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.
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3rd Payment
Transfer Amount
50000 KES ($486 USD)
access_time 5 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have always preferred to be a full-time businessman so immediately I received the transfers, my main goal was to open up a business that could sustain the family going into the future by generating more money which we could use to keep the family going. I opened a butchery where we mostly sell fish. I had to pay the rental obligations for the small structure where we have been doing the business and I had to part with close to Kes 30000. I also had to buy the initial stock of fish which I started with and I must stay that it was very costly. On top of that, I had to get a deep freezer used for preservation purposes. Since the business premises was not in a very good condition and the standards I expected, I had to do a bit of renovation and repairs in order to bring to my expected standards.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life?
Currently, I am trying to figure out the strategies I can use to expand the business so that it can generate more and more cash both in the short term and the long term. First of all, I think I need to make savings as much as I can apart from just investing more money from my other full-time job where I have been operating as a taxi driver on a full-time basis.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I can say that my life has changed to an extent because I now have two sources of income unlike when I had only one source of income in the past. I now find it easy taking care of my family especially in terms of paying school fees for my children and my nephew. I employed my sister to work at the butchery and at the end of every month, I pay her her salary which makes her financially independent so she does not have to fully depend on me for financial assistance as she used to do in the past.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
36800 KES ($367 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a taxi driver and thought of starting another business in order to expand my source of income and when I received my most recent transfer, I decided to spend it to open a butchery business. I decided to venture into the butchery business since there were no butchery shops in our place. I knew the demand was high and hopefully I would succeed in it. Since most people like meat, I knew I would get enough profit. I also have already gotten some tenders from different hotels whom I supply them with meat on a daily basis. This business is doing well and I don't regret going for this idea. I thank GiveDirectly for giving me a start-up capital.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life?
My additional goal in my life that I didn't have before receiving the transfer is to expand my business by opening more butcheries in different places. Since the business is doing so well I am now planning to open new branches in different town centers. I want to settle a few things before I start establishing the new areas. I am happy to be a beneficiary to this project because my life has changed greatly and I will change other peoples lives too by employing them in the new areas that I will open the new butcheries. These butcheries will also ensure a stable source of income to my family.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently different from how it would have been had I never received the transfer because I now have my own business. I have always thought that I would always depend on working for other people.
My life is currently different from how it would have been had I never received the transfer because I now have my own business. I have always thought that I would always depend on working for other people. All this changed because I am now the one employing people after GiveDirectly decided to bless me with some money. I don't think I would have diversified my source of income and attain the goals that I have achieved at the moment if I only depended on my taxi work.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
20000 KES ($200 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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Describe the moment when you started receiving transfers. How did you feel?
It was around 8.30 am as I was going on with my daily work when I received my money. At that instant, my heart was filled with happiness. This money gave me hope of starting my poultry farming business again. I then called my wife so that I could share the good news with her.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
It has always been my dream to start poultry farming after the one I had started collapsed six months ago because I had to sell everything in order to use the money to pay for my son's hospital bill. When I received my recent transfer, I spent the whole amount in buying some chicken and their feeds so that I could start up this project. I decided on this project since it can be done alongside other jobs as it does not require full-time attention. Because of this, my mother now oversees this project as she goes on with her restaurant business.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Since I used the whole of my transfer to start a poultry project, I have not started selling anything yet. I believe that after some few months from now, my daily life will start changing as I will start earning some money from this project and I can use the money to expand this project.
Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
I am a driver at an uber-company. As an employee there, I can be given a loan depending on how I provide customer services to my customers alongside other things which they are checking. I am now planning to take this loan and use them to buy a car which I will be operating as a taxi. With this, I will be able to repay the loan and get some money for my family's daily needs.
Enrolled
access_time almost 6 years ago
Describe your usual day. How do you spend your time?
My usual day begins at 4:30am when I wake up. I prepare myself and have breakfast. I then head out to Tosha Petrol Station in Mlango Kubwa Village, Mathare, to pick my assigned Uber vehicle for work. I get my vehicle and then I switch on internet on my phone, to await any requests for my service, from clients. I attend to clients through out the day until 9:00PM when I close my work. I reconcile the finances I have received and I take back the vehicle to Tosha Petrol Station for parking, until the following morning. I then head to my house for supper, and to freshen up, and then I retire to bed. In my free time, I enjoy watching movies and to take my family out for some fun.
What are your greatest ambitions?
My ambitions are to own a fleet of salon cars for taxi service, that I can hire out to Uber company for income.
Describe your biggest worry.
My top concern is unemployment because it means I will struggle through life to sustain myself and my famiy, who depend on me. My other concern is crime. I am an Uber driver and at times I am forced to work late in the night. There has been rising cases of insecurity especially among us Uber drivers. I always have a fear that I might become a victim of crime and violence, anytime I have to work at night. My last concern is reckless road usage. My job involves spending time on the road driving around clients on most days, this can put my life at a risk especially when I encounter careless and reckless road users.
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
I will spend my transfers to invest in a new vehicle from the Uber company for my own Uber taxi business. They sell their vehicles to their drivers on hire-purchase terms. Currently, I am employed as a driver with the Uber Company. They sell their vehicles to their drivers at an initial fee of Kshs 50,000/=, after which you pay them an amount of Kshs 30,000/= every month for 3 years. I have always wanted to own one of their vehicles as an Uber taxi driver. I will acquire one with the transfers to maximize my profits. Secondly, I will purchase livestock for milk and beef production to be reared in my rural home in Murang'a County. Finally, I will save the remaining of my transfers.