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.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a father of nine children; six currently attending school. One of my greatest joys is ensuring they receive an education that will shape their futures positively. From the recent transfer, I allocated $60 to pay my children's school fees, ensuring their education continues uninterrupted. Additionally, I spent $14 on stationery for them, providing necessary supplies like pens and books for their studies. I also believe in taking care of my wife's happiness and well-being. I spent another $14 to buy her a pair of shoes, acknowledging her constant dedication to our family's welfare. With the remaining $14, I purchased food for our family, which brought us immense happiness throughout the week. Seeing my family well-fed and content fills me with gratitude and motivates me to continue providing for their needs and aspirations.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I am currently engaged in various activities such as fishing and selling charcoal to support my family. My primary goal is to ensure that my children stay in school without interruptions to their education. I am determined to provide them with a better life that they truly deserve, which drives me to pursue any available income-generating opportunity. In addition to my other activities, I also manage twenty chickens and three ducks, which I can sell when we face financial challenges to meet our needs. Looking ahead, I plan to expand my investments in goats; currently, I have twelve. Thanks to GiveDirectly, receiving monthly support has significantly eased the financial burden. It allows me to easily pay my children's school fees and provide them with the care they need.
26th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($24 USD)
access_time 6 months ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have 5 children in school which I primarily rely on these transfer to pay their fees and buy their school supplies. Each of the 5 is required to pay a fee of $8 per term which totals to $40 for the five of them. Due to my low income which is from casual jobs, charcoal making and sometimes fishing, I am unable to provide for their basic needs as well as their school needs. For this reason, I always ensure that I clear their fees whenever I receive the transfers, mostly setting aside approximately $24 of the transfers and spending the remaining amount on other school supplies or household requirements. Whenever possible, I also try to expand my already large herd of livestock by buying either chicken or goats as they are more affordable. An example is in the month of February when I managed to purchase a young goat at $32. The livestock are an investment I am hoping will help once my children join high school as I will easily be able to sell them and raise the required fees.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My primary goal is to ensure my children have no debts in school and attend school consistently without any disruptions caused by delayed fee payments which usually lead to them being sent away from school. This is why I plan on continuing to use the transfers to pay their school fees and also take care of any other school requirements. Besides this, I also aim at continuing to expand my livestock herd by buying more goats and chicken whenever possible. This is to cushion myself against the high fee requirements that I will experience once my children join highschool. I currently have around 50 chickens and 20 gees which I intend to sell and use the proceeds to buy a much larger and easier to manage livestock such as a cow. In future, I can sell the cow to raise any money in times of financial emergencies.
21st Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 11 months ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
As a casual laborer and a charcoal seller, my primary responsibility is to provide for my wife and our seven children. There was a time I had lost all hope of being able to sustain my family, but I am genuinely grateful to Give Directly for providing a lifeline through their monthly transfers. With this newfound stability, I decided to venture into livestock rearing, a source of income that offers promising returns. Combining the income from my casual jobs, I allocated $68 to acquire a goat and a cow, which I plan to raise to maturity. Currently, I have a total of eight goats, which I can sell in case of emergencies. Furthermore, I spent $20 to cover my children's school fees, ensuring they could continue their education as a new term had begun. The remaining $14 was put towards purchasing food for my family, helping us overcome a shortage we were facing.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My primary goal is to provide a good education for my children, ensuring they can pursue their studies up to college level. To achieve this, my plan is to expand my current livestock numbers using the monthly transfers I receive. I firmly believe that by investing in the growth of my livestock, I can secure a brighter future for my family. This investment will not only support their education but also pave the way for improved opportunities for them once they graduate from college, enabling them to secure good jobs and lead better lives. Education has always been a priority for me, and I am dedicated to giving my children the best possible chance to succeed academically and achieve their dreams.
18th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($25 USD)
access_time 1 year ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have always wanted to have my own livestock that I believe would be of help in the future whenever I am faced with financial challenges. Therefore the transfers that I have been receiving from GibveDirectly had been of great help to me and with the most recent one, I managed to buy one goat worth $25 to add to the ones that I already had. I also paid school fees worth $5 for one of my children who was joining nursery school and spent the remaining amount of $4.70 on food since the stock that we had was also depleted, and so far I am very grateful for the support.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My main goal is always to ensure that my family live a good life despite the frequent challenges that we face. I have school-going children and it had always not been easy to get the money to fully pay for their school fees and this had been something that I would want to eradicate. My plan was therefore to keep livestock as many as I could so that I would sell them in the future whenever I am faced with financial challenges and get the money to cater for the needs. To achieve this, I would ensure that I buy at least one goat every month with the transfers that I would be receiving.
14th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I'm working on any available job that comes my way because of the country's deteriorating current economy. I do work related to selling charcoal, fishing, and building homes. All of these jobs have one thing in common: I don't make enough money to support my family on my meager pay. My children are the first to bear the impact whenever I am unable to land a job. Due to significant unpaid school fees, they are frequently expelled. I paid $4 in school fees for my youngest son, who was starting kindergarten this year, when I received my February transfers. With the aid of the Give Directly transfers, I am pleased and confident that I will see my children through to the end of their highest level of education. Last but not least, I bought a goat with the remaining $30. I want them to grow in number so I can eventually sell some and buy some cows, so this is an investment for the future. The market value of the cows is extremely high, which will be economically advantageous for me when I wil be selling them in the market.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
The investment of the transfer proceeds toward the purchase of goats will be my greatest accomplishment this year and moving forward. I currently have 8 goats in total, and my goal is to increase this herd to a sizable size. The proceeds from the sale of some of the goats will then be used to purchase cows. The price of a cow can range from $50000 to $80000. This sum is enormous and can address many of my issues. Many cows equal a lot of wealth that can be cashed in at any time.
10th Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($25 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I started receiving money from GiveDirectly I began to invest in goat-rearing projects. I spent $25 on purchasing a goat. The reason why I loved this project is that goats reproduce twice per year. I will sell the young ones to be able to purchase an ox. I have always wanted to own an ox since it helps in plowing the farm during the planting season and makes the work much easier. For the remaining amount of money, I top up with my little savings and purchase shoes, book, and pens for my five children in primary school. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has improved our living standards
6th Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($26 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Before the transfers came through, I barely had any money and yet I had a debt in tuition fee which led to my children being sent home almost everyday. I spoke to the administration and promised to pay as soon as I got the money. Sooner than later GiveDirectly sent out the transfers, so I took KES 1,800 and paid it for my four children. Since we were also facing challenges when it came to having a meal I ensured that I used the balance of KES 1,100 and purchased five packets of maize flour. Lastly I took the KES 100 left and bought laundry detergent.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I received the first transfer, one of my children who is a class 8 candidate needed some money for the national exams. I therefore, spent KES 800 on this. The remaining KES 300 was used on food. For the second transfer, I used it to reduce my debt at the school. Thus, I paid KES 2500. Since it very hot at this time of the year in my region, I had to get my children shoes. I spent the remaining KES 500 on buying them shoes.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, the transfers I get monthly is something GiveDirectly does well. I can develop myself. I'm now assured of having money every month unlike in the past. I therefore, intend to plan adequately that I may grow. At the moment, I do not feel there's something GiveDirectly is not doing well.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
1200 KES ($11 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have 7 children and the oldest is a candidate. I received my transfer when she was at home because she was expected to pay her end term exam fee. The situation at home was quite frustrating because I mainly rely on working as a charcoal burner and the process takes more than a day to be ready .I took KES 800 and paid partly her exam fee as I used the remaining KES 370 to buy a meal for my family for the next 2days as I hope to make sales.
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 transfers is being debt free when it comes to my children school fees. I have 7 children where 4 are already in the lower primary and the other 3 are yet to join school in the next 2 years.I am hopeful that I will be able to pay my children school fees with the next 5 years support program.Besides I have interest in keeping of livestock as a way of supporting my family and retiring from working as a charcoal burner.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was in the forest gathering wood ready to burn charcoal, when I had my phone beep. I stopped for a second to check the message. I was happy and excited when I saw the Mpesa message. All of a sudden I stopped doing what I was doing and rushed home.It was a relief because charcoal burning is one of the hardest job have ever had to do and takes long for one to enjoy its benefits.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My work is to vend charcoal, a job that earns me very little usually 1600 KES per month. This income is very low to fully support the needs of my family of 11 members. Consequently, my children have been sent out of school due to lack of fees while at home, skipping meals has become our norm. I, therefore, consider the lack of a reliable source of income as the main challenge that I am currently facing.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Despite the many challenges that my children have faced in school like the lack of fees, they have recently demonstrated that they can do better regardless of the hardship they are going through. In their last exam on June 2021, they had good marks something that I never expected. This has given me the energy to work hard and support them. Hence, I consider this as what has brought joy to my life.
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have 9 children with 6 of them in primary school. I have desired to ensure these children get their best in school and I have tried a lot to support them in paying fees. With all my struggle from the charcoal work that earns me very little usually 1600 KES per month, I have sometimes failed since some lack school uniforms. Seeing them putting on home clothes as they go to school makes me feel like an irresponsible father. I plan to spend the better part of my transfers in supporting my children's education in terms of paying their fees and also buying uniforms. This will give me peace of mind and also a guarantee of a better future. The other transfers will help me to buy food and construct a separate house for my children.