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 > Nicholus's Profile
Nicholus's family
Nicholus
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Casual labour
faceAge:
24
workCampaign
UBI
Upcoming Stage
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Follow to be updated on Nicholus'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?
My additional goal for my life for the next four months is to buy a piece of land. As much as I do casual jobs to earn a living I also save part of my daily income. We majorly depend on farming for livelihood thus I thought of buying another piece of land for cultivation. Currently, we do not have enough to cultivate because I have my other siblings who are married and they also need a piece too. Since this is our parent's land I thought of buying my own that belongs to me.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
I am very grateful to Give Directly because I am staying in a big house and this is my biggest achievement. I have been saving part of my monthly transfers in our merry go round group with the intention of building a better house. I used to live in a small one-roomed house thus there was no privacy at all. The roof was also leaking since it was made of grass. When I received my money from our merry go round I decided to buy building material. I tell you this was my happiest day ever in my life. I hired the builder and gave him instructions about the kind of house I want. Today I am happily staying in a spacious decent house together with my family.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect to have started the tea business in the next six months. I would wish to have established a reliable source of income. Having an additional income will enable me to provide enough food for my family. As I look for money from other casual work, I will be in a position to create self-employment for my wife. She will be supervising those harvesting tea and also ensure they are transported to the factory.
 
20th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($22 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?
My additional goal is to save the next transfers which I will have s that I would put together with the collections witch I would receive from the Merry-go-round in two months time. The cumulative amount, I will spend to buy a piece of land for farming. I would not like to spend money on future buying food which I can grow on my own. This would save me the costly budget of buying maize and vegetables which usually does well in this region.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life in the last four months preceding the current transfer.
In the last four months, I have been saving part of my transfers through a merry-go-round. These are the money which I save with the aim of raising money for buying a piece of land. We currently have a smaller piece of land which we inherited from our parents and it is not enough to tilt and plant some crop and at the same time rear livestock. Now I am having a good amount which I have saved with the help of Give Directly, I am happy that soon I will acquire what I have always wanted to have.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next six months, I would have acquired the piece of land and will be busy working on the farm cultivating some maize and vegetables. This would grantee us sufficient food in future.
 
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?
My life is currently different from how it was four months ago in that I have been able to practice good farming practices. This is because I have been able to do rotational farming thus utilizing my farm throughout the year and increasing my farm produce. Because of this, I am optimistic of a plentiful harvest this year which will last my family till the next harvesting season.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
My additional goal in life for the next four months to build a spacious house for my family using timber. This is the one we are living in currently is small and its walls are made of mud thus the house is always dusty.
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 I no longer buy milk daily like before. This is because the dairy cow I bought using the savings I was given at our merry go round group reproduced recently. Due to this, my family now have enough milk for consumption after selling some of it.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to change for better in the next six months because I will have finished building a spacious house for my family. Due to this, my wife will be taking less time cleaning it. In addition to this, I will not be living with the fear of my family contracting respiratory diseases due to inhaling too much dust.
 
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?
Four months ago, I was not at peace because I had a lot of worries on how I would get money for paying school fee for my first born child who is yet join secondary school education as from next year. I am now able to own a tea plantation and I am more confident that the tea production will generate income as from June this year. This will enable me to save and pay for her school fee come next year.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
In the next four months, the new goal that I am working on is to extend our house by constructing one more room. My children always sleep in the kitchen where they are very uncomfortable due to its poor condition since it leaks and it is also overcrowded with our household items. I am planning to join hands with my wife to extend our house in order to get them a comfortable place not only for sleeping, but also for their night studies.
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 wife and I have been able to hire a piece of land for tea plantation. For a long time we have desired to do tea farming but our efforts have been futile considering that we solely depended on a low pay casual work in a nearby tea farm. We have been able to participate in monthly merry go rounds and when our turn came, we took all our shares and used it to hire a piece of land in which we planted some tea seedlings we had bought. Though, I still do casual work for a living, I am optimistic that this will soon come to an end when I start harvesting the tea and supply them to the nearest tea factory. This will increase my income thus I will be able to provide basic needs and best education to my children.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to change for better in the next six months because I will be having more income from my tea sales. I will, therefore, be able to provide enough food and save some money for my daughter's education.
 
5th Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 USD)
access_time over 6 years ago
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How is your life currently different from how it was four months ago?
My life currently is different since I have been able to buy four sheep and built myself an iron sheet roofed house of two rooms.
Do you have any new or additional goals for your life for the next four months?
The new goal we now have as a family is to buy a cow by using our transfers cumulatively after saving them for these three coming subsequent transfers.
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 no longer live in a grass thatched one room house since I have been able to built for my family an iron sheet roofed house.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
I expect my life to change in that I will have bought a cow and will have opened a small shop.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
2280 KES ($23 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?
I am now planning to buy a goat soon especially now that we have monthly transfers, i will later want to buy a dairy cow to help substitute food for my family. these are the new goals i now i have.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is now more different since i live and sleep comfortably in my house, i am even more confident around my peers because at least i can look after my family well. i am also certain that we won't lack any food for my family.
How do you expect your life to change in the next six months?
In the next 6 months, i feel i will be having a stable family and having enough food for them since i will have a cow to provide us with milk and possible a source of income. I will also be ready to plant my tea because i am planning to put up a tree nursery which will in the long run be a stable source of income.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference I have had in my daily life is the fact that i now live in a better iron roofed house unlike before where i lived in a grass thatched house. I was not so comfortable especially when my mother in law could visit and find me living in such a grass thatched house.
 
Enrolled
access_time almost 7 years ago
 
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I've ever faced in my life is there was a time I felt very sick and my family was not in a position to cater for my medical bills. We had to depend on well-wishers to cover the hospital bill.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the afternoon when am done with my chores and go watch a cinema with my friends.
What are you planning to spend your transfer on?
Am planning to spend my transfer on constructing a semi permanent house for my family.
What is the achievement you are proudest of?
The achievement that I am proudest of is that I've worked tooth and nail until I acquired a piece of land that now has tea grown on it.