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.
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Newsfeed > Sharon's Profile
Sharon's family
Sharon
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Casual labour
faceAge:
20
workCampaign
UBI
Upcoming Stage
Next Payment
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Follow to be updated on Sharon's next check-in.
 
19th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
In the next four months, I plan to buy a goat. I know that many farmers will be selling theirs to pay school fees. I will take advantage of this and acquire the goat using the last two transfers. The goats will help me save part of my transfers. Within a year they will have multiplied also hence making me financially better of than ever before.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I was able to buy land. The transfers enabled me to lease half an acre. I then used the farm to grow spring onions that are doing well at this moment. I expect to get a bumper harvest. I know that it will coincide with a good price in the market. I hope to get about KES 15000 as my profit after selling the onion. With this, I plan to buy heifer because I need to end the expenses of having to buy milk daily for my family.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect that my life will be better because my heifer will have calved. I will have stopped the daily purchase of expensive milk for my family. I also expect that my leased farm will be under another spring onions because I want to make it a continuous investment.
 
16th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My greatest achievement ever since I started receiving transfers from Give Directly is when I was able to lease land. We used to have a small piece of land which was not efficient. We used to spend a lot of money and energy but got very little produce. This used to be very discouraging and time-consuming at the same time. I thank Give Directly because our lives have changed. We will continue investing in farming because there is the hope of living a good life
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I am planning to save my transfers in the next few months. I am planning to use the savings to buy more goats. Since goats have a shorter gestation period and they also have a high market demand. There is the hope of getting a good amount of cash that will enable me to buy a dairy cow. I know my life won't be the same once I buy the dairy cow. I will officially leave this poverty life for good
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
In the last four months, we managed to lease a piece of land. This enabled us to get enough space for farming. Over the past four months that I have been leasing land, I have been able to get a bumper harvest compared to the years that I only depended on my small piece of land. This month I panted some beans on the same piece of land. I anticipate getting a good harvest since the climatic conditions were favourable enough. There was enough rainfall for the past few weeks and I am hoping there won't be a drastic change in the weather. I am planning to keep some of my harvest for consumption and sell the surplus in order to earn income which will help us to cater for our family needs.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
The surest way to succeed in this village is buying the idea of rearing goats then purchasing a dairy cow using the sales of these goats. MIlk is a rare resource in this village. Therefore having a dairy cow is the biggest investment one can ever think of. Apart from earning income, the best part of this idea is that I will no longer be buying milk. At least I can save that money it might help me in settling emergencies
 
12th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Acquiring some of the most basic needs such as food and clothing for the family was a hard task for us in the past. Once we started receiving these transfers, the menace have become a thing of the past. We have been able to get these needs much more easily than we used to do. This is largely because we no longer have to rely on casual labour a lone like we used to do. The just started business shall make things even better going forward. This transfers has brought a significant change in our daily lives
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
The additional plan that I have is to improve my business to be able to generate more profits. There is a huge gap of expanding my maize selling business especially due to the current shortage of maize due to the prolonged drought. This, I plan to do with the next months transfers. It will help me a lot in increasing the amount of income that I have and consequently enable me and my family have better living standards.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my daily life over the last four months is that I have been able to start a maize selling business which has made my life more comfortable. For the last one year, I have been receiving these transfers which I have been using to buy basic household needs such as food and clothes and ended up waiting for the next transfer. I finally decided to do something that can be sustainable and I just started this business which is quite promising. I stated small and I intend to expand my business going forward.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I am thinking of further investments that can help our family move towards being financially stable. A part from improving my maize selling business, I plan to have additional livestock for the family. Such assets shall be of great assistance especially during times of financial difficulties.
 
8th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time 5 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life is currently different from how it was four months ago in that I had no source of income at all. I could go an extended of borrowing money from my parents to afford my basic needs but currently, I have settled the debts I had hence can use what I earn both from casual jobs and GD monthly transfers to improve my family life.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
An added goal that I have in my life in the next four months is to buy a cow. This is a dream I have had in mind but due to shortage of funds, it became such a big challenge to acquire on my own.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in my daily life in the last four months preceding my current transfer is the state and the process of renovating my house. I had built a mud house that we used to live in with my family. It was becoming uncomfortable to live in since it was prone to frequent wear-out resulting in a lot of cracks on the walls and much dust on the floor. To make it worse, prolonged droughts in the area makes it harder for regular repairs. I used the monthly transfer jointly with my husband to renovate it by plastering it. Even though it is not complete yet am happy with the progress and the far we come.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I expected my life to have changed as far as asset ownership is concerned. Owning a cow is a measure of wealth in my community and so by having one, I will count myself to have risen a step higher.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
2735 KES ($27 USD)
access_time almost 6 years ago
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Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
The maize business I have just started is a new goal which I never had before. I got this idea the day I received the transfer and decided to start it without a delay. the business is now picking and I am confident that I will be able to expend it with time.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently changed in that I can at least afford to manage my household budget and a day can't pass without a coin in my pocket due to the maize selling business I started.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months I expect to my life to have changed in that I would wish to have bought some goats and also looking forward to having my ow cow so that I may stop buying milk.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving payments from GiveDirectly is the fact that every day in my life nowadays comes with a push to improve my just started business.
 
Enrolled
access_time 6 years ago
 
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced in my life is the lack of enough food for us as a family. This is something that has been hard for me especially when I have a young child who needs food regularly.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is at noon, when we have food for the day and therefore are able to relax a lot.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I am planning to spend part of my transfer on buying household goods. I also have plans of buying a cow for the household in future.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
The achievement that am proudest of is when I had my first child in the year 2016. This gave me joy and a great sense of responsibility. He also motivated me to work more harder to provide for him.