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.
Janet's family
access_time over 2 years ago
Janet enrolled.
"I am a student at Tsangatsini Sayuni Tailoring College. I had hoped to complete my tailoring course by mid next year but I have been having school fees challenges. It's my second month at home now due to a balance of 4,000 KES. Receiving this money will restore my hope of completing the course without those challenges. Every month, I require 2,000 KES for tuition fees which I will be sorted once I start receiving the transfers. I also commute each day and the transport cost is 200 KES by a motorcycle. My long term is owning my own tailor shop."
Alhaji's family
access_time over 2 years ago
Alhaji enrolled.
"I am employed as a motorcycle taxi rider. My desire has always been to own a motorcycle so that I can be self-employed. This is because as an employee, I am required to give the owner of the motorcycle 400 KES at the end of the day. This leaves me with very little money. My plan is therefore to save 15,000 KES from my transfers then purchase a motorcycle on higher purchase. With a deposit of 15,000 KES I will be paying 2,800 every week for one year and a half so as to complete and have full ownership."
Athman's family
access_time over 2 years ago
Athman received a $473 initial payment.
"I operate a motorcycle taxi business to earn living and five months before receiving my first transfer, my motorbike broke down and I needed KES 20000 to repair it which I couldn't afford. The five months that I was not working were the most toughest in my life as I had to sell almost all my livestock to provide for the family. When I was actively working, I used to earn an average of KES 300 per day and therefore, I couldn't afford to save because I have three children to provide and pay school fees for. We were also living in an almost crumbling and I was living in fear that my family might be injured in case the house crumbles. When I was enrolled in the program, my first two goals were to build a house for my family and repair the motorbike so that I could go back to work and provide for my family. I spend KES 35000 to build a semi permanent two rooms house for my family and spend the balance to repair the motorbike." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)
Moses's family
access_time over 2 years ago
Moses enrolled.
"My daughter will be joining secondary school next year. Given that I rely on motorcycle riding which is no longer sustainable, my plan is to save the entire transfer I will receive this year for the purpose of her education. My desire has been to take her to a boarding school and with the large amounts of fees in boarding schools, I believe the transfer alongside the plan I have will do me better. I will be using the little I get from my motorcycle business to buy food for my family." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)
Mwanajuma's family
access_time over 2 years ago
Mwanajuma received a $26 second payment.
"Although I have not yet spent my transfer, I am planning to spend my transfer on buying a goat. At the moment, I do not have any goats although I have desired to raise some. I could not start raising goats before because I am a housewife. I fully depend on my husband who does motorcycle riding as his source of livelihood. The household income is too low because he uses someone's motorcycle. Through livestock rearing, I shall be able to comfortably support my children. The rest of the transfer helped me to obtain food for the family."
Rajab's family
access_time over 2 years ago
Rajab received a $26 second payment.
"In my opinion, GiveDirectly does so well in improving the community living standard through direct cash transfer. I have felt a great relief since I began receiving my support. For instance, it has been easy for me to meet the family's basic needs such as food provision even though my motorcycle taxi business is less profitable. On contrary, there is nothing that GiveDirectly does not do well." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)
Charles's family
access_time over 2 years ago
Charles enrolled.
"As a young person and a very ambitious person this is a breath of new life to my efforts to prosper in life. I am a motorcycle rider and I depend fully on this business to carry on with development projects in my family as well as to feed them. I have managed to build them a house for them through my savings and my next step was to buy them a cow. Having a herd of cows here is a good investment because there is a huge grazing ground in the nearby government land. With your transfers I would like to invest in a herd of 4 cows and this will be an investment because in the future they will have multiplied and it will help me in payment of school fees for my children." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)
Fatuma's family
access_time over 2 years ago
Fatuma enrolled.
"I have a family of 4 members and I depend on casual labor at a nearby quarry while my husband is a motorcycle rider. Both of us earn around KES 2100 which is not sufficient for the needs of the household. In a day, I need KES 300 to meet the necessities. Consequently, I have had the fancy to start livestock farming. I am planning to spend KES 40,000 to buy 10 indigenous goats. As they reproduce, I will sell at a profit and use the proceeds for other domestic use such as education for my children. The second transfer will help me to start a food kiosk to increase our sources of income. Thus receiving this money means a better living standard for my dependants and me. It will enable me to rest from traveling long distances (15KM) to the quarry where the job is cumbersome and has low payment."
Karisa's family
access_time over 2 years ago
Karisa enrolled.
"I lost the ability to walk after my lower limb paralyzed after suffering from Malaria 7 years ago. I was only 16 years old. I have not been able to seek good medication because I come from a humble background. My parents could not raise enough for specialized medication. My doctor also advised me to go for physiotherapy twice a week but it's one year now since I went for physio because I cannot raise enough money. I started a small grocery business three months ago which I hoped will get me enough money but it has not picked up well. This money will really help me to raise money for physiotherapy sessions. The wish I am dying for is to walk again. Every trip to and from the hospital costs 700 KES using a motorcycle. This translates to 5,600 KES in a month."
Damaris's family
access_time over 2 years ago
Damaris received a $473 initial payment.
"My husband and I opened a garage business a while back. Since he is vaster with motorcycles, I opted to run a salon just next to it. We always worked to ensure that our children's needs were met. However, I went on maternity leave so I chose to close the salon. We lived in a two-room house. We would sleep in one room together with my four-year-old, while the other we would use as a storeroom. I, therefore, decided to use the funds to add a room for my child to sleep in. I then used KES 5000 to enroll him in school and I invested the remaining amount to our garage business"
motorcycle