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 > Javan's Profile
Javan's family
Javan
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Subsistence farming
faceAge:
28
workCampaign
UBI
Upcoming Stage
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Follow to be updated on Javan's next check-in.
 
23rd Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 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?
I have two oxen that I bought using my transfer from Give DIrectly. My additional goals for my life for the next four months is to buy an ox plough. Currently, I am still using my neighbor's ox plough. Having my own will enable me to make more profit, compared to now whereby we share daily income with the owner of the ox plough.
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 the current transfer is that my life has changed. I joined a merry go round in my village, thus I have been in a position to buy two oxen for ploughing. Since I haven't bought a ox plough yet but we combine our effort with one of the neighbour who has one. We cultivate our land on time and also do the same for people who need the service for pay. I am now self-employed, the little I get from this job, I use on paying fees for my children hence they are no longer sent home for fees balances. I also get a bumper harvest because I cultivate my land on time and do the planting on time. I thank Give Directly because I have enough food and even surplus to sell whenever I have any financial crisis. I never beg from my neighbours for financial assistance because Giving Directly has economically empowered me.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I have a plan of putting up my home because I know I am capable of that. I am already saving the little I get from my monthly transfer to enable me to start buying materials. I know it is not a simple work because it requires a lot of money. I am very optimistic that I will achieve my goal using not monthly income.
 
19th 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?
When this year began, I did not have any livestock of my own and never thought that I would own any this soon. We decided to be saving most of our transfers as a family in a merry-go-round that we formed together with a few of our neighbours from the beginning of this year to help us spend better. When I received my share months ago, I bought four goats then my wife decided to spend hers on a heifer. Owning livestock is not so easy as they are not cheap and I am grateful to Give Directly for giving me the opportunity to own them.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
I am still living in my parents' compound and would want to move into my own compound early next year. My goal is to buy most of the required construction materials before the end of this year which I will do with all the money I will receive from the merry-go-round that I have been saving in withing a few months to come.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
As a motorcycle taxi operator, I have joined more than one savings groups and Saccos that I contribute to daily. I made a decision to join these groups to help me make better savings to shape my future and prove people who think of motorcycle taxi operators as losers wrong. Even though this has always been an extra nudge for me to work harder, sometimes I do feel like maybe I bit a lot more than I can chew, especially on those occasions when I don't make enough money to pay to all the groups as required. This is where Give Directly transfers have always come to my rescue as I can clear all the debts I might I have accumulated within the month in case I was unable to do that through my earnings. I have gone past the days of borrowing from one group to settle another group's debt, and I am glad because all these savings will benefit me later.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I have plans of moving into my compound as I have now become of age. I have been buying some of the materials to construct a new house once I move out, but I do not have enough yet. I have made plans of how to acquire the rest of the materials which includes my savings from these transfers and other avenues that I been saving in such as table banking groups. In the next six months, I hope that I will have closed this stressful chapter and will be in my own compound.
 
16th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 USD)
access_time over 5 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
I have been using the monthly transfers on buying my own ox-plow which means that going into the future I will not have to be hiring peoples machines anymore. It is quite costly when I have to keep paying people in order to use their pieces of equipment.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal right now includes buying oxen which I can use to tilt and cultivate my land in a much easier way as compared to the manual techniques which I currently use. It is very hectic, tiresome and less inefficient when it comes to employing the manual methods of farming.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I have been able to get more harvest at the end of every season courtesy of the cash transfers I have been getting from Give Directly because I am able to buy fertilizers and hybrid seeds which are known to boost farm productivity. I also do employ a lot of top-dressing technique on my farm, which plays a vital role in making sure that productivity increases. Previously I used to plant the local breed of seeds without using even a single drop of fertilizers which eventually resulted in extremely low productivity.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect to buy one or two oxen which of course will help make my cultivation work much easier than it is today. Currently, I do not own any ox so I have to keep borrowing from neighbors at a small fee, which eventually becomes costly on my side. Once I purchase the animals, I will use them independently without having to pay anyone any amount in order.
 
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?
My life is currently different from how it was in that, nowadays I pay more attention to my farm. Before, I had to do odd jobs so as to put food on the table which used to take my entire day and only getting meagre pay. With the monthly payment which I get from GiveDirectly, I easily take care of my family needs like paying school fees and buying uniforms. This time I am sure of getting more yields for my family's consumption considering the hard work that I have put on my farm. I will not buy most of the food in the market but pick them from my farm.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal is to buy a bull because currently, I employ people to work in my farm spending 1400 KES which is normal expensive. I am planning to buy them one by one until I will have enough bulls to plough my piece of land. This will cut on cost of cultivation. It will also earn me some money since I will be ploughing other people farms too at a fee.
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 is that I have peace of mind because managed to diversify my source of income by joining an NGO known as One Acre Fund. I feel like I am secure financially. Previously, I only depended on doing odd jobs, which are usually unreliable. One might get something to do today and never get something to do the next day. This made it difficult to afford farm inputs because the little that I got could only be enough to buy foodstuffs. I used to harvest less but now I have more than enough to sustain our family. I no longer budget for maize since I have them in plenty.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to change in the next six months in that, I will have bought decent seats. currently, I do not have my own, they got burnt some years back. Whenever I have visitors I normally take seats from my mother's house which to me is a bother being that I have to return them after every visit.
 
7th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 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 how it was four months ago because I have enough grains for the family's consumption unlike before.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My new goal is to buy a plough and oxen which will help in preparing my parcel of land by myself.
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 is that I have grains in my house for the family's consumption because I used farm inputs like fertillizer which bought using the transfers.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to change in the next six months in that, I will have bought a plough and oxen and so I will be able to plough people's farms to earn a living and mine too.
 
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 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 life since I started receiving payments from GiveDirectly is that I was able to buy farm inputs which I used in my farm hence I got more produce than before which I use with my 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 in that, I will have bought two oxen and a plough which I can hire so as to get income and I will also be able to use then in my farm too.
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 if I never received the transfer in that I have a lot of farm produce because of the farm inputs that I applied which I bought using my transfer.
Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
My new goal is to buy cattle and a plough which I can use in ploughing my parcel of land by myself.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
455 KES ($5 USD)
access_time over 6 years ago
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Do you have any new goals that you didn't have before receiving the transfer?
The new goals that I have are, to start a second hand clothes business. I can be able to do this at our nearby area market. Secondly I am planning to improve my farming. Use of fertilizer for healthy and bumper produce as well as buy farming tools that will enhance farming activities.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
The difference is currently I am able to start a business and help feed my family consistently besides that my family is able to have new clothes unlike before this things could not happen easily.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect to have a better life. I will be able to feed my family consistently with ease this has been a headache to me. My family will be able to address neatly and probably I will also will be moving forward with my homestead project that will see my family have a homestead.
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 Give Directly is, I am now able to start building for family a homestead. That way I will be independent. This has been my goal ever since but I have not been able to achieve because of lack of enough funds.
 
Enrolled
access_time over 6 years ago
 
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My biggest hardship was when all my household items burnt down to ashes in the year 2012 due to an electric fault that left my family stranded for there was no shelter and no one to lean on to.This situation was so devastating that I had to relocate from Kisumu town to my rural home.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My happiest part of the day is in the evening when I come back home safe after along day at work being that I do a motorcycle driving business which is more prone to accidents.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
I plan to spend my transfer on buying two bulls that will help in ploughing my land and that of my neighbours at a reasonable fee.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
My proudest achievement was when I managed to raise kshs12,000 through my savings from casual work.I used the savings to undertake a course in driving.