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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 > Benjamin's Profile
Benjamin's family
Benjamin
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
faceAge:
69
workCampaign
UBI
Upcoming Stage
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Follow to be updated on Benjamin's next check-in.
 
22nd 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?
My new goal in the next four months is to buy dairy goats for rearing. This is because they are less expensive to rear and do not require much intensive care. Now that I have been doing dairy farming for quite a while now, this won't be a challenge as I already have some skills on livestock rearing.
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 now have an additional beehive. Being a beekeeper, I noticed that I get some good money from the sale of honey harvested from my farm. This, therefore, nudged me into expanding this project by buying one additional beehive. I am glad that this will bring in additional income for my family.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My expectation in the next six months is to have bought some dairy goats for rearing. This will help increase the amount of milk I produce on my farm and in turn improve the income I get from the sale of the milk. Livestock and dairy farming is what we mostly depend on our livelihoods in our locality. Having more livestock, especially dairy animals means I will be in a better position to meet my family's basic and daily needs with minimum challenges. I also hope my beekeeping farming would also catch up despite the heavy rains that usually affect this kind of farming.
 
20th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
Being a dairy farmer, I only got local breeds which are very unproductive. My plan in the next four months is to purchase a hybrid dairy cow. This will enable me to get milk both for my family consumption as well as sell the surplus to generate more income
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 next six months is that I am very happy because I managed to expand my beekeeping project by purchasing an additional beehive. This cost me Ksh. 6000 and since I had a goal to purchase one, It forced me to save for the last three months in order to pool enough money. BeeKeeping has really boosted my income since the money generated has enabled me to pay school fees for my children
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I expect my life to have completely changed to be better because I believe my beekeeping project will have picked up so well hence more income from the sale of honey. Besides, I believe I will already have purchased the dairy cow which means I will also be in a position to sell surplus milk. Generally, my family wellbeing will be much better because of increased income sources
 
16th Payment
Transfer Amount
4560 KES ($44 USD)
access_time over 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 my income has now increased. This has enabled me to cater to my family needs on time. In addition to this, I have been able to pay school fees for my daughter on time. This has made her concentrate on her studies because she is no longer being sent back home for school fees.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My additional goal for the next four months is to plant some flowers at the place where I have erected my beehives. Because bees feed on flowers, they will be attracted into my farm and will settle on my beehives. I will be watering these flowers during the dry season. By doing so, I will always have honey to sell to people.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
The biggest difference in life is that I have been able to expand my business. I was able to achieve by buying more beehives. Due to this, I now harvest more honey than before. I decided to concentrate on honey-selling business because it fetches a lot of money and needs less attention.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
My life will have changed in the next six months in that my family will be feeding well. I am also expecting that I will have built a shop where I will be selling my honey. I will also be selling some household necessities at this place. I will always set aside some amount from my sales so that I will later use it to achieve this.
 
12th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
Clean water has been almost impossible to get to due to the recurrent drought in our area. To avoid thirst or using dirty water, I bought a large plastic water tank that will store rainwater from the roof of my houses. This has made me a more reliable water source unlike before when I would have to take water from an open bond. The water in the bond is collected from runoff which means it is not safe for drinking. Soring rainwater is one big leap away from the water problems.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I don't have an additional goal but I will keep improving and repairing my home. I am going to be making a concrete floor for the sitting room. Over the next four months, I am going to use the transfers to buy more cement and sand that will make the concrete flour. My home improvement target ought to be complete by the end of the next four transfers.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
A decent house is one of the things that I always desired to have and is now a reality. I plastered one of the rooms in order to make a good floor in my bedroom. It has completely gotten rid of dust which I believe has eliminated the diseases that I was exposed to. I also have painted the house in order to protect it from adverse effects of weather elements. I am not worried anymore of my susceptibility to diseases that could easily be caused by living in a dusty environment.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I will have improved my home by making a concrete floor in my living room. I will have furnished the room too and this means that if GD will visit me again as they did in November, I will have a nice place to host my guests. It will not be like the other time when I had to host them outside the house because I did not have enough furniture and also because it was untidy. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly.
 
8th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time almost 6 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 this project. I now have a new project that engages me and is not only a source of income but also a source of happiness for me. It gives me Joy and satisfaction as I watch this project grow.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I plan to start a new project in January of keeping Poultry. I will build a pouktry house and buy chicken.
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 working in the apiary I have established.As soon as I received my first transfer, i started bee keeping by buying five beehives. I am so happy to see bees at my beehives and the ever busy bees every day working to make honey for me. I get about 4 liters of honey from each hive over a period of three months. This gives me an income and given that I don't work to feed them adds more to the gains. The bees work on their own and at almost no input from me. The money I get from selling the honey is purely a profit. This gives me a lot of financial ability to live a better life.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I hope to have grown my poultry business and beekeeping. I will be evaluating my projects to see whether to expand them or start new ones that depending on how this would have worked for me.
 
4th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 6 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily since I started receiving payments from GiveDirectly is that I am able to get more income from beehives and thus feed the family.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to change in the next six months, because I want to change my farming ways which in turn will earn me more money.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is currently different from how it would have been since I am now very happy and life struggles have reduced since even when I am in need I have somewhere to expect money from and these makes life easy.
Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
My new goals is that I want to start planting indigenous trees and fruits which will help me when harvested and sold.
 
Enrolled
access_time almost 7 years ago
 
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My biggest hardship is the lack of finances to support my plans. I lack money to start atleast a small business to earn daily income.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am happy when my cows are satisfied and well fed.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I plan to spend my transfer on buying a dairy cow. My passion is in dairy farming so my first priority is to buy livestock.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
I am proud of the parcel of land that I bought for my family.