to pay school fees for my child in full being that I had no cash at the beginning of the year but thanks to GD, I now have cash to sort out their fees expenses.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I have a plan of paying dowry because I feel it is an obligation that I should accomplish in the near future. I do not think it is a good idea living with my wife the way I do right now without paying her dowry as per the traditions of the community.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I have been buying new iron sheets that I have accumulated overtime which I plan to use in building a new house because the one I am living in right now is grass thatched and it leaks terribly every time it rains.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect to change my life because I know that after six months I will have erected a new house that is more spacious and can easily accommodate my family as opposed to living in this small house where we squeeze for space.
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 is now now different because I have money to provide enough food for the family in addition to having great plans of building a new house structure.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I plan to use my savings to build a new house for myself because the house I have right now is in such a dilapidated state.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I have managed to save a lot of cash from the transfers I have been getting from the organization. The savings will help me so much when I will be ready to build
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My life will have changed because I will have managed to have accumulated enough building materials that we will use to construct our new house.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
455 KES ($4 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?
I have no new goals. My goals are still the same. Firstly I plan to expand my house, lease more land for farming to increase my farm produce and lastly be able to settle my bridal price. This will make me feel at peace and walk with courage.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Currently I can confidently say that I have a very spacious house that i would not have had if i had not been part of the give directly beneficiaries. I will be able to go and settle my bridal price this makes me happy because by so doing I will earn respect in the village.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months I expect to be living in a more spacious house this being that I am looking forward to expand my current house besides that I fore see myself having a bumper harvest given that I plan to lease more land for farming. Finally i will have settled my bridal price and earned respect as a man in my village.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving this money is the ability to expand my household to get enough space for my family members. Before I used to live in a small house that could not accommodate my family comfortably.
Enrolled
access_time over 6 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced is being unemployed.I used to do car wash business in Nairobi but when the business collapsed,I could not find another job and providing for my family proved so difficult.I had to come back home and resort to farming.Before that transition,life was so difficult with a young family that I had.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is usually in the evening when taking a meal.Because I spend the whole day working to earn an income,when I finally get home to see my family enjoying a meal,it makes me happy because it implies that my struggle was not in vain.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I plan to spend my transfer on building a bigger house.The current one is not spacious.After building the house,I will pay school fees for my child and pay dowry for my wife.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
The achievement that am so proud of is having a family.My wife and child.Due to prevailing economic situation,it is not easy for the youths to have and maintain a family.But am happy and proud that I have mine four years after resolving to start a family.