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.
Stages:
 
Enrollment
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Transfers
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Completed
Newsfeed > Gladys's Profile
Gladys's family
Gladys
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Other
faceAge:
18
workCampaign
Kenya Large Transfer
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53010 KES ($425 USD)
access_time 1 year ago
check
 
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My goals this year is to graduate from college, find a job and enroll for a tailoring course. Achieving this means that I will be able to take care of my children and become financially independent in the long-run.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
What GiveDirectly does well is empowering people through the unconditional cash transfers. Just like me, many other people are able to go back to school and get livelihood skills and thus become financially independent. May you continue doing the great work that you usually do.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a single mother to five children and since I don't have a job, life has not been a walk in the park as I rely on my mother who operates a local restaurant and since she's in her old age now, she's not able to do much. Like any mother, I want my children to have a good life and that's why I recently enrolled in a collage to study beauty and hairdressing to get livelihood skills. I spend KES 1050 of my second transfer buy school uniform for my children, KES 5000 to to pay fees arrears, KES 4200 to buy food and spend the balance to pay my collage fees. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for it were not for the transfers, I wouldn't have afforded to pay my collage fees.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($448 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. I was on my way home from college when I heard my phone ring, and upon checking, I confirmed that I had indeed received money from GiveDirectly. I was so happy that finally I had money to clear my college fee as well as start up my own business. I informed my mother of the same and she was so happy as well. I knew that I was finally going to be able to turn around my life with the money and that of my family too.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I no longer sleep hungry like we could do before receiving the first payment. Things were really tough for us as a family and sometimes we could not get money to buy food. Having cleared my primary education, I was optimistic that I will proceed to do my college studies but as fate would have it, I did not get an opportunity to do that. I had to drop out of school and try and figure out what to do with my life. Getting even the oddest of casual jobs proofed hard for me. I feel so much happy and relieved knowing that I will soon clear my college studies and proceed to start my own business. This will change the story of my family completely and I thank God and Givedirectly for this. I will be in a position to support my family do much more
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent $50 to buy food for my family and used another $200 to clear my college fee. I also saved a sum of $200 that will help me start my own business once I am done with college studies. The remaining amount of approximately $150 was used to buy clothes for my siblings, my child and my own clothes as well. Things were a tough for us as a family before we received the transfer. I had had to drop out of school after completing my primary school studies due to lack of money to continue. I never had anything to do to earn a living except the odd casual jobs which were sometimes hard to come by as well. We all relied on our mother who works in an hotel to make ends meet for us. For a long time, we had not had the luxury of buying new clothes until we received money from GiveDirectly. I am personally very grateful to GiveDirectly for uplifting our family at an hour of need. We will forever feel indebted for this. I feel happy knowing that very soon I will be able to complete my college studies and start my own business that will completely change my life.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 1 year ago
 
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
I'm just nineteen years old right now, finished my primary education last year unfortunately while with a baby already. But I still feel I should proceed and accomplish all that I had planned. I wanted to join our village polytechnic and take a course in hair dressing so that I can open up my business later on. There's a big opportunity over here because the only salons available are very far away like five kilometers or so. This will roughly cost $200. But because we're getting this grant as a family, I'll spend the remainder to also pay school fees for my siblings who are still in grade schools as well as replenishing the monthly food supplies.
What is the happiest part of your day?
It's always quite challenging to take care of others when you do not have enough resources. My happiness is normally when I have enough supplies in the house to take care of my younger siblings. In the month of May this year, I was lucky to receive $40 from my mother as upkeep! This made me really happy because ever since prices of commodities started rising she had never adjusted the amounts she send monthly. I was able to shop for most the foodstuffs that we regularly use and for the rest of that month, we were sorted.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Our biggest struggle is with food security. I'm just a junior adult trying to take care of my younger siblings as the one in charge when my mother is away. She was once married but due to separation for reasons best known to her, we ended up at her paternal home right where we are now. Since we got here, she's been working in Kilifi and sending us some money monthly. But the problem is that the money is hardly enough, always ranging between $15 to $25 per month. With this much, we still have to run out of cash so fast and start skipping meals and begging from neighbors.