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 > Zawadi's Profile
Zawadi's family
Zawadi
landscapeCountry:
kenya
workOccupation:
Small business
workCampaign
Kenya Basic Income
Upcoming Stage
Next Payment
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Follow to be updated on Zawadi's next check-in.
 
18th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($24 USD)
access_time 2 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I am considering investing in chickens. Currently, I have six chickens and forty chicks. My strategy is to nurture them until they mature, then sell them to purchase goats. Raising chickens is relatively simple, and providing them with feed is easy. I aim to save a significant portion of the proceeds from selling the chickens to improve my family's quality of life.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a mother of eight children. Upon receiving my transfers, I promptly withdrew the transfer and allocated $15 to divide among six of my children for their school fees. With the remaining transfer, I invested $4 in purchasing chicken feed for my six chickens and their offspring, totaling forty chicks. The remaining balance of $15 was utilized to purchase nutritious food for my family, ensuring their health and well-being.
 
13th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($23 USD)
access_time 7 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I have a plan to sell my chickens and supplement the amount to purchase more goats. Presently, I own two goats and intend to acquire more in the future. My goal is to invest in goats, as they can serve as a valuable asset that I can sell in case I encounter financial challenges. This will enable me to manage my debts effectively and any financial challenges I encounter.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a mother of eight children; six of them are in school, while two are too young for school. When I received my transfer, I immediately used $15 to pay the school fees for four of my children to ensure they wouldn't be turned away. Currently, I have over thirty-six chickens, and I recently purchased four more for $10 to expand my poultry. My goal is to invest in more chickens, with the eventual plan of selling them to buy goats. With the remaining $9, I bought food to ensure that my entire family doesn't go hungry.
 
10th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($25 USD)
access_time 10 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My goal is to establish a thriving livestock-rearing project. With the transfers I've received, I've already taken the initial steps by purchasing three chickens and one goat. One chick goes for $5 and to progress further, my plan is to begin the project next month and allocate a portion of my transfers to acquire at least two additional chickens each month. This expansion will help me work towards my goal of building a thriving and sustainable livestock enterprise.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The money I received from GiveDirectly was of great help. It came at a crucial moment when I was facing multiple financial burdens. With the transfer, I was able to address the pressing issue of school fees for my children, who had been sent home from school. I divided $15 among my five children, alleviating the immediate concern of their education. Furthermore, I used $10.70 to purchase food for my family, ensuring that we had enough to sustain ourselves and I also managed to spend the remaining $9 to cover my medical bills. I felt much relief and thanks to GiveDirectly for the immense support.
 
6th Payment
Transfer Amount
3470 KES ($27 USD)
access_time 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My goal for the next one year and beyond is to start a chicken-rearing project. I would want to rear chicken in large scale and later sell some of them to buy livestock ie. goats knowing that with the projects in place, I would be in a better position even when faced with a financial challenge. The transfers form GiveDirectly would help me attain my dreams since I would be saving some amount of money on a monthly basis.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have a house that is in a dilapidated state and it had always been my wish to buy a bag of cement so that I could renovate one side of the house that seems to be falling apart, and therefore with the transfers that I received, I felt very happy knowing that I would soon start the renovation because I managed to buy a bag of cement worth KES.1000. Also, with the ongoing drought, getting food had been quite a challenge and therefore I also bought food worth KES. 1470 and spent the remaining amount of KES.1000 on paying school fees to my 5 children where I divide KES. 200 to each.
 
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($25 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well to provide support in terms of money. I have not seen a support program that supports people through cash and offers to give the same amount of money for a long duration of time. I would not want to GiveDirectly to do anything differently.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My husband is a casual laborer and mainly relies on casual jobs in construction projects or farming for other people to meet our financial needs. Lately due to drought, it has been tough to secure a job and most of the time he spends his day looking for a job only to come home with nothing. I have eight children and it has been a challenge to provide food for all of them. Most days we have survived with a cup of black sugarless tea just to see us through the night. Upon receiving my transfer I spent $ 18 on food which would last us for the next two weeks and $12 used to pay the outstanding school fees for the seven children in junior school. I was relieved to at least not worry about food for the next two weeks as my husband looks for a job.
 
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
1200 KES ($10 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The minute I realized that the money had actually arrived I was extremely happy especially because it was already night time, I had zero expectations of receiving money at that time and not only that but also the fact that I really needed the money since my kids needed to sit for their exams and we also needed food in our house.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
My biggest priority was to ensure that my children would go back to school because unfortunately when I had failed to pay the examination fee they had to be sent home for like a day but luckily the next day after I received the money and I sent them back to school and they were fortunate enough to finally sit for their exams.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
As soon as I received the money I decided to pay examination fee for five of my children which was about KES 350 so that they could finally sit for their exams. I also ended up using the balance of KES 850 that I was left with by using KES 600 to purchase three packets of maize flour because we missed a meal the night before and as for the KES 250 I set it to buy groceries and laundry detergent.
 
Enrolled
access_time almost 2 years ago
 
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My house is just braving the strong wind of our area because its roof is half-open. This is so dangerous to us because, at any time, the iron sheets may be blown away. This has pushed me to the desire of constructing a decent house to spare my family from the danger of this collapsing house. To make this dream come to reality, I intend to save my transfers to hit 30000 KES which I am sure in one year, will be a done deal. This will give me happiness as a mother because my family will be safe and therefore, receiving this money means improving the safety of my household.
What is the happiest part of your day?
During the week of the Eid-Ul-Fitr festival, we were given relief food by some well-wishers. My household alone received 10 packets of maize flour which sustained us for a whole week. What a blessing to me! This gave me great comfort since my children could get food. Thus, I consider this as what has brought me joy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Food insecurity in my household is generally the biggest worry that I am currently struggling with. Being a housewife, I depend on my husband who is a casual driver in Mombasa and he supports us with 500 KES every week. Considering that this amount is to be shared for food and also to pay for any school expenses. Sometimes getting our 2 main meals per day becomes a challenge which pushes us to survive on one meal. Seeing my children sleeping hungry is something that hurts me most and it has robbed away my joy as a mother.