GDLive Newsfeed
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.
Obat's family
access_time over 5 years ago
Obat received a $22 fifteenth payment.
"I am dedicated to this mechanic course that I am taking and I hope that in the next six months, I will have mastered most of it so that I can start earning some money by doing some little repairs. I have not yet started earning any money from here because I am still learning the basics, but I am told that after some time, I will start earning as I learn which I am eagerly waiting for so that I can support my mother financially."
Bitris's family
access_time over 5 years ago
Bitris received a $22 nineteenth payment.
"My expectation in the next six months is to have started operating a kiosk. Currently, I do not have much to do during morning hours. I thought of this great idea to maximize the morning hours and use the evening ones to sell vegetables in the market because I still do not want to leave this business which has been sustaining my family."
David's family
access_time over 5 years ago
David received a $22 seventeenth payment.
"I would really like to plaster my house which is currently in a semi-permanent condition, but because of the responsibilities I have on paying school fees for my children in high school and college, I have to put this on hold first. This means that in the next six months, I do not expect any physical changes in my life, but a lot of emotional peace having enough money to pay school fees for my children through the savings that I am planning to start making from the transfers."
Betty's family
access_time over 5 years ago
Betty received a $22 nineteenth payment.
"I expect my life to change in the next six months my business will have stabled and I have some savings for emergency needs. I am hoping when I have saved enough, I may again find another way to invest the money. I am thinking of poultry project though not asure because I know through that I will get more income to help me in my family life."
Andrew's family
access_time over 5 years ago
Andrew received a $22 eighteenth payment.
"My expectation for the next six months to use the saved transfers for and buy a goat for rearing purposes. I am planning to start a goat rearing project because they do well in my area. I am also interested in this because they multiply very fast and with the increased numbers in the near future, I might sell the grown ones to sort financial crisis such as medical bills if one of my family member is sick and has a lumpsum bill at the hospital."
Mercy's family
access_time over 5 years ago
Mercy received a $22 nineteenth payment.
"I hope that in the next six months, I will have bought the livestock that I plan to buy. It might seem very achievable to buy the goats and sheep that I plan to buy because they are very affordable, but if I fail to plan properly, l may not succeed. I, therefore, hope that I will stick to the plan and buy the livestock which will be a good investment that I can, later on, sell to buy something bigger."
Sharlet's family
access_time over 5 years ago
Sharlet received a $529 initial payment.
"Having my own pit latrine has made my life to be totally different. This is because previously, my family and I used to relive ourselves in the bushes. This was totally unhygienic and most of the time we were always suffering from diseases such as typhoid and cholera. It was a really bad situation because every now and then we were always in the hospital. It was like a routine to my family that we were so desperate to put to an end. This was even affecting my children at school because it was difficult for them to concentrate on their studies because they were sick most of the time. But the coming of GiveDirectly has changed everything completely. We are no longer falling sick like before because we have our own pit latrine that has freshwater. I am so grateful to this organization because it has brought a major positive impact on my life."
Elizabeth's family
access_time over 5 years ago
Elizabeth enrolled.
"My firstborn daughter developed a condition that has destabilized her hormonal balance ever since she was 6 years old. At first, she was misdiagnosed, and even operated on at Kenyatta national hospital. This didn't help her, and it was only later when we discovered she was suffering from something that tempers with her hormones. It caused her to rapidly grow beyond her age and this worried doctors every time we visited the clinic. The entire progress was very costly and it was hard to meet it. At some point, we were referred to Gertrude, a pediatric hospital. Being a private hospital, it was even more expensive to seek medical attention there. The entire process cost over half a million Kenyan shillings. She is a teen now, and what troubles me a lot is the medicine that she has to use on a daily basis for the rest of her life, given the side effects and the cost of medication. I have spent most of my income on this leaving none for other developments in the family."
Kadzo's family
access_time over 5 years ago
Kadzo enrolled.
"Since agriculture is no longer viable in this area, my desire has been to diversify into other sources of income. However, with no capital, it remained only as a wish. Now that I'm one of the beneficiaries of this program, I see myself finally accomplishing that desire and ultimately becoming self-reliant. And to achieve that, I intend to start up a small business of selling vegetables and fruits, -it will cost approximately ksh 30000 establish. Having this up and operating will earn me a daily income that can sustain my family with much ease. For once, I will no longer need to borrow money to buy food. Apart from business, livestock rearing is another area that I will invest heavily on. Hence, the remaining part of the transfers will go there. Having all this will boost my financial stability and that is what receiving this money means to me."
Ruth's family
access_time over 5 years ago
Ruth enrolled.
"Three years ago, I developed a severe chest complication that saw me hospitalized for a month. At that time, I had a clothesline, where I used to sell all sort of clothes. But since this was my only source of income, I had to use all the money that I had saved from it to meet my medical costs. I spend over ksh 80000 in hospital and up to now, I'm still under medication. As a result, the situation forced me to close shop since that money that had remained was not enough to run the business, and that meant a financial instability in the offing. Ever since then, sustaining my family's needs has been an uphill task. My husband had to resort to odd jobs around the village to at least earn a daily wage for the family to get food and basic education."