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.
Tabu's family
access_time 1 year ago
Tabu received a $28 sixth payment.
"As a mother of five children, I rely heavily on small business that sell cooked food to support my family. My husband also runs a herbal medicine business. However, our daily wages are never enough to meet my family's insatiable educational and nutritional needs. We did not have food when I got my recent transfer. As a result, I spent $15 on food. The remainder went into school fees for my five school-going children. The transfers I received in October, November, and December enabled me to purchase two goats for $80. I chose these because goats are valuable and will benefit my family in the future."
William's family
access_time 1 year ago
William received a $439 initial payment.
"I invested a larger part of the transfers in boosting my livestock rearing. This is because I had desired to improve it to be more stable to support our needs without much struggle. I spent $ 325 to purchase one cow, three goats, 2 turkeys, and 8 chickens. This is a long-term investment for the family that will help us whenever face a financial crisis in the future. Similarly, I bought various veterinary medicine for the livestock for treatment when they get diseases. In addition, I intend to use the remaining amount to acquire food and clothing for my wife and children."
Mark's family
access_time 1 year ago
Mark received a third payment.
"Give-directly did well by changing my life.I never had the means of even sending my 3 children to school in Cestos.I have been selling Medicine for 6 years,but there were no improvement,because I will have to feed my family from the sales that I generated daily. When give-directly came to my village,My entire life change.I was able to pay my children school fees and added my existing business."
Dama's family
access_time 1 year ago
Dama received a $28 tenth payment.
"I am very old, and my daughter is completely responsible for taking care of me. My health has significantly declined over the past few months, necessitating frequent trips to the hospital. I bought medicines with $10 of my January transfers. I'm content because I feel much better now than I did before the transfer. Moreover, I spent $19 on food. The doctor advised me to eat fresh produce, fruits, and milk to strengthen my immunity as my health was deteriorating. My ability to purchase these nutritious foods was greatly aided by the funds from my January transfers. Finally, I spent $5 on a hen. Purchasing livestock is one way to save money for the future now that I am unable to work. Once the hen multiplies, I can sell both the mature hens and the eggs for a profit on the market. Then I'll use the money to pay for my most urgent needs."
Brian's family
access_time 1 year ago
Brian received a $439 initial payment.
"Before withdrawing the money, my wife and I sat to deliberate on how we could use the transfer on. We subdivided the amount into three dockets that are; for the renovation of our house, boosting our business, and for agriculture. For the renovation, we used $180 to put a plywood ceiling into our house as well and did some painting. We are happy as a family that we now stay in a nice-looking house. Thereafter we spent $200 to buy more stock for our chemist business. We opted to do this because we were unable to meet most of our customers' demands since most medicines are expensive. Therefore using the stated amount, we were able to stock most of the drugs which have a higher demand. As of now, the business is doing well and our clients are certified. For the agricultural docket, we used $100 to construct a mini fishpond of 4 square meters. The aim of this was to grow some fish for family consumption. We bought 200 fingerlings which are now growing. For the remaining amount, we bought some food for the family."
Rajab's family
access_time 1 year ago
Rajab received a sixth payment.
"I would like to continue with my chicken business. I want to grow my chicken rearing into a business as its a venture that does not require so much technical expertise. As my chicken grow I hope to get them to a point that they lay eggs that I can sell while hatch others to add to my current numbers. I also hope to use Givedirectly transfers to feed this chicken to allow them grow and also buy medicine whenever necessary or even vaccinate whenever necessary. My hope is that when my numbers grow to above 200 I can now venture into other businesses from the proceedings of this chicken rearing buisness."
Ngumbao's family
access_time 1 year ago
Ngumbao received a sixth payment.
"To meet the educational and nutritional needs of my family, I always have to sell herbal medicine. I do have any alternative business to engage in for financial benefits. The proceeds of this business are always insufficient to cater to all our needs. However, with the monthly transfers, our situation is always salvaged. Therefore whenever I receive the transfers, I prioritize the two mentioned needs. For the past three transfers preceding the recent one, I spent $20 monthly to offset fee arrears for my daughter in High School. The remaining $15 helped me to obtain food for the family. However, with the last transfer, I used it on fee payment since schools were opening at the same time."
Nathaniel's family
access_time 1 year ago
Nathaniel received a $227 initial payment.
"I paid my kids school fees and bought few medicine to treat myself."
Nashimolo's family
access_time 1 year ago
Nashimolo enrolled.
"The greatest challenge that we are now currently facing is poverty as we do not have enough money to buy food and all the necessary facilities at home like medicines. Even now we wanted our son brahim to go and start nursery school but we do not have money as yet to cater for his school fees."
Beatrice's family
access_time 1 year ago
Beatrice received a $440 second payment.
"The largest purchase made with GiveDirectly funds was a one-acre plot of land. I had wished for years to own my own property, and the funds allowed me to do so. Even providing food for our two children and ourselves can be difficult with my husband, who is a local medicine man. As a result, a portion of the funds were also used to stock up on food. My husband and I both work from home, with me sewing men's and women's clothing. My products are reasonably priced; for example, a pair of men's pants costs $3.5 and a dress costs between $2.5 and $4.5, so the prices are reasonable. A portion of the GiveDirectly transfers also went towards the payment of our children's school fees at Katoseni Primary. We pay $10 in fees for our eldest, who is in Grade four , and $10 for our youngest, who is in PP2. The funds arrived at a time when even the maize we normally grow had failed, making everything more expensive everywhere, and it was a great relief to have a financial cushion, thanks to GiveDirectly."
medicine