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.
Mercy's family
access_time over 4 years ago
Mercy received a $360 second payment.
"My new goal is to buy a cow. I feel this is the best and cheap investment whose value grows very fast and requires very little resources to take care of. When it reproduces, I will have a number of them and whenever I have any financial difficulty mostly on school fees, I will be able to sell them to raise money to pay the arrears for my brother and children."
Christine's family
access_time over 4 years ago
Christine received a $533 initial payment.
"I believe education is the key to make my children's life better thus I have to persist overwhelming needs to make sure that I pay their fee. I majorly depend on casual jobs and subsistence farming to raise an income to support ever-rising pressing family needs. I had seen myself lucky to have my children in school and colleges but raising their fees had been a big struggle for me with the limited resources I have. When I received GiveDirectly transfers, I was able to pay my children school fees. Currently, I am happy and hopeful since GiveDirectly has given me to achieve my goal. I feel my children's future is brighter than today since they have a humble time to pursue their dreams."
Michael's family
access_time over 4 years ago
Michael received a $22 twentieth payment.
"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have been able to keep my children in school fees. Being a livestock broker myself, I am not always assured of an income since there those seasons that business isn't doing. Despite this, I am still expected to pay my children's school fees. Ever since I started receiving these transfers, I have been able to consistently pay the required school fee. This has earned me the trust of the school administrators and my children are rarely sent away from school. We were also able to team up with my spouse and started a poultry farm which from the proceeds we get from the sale of their products, is able to meet the daily basic needs."
Coleta's family
access_time over 4 years ago
Coleta received a $22 seventeenth payment.
"The biggest difference in my daily life right now is the fact that I was able to pay the school fees for my child. The child had the chance to study harder without the fear of being sent away from school due lack of money to pay school. I am also capable to put food on the table for my family everyday unlike when I would hustle hard to raise just enough to buy one meal a day."
Sheillah's family
access_time over 4 years ago
Sheillah received a $533 initial payment.
"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have a dairy cow I used to buy milk and it was so costly for me. I depend on informal jobs in the village. The amount of money that I get from such jobs is so small and was only for the basic needs of the family. I did not have the extra money to buy a cow. I used to wake up very early in the morning to go look for a job and come back home late at night. I did not have time to bond with my family. Currently, I have bought a dairy cow and I no longer do much of the casual jobs. I have devoted much of my time to my own farm and this has led to good production. I sell the surplus milk at the market and I get the money to meet other extra basic needs for my family and save some amount for school fees for my children. My life has completely changed in that I have enough time to interact with my family and plan things together. I am so much grateful for the support."
Kevin's family
access_time over 4 years ago
Kevin received a $22 seventeenth payment.
"The biggest difference in my daily is that I have been able to pay school fees for my children with a lot of ease. I had an agreement with the headteacher that I would be paying the school fees in instalments i.e. every month when I receive the transfers and that has helped me clear the fee in time. This enabled my children to concentrate more on their school work as they are hardly sent home due to any outstanding fee balances. This has lifted the burden off my shoulder of having to hustle twice as much to provide food for the family and also pay the fees. I have also been able to buy food for my family on a daily basis with ease and we never have to go hungry anymore."
Janeth's family
access_time over 4 years ago
Janeth received a $22 twentieth payment.
"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am glad I was able to pay school fees for my two children; both of who are in secondary schools. With the aid I get from GiveDirectly and that from my retail business, I was also able to meet my family's daily needs. I am glad that my firstborn daughter is in her final year and for the past two years, I have been paying her school fees with the help of these transfers."
Leonard's family
access_time over 4 years ago
Leonard received a $22 twentieth payment.
"In the last four months, I have been spending part of my transfers on paying school fees for my child who was sitting for her class eight exams recently. I believe she will perform very well since she was not sent home for school fees as it use to before when I wasn't able to pay school fees on time."
Salama's family
access_time over 4 years ago
Salama received a $533 initial payment.
"I have been doing my farming with tools that were ineffective and inefficient. My farming will now be enhanced because when I received my first transfer, I spent KES 25800 to purchase a pair of oxen. I used to hire from neighbours, which was costly. Having my own pair is advantageous because I am able to plough my farm timely for better harvests. In addition, I also spent KES 12000 to purchase a new bed and a mattress in order to replace the old beddings that I was sleeping on. I also took KES 2000 to clear my children's school fees so that they would be allowed to continue with their studies comfortably. Lastly, I bought some foodstuffs for my family and also paid for other household expenses."
Kadzo's family
access_time over 4 years ago
Kadzo received a $533 initial payment.
"I spent KES 19000 of my first transfer to purchase a cow. It has been my desire to own livestock because to me, having livestock means a saving for the future since once they reproduce and increase in number, I can sell the offsprings to help me curb future financial needs. In addition, I will also be benefiting from the milk that this cow will be producing. I also took a portion of the money to pay for my children's school fees in advance. I am happy that they will now continue with their studies without interruptions concerning school fees. Lastly, I spent the transfer on doing a shopping for my family on daily provision of foodstuffs and other basic necessities as well as paying for some other household expenses."
school fees