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.
Caroline's family
access_time over 3 years ago
Caroline enrolled.
"Receiving this money means continued education for my children. This I plan to achieve through poultry farming. I will spend 200 dollars to buy indigenous chicks and build a shelter. As the chicken multiply, I will sell them at a profit and use the proceeds for school fees, uniform, stationery etc. The rest of the transfers will go into purchasing 2 beds and mattresses, 10 indigenous goats and a pair of oxen so I can also expand my farming."
Mwenda's family
access_time over 3 years ago
Mwenda enrolled.
"Receiving this money means a good source of income for me. Currently I depend on subsistence farming which provides food only and I need money to cater for other needs. To achieve this I burn charcoal too but it does not give me enough due to its cumbersome nature. I will therefore purchase livestock for rearing. These will include a cow, goats and chicken at a cost of 30000 shillings. Once they multiply I will be selling the produce to earn a living."
Ken's family
access_time over 3 years ago
Ken enrolled.
"My ambition in life is to be a livestock farmer, I am currently a motorcycle rider within my village. On an average I get about $40 as an income. My wife is a housewife and expectant, my income is not enough especially now that we have a baby on the way. The Give Directly transfer will be of be of big help because I will use $800 to buy two cows, $200 for chicken so that my wife can later sell the eggs and support the family in generating more income. The livestock will be used in future as an investment for the children as they start school."
Chepkirui's family
access_time over 3 years ago
Chepkirui enrolled.
"My ambition is to be a poultry farmer. I am a teacher by profession but being employed under the TSC has been an issue since I only have a diploma and not a degree. My husband works as a police officer, his salary is around $290 and it is not enough for us to provide education for our 2 children let a line establishing a business for the household. As a family we had saved some capital and build a chicken house but their is no capital to buy the chicken, so $600 of our transfer will be used to purchase 200 chicken and $400 for the chicken feed and and treatment needed. I believe this will liquidate and bring in a good amount of income to help sustain the our basic needs such as education, food and clothing."
Gilbert's family
access_time over 3 years ago
Gilbert received a $493 second payment.
"When I received my transfer, I spent KES 23,000 to purchase a dairy cow and some chicken. This are assets to me that I can depend on in case of financial crisis. Also, I will be using income from the sell of surplus to meet our daily needs. I used the remaining amount on clothes and food for my family. I settled on this so that my children would at least feel that indeed GiveDirectly have out some financial assistance and be happy."
Lilian's family
access_time over 3 years ago
Lilian received a $492 second payment.
"With the help of the transfer, I was able to achieve so many things that I had not been able to achieve on my own and would not have achieved had I not received the transfer. First, I was able to build a poultry house, paid school fees for my daughter and even bought a dairy cow. Before building the poultry house, my chicken used to sleep in the kitchen. Due to this, I always felt uncomfortable to welcome anyone to my house especially in the evening. Also, the transfer came in handy in clearing my daughter's school fees thus giving us hope that she will graduate this year instead of next year as we had foreseen it. This is because I had lost all the hopes of paying her fee arrears on time and I had already spoken with her and prepared her mentally that she will not be taking her final examinations anytime soon."
Pamela's family
access_time over 3 years ago
Pamela received a $492 second payment.
"I spent part of my second transfer on buying 12 bags of cement at KES 580 each. This was for the plastering of my house since its walls and the floor was in bad condition. I also spent KES 5000 of the money to pay the mason as his labor charge on the job well done. Also, I bought three goats which cost KES 3500 each and three chickens which are now serving as the living assets that I am depending on any time. In addition, I bought decent clothes which were a replacement for the old torn rags that we have been wearing. With the remaining amount of money, I bought enough foodstuffs for my family and some other household items"
Enock's family
access_time over 3 years ago
Enock received a $492 second payment.
"When I received my transfer, I spent KES 45000 to purchase three heifers. We settled on this as a family so that I can use them to pay dowry for my spouse. This is because in our community, the relationship between my family and my wife's family is cemented with the payment of dowry and it is only after completing the payment that she can be considered to be my wife. I used the remaining amount to buy some chicken mash for my poultry and food for the family. I decided on this since I had other money to use in buying them."
Biarose's family
access_time over 3 years ago
Biarose received a $510 initial payment.
"The biggest difference in my daily life is the joy in our family having invested much of the received transfer on livestock. The basics which I used to buy only when I had money are currently available ranging from milk to eggs produced by both the cow and the chickens I invested the transfer in. I am so grateful that we can eat healthy again without working in casual labor but within our farms."
Grace's family
access_time over 3 years ago
Grace received a $510 initial payment.
"On receiving the first transfer, I was so excited to make a lot of changes in my household. As a widow, I have been struggling a lot to see things moving which even though it has been hard, I have never given up on trying. This transfer opened doors for me as I managed to purchase a large plastic water tank worth 15000KES that is currently collecting rainwater from the roof. This has drastically cut the cost of buying water as I had been paying 20KES for one to deliver a twenty-liter pot. With part of the remaining amount, I improved the roof of my house to facilitate clean water collection, bought enough foodstuff with the other 3000KES, installed a solar lighting system which I am paying in monthly installments currently, I also obtained a new piece of furniture which includes a bed and bedding and with the last bit, I managed to buy some chicken which I am rearing in a small chicken coop I constructed a year ago."
chicken