"I am a fisherman as well as a Mason, I also farm from time to time depending on the weather conditions. My wife is the fulltime farmer. For now we are farming with the rest of the family on our family land which is not much. I would love to farm more in the years ahead. in the beginning of this year we were not buying maize flour as we had harvested from our farm. I would like to farm more crop enough to sell and use at home, I have been thinking of planting paw paw trees, and banana stems as well as maize. I would like to save as I also increase the goat which I hope I will sell to buy a piece of land for me and my family to farm on."

"When I enrolled in college three years ago, I hoped to complete my course in supply chain management and eventually graduate. However, this dream was cut short due to a lack of finances to pay for my school fees, forcing me to drop out. Upon returning home, I focused on farming, hoping it would yield positive results. Unfortunately, this endeavor has also been fraught with challenges. Farming here relies solely on irrigation to thrive. Although I own a water pump, the rising price of fuel is straining my finances. My maize crops are now on the verge of drying up because I cannot afford petrol.I have also wished to expand my farming operations, but capital has been a significant challenge. The small-scale farms are not bearing the expected fruits, and I am worried that the losses from this farm might adversely affect my family of three."

"As a family of seven, we often depend on farming for a living. In this area of Longewan, farming relies entirely on irrigation, which is expensive to maintain. For instance, I cultivate 2 acres of land, and per season of three months, I spend up to $300 on it. To raise this amount, I sell my goats, which are unfortunately decreasing in number each season. Maintaining this farm requires a significant amount of finances that I sadly do not have. At times, I am forced to spend most of my time on the farm or even take my family there because I cannot afford to hire labor. The constant financial strain and the need to rely on dwindling livestock to support our farming efforts make it incredibly challenging to sustain our livelihood."

"Out of the 3-acre piece of land that I inherited from my parents, I have only been able to cultivate 0.5 acre and have leased out the rest for $100. This was not my wish, but financial constraints have left me with no other choice. Currently, my family of two relies on charcoal burning to earn $50 a month. All this income goes towards food, leaving almost nothing to save. It has always been my desire to cultivate all of this land to produce food and income for my family . Unfortunately, financial limitations prevent me from doing so. It saddens me that I have to struggle so much to make ends meet, despite having arable land available for cultivation. As a result, we are forced to live hand to mouth, barely scraping by."

"As they say, agriculture is the backbone of Kenya's economy, and like many others, I rely on it to provide for my family of seven. The farms here in Murda are exceptionally fertile, a fortune that every farmer admires. However, misfortunes can strike unexpectedly. One month ago, flash floods hit our area and washed away the tomatoes I had sown on my 1-acre piece of land. A wave of bitterness passed through me as I witnessed the extent of my losses. The money I spent and the efforts I had input with the hope that my family's financial status would be restored were all in vain. My tomatoes were at the flowering stage, and I had invested over $1000 in them, using the profits I had earned from a previous watermelon harvest. Relocating to a safer area is not an option for me due to financial constraints. Therefore, my only choice is to re-cultivate the farm, hoping that such devastating floods will not occur again."

"My shop is the primary source of sustenance and care for my family. My goal is to fully stock it with the transfers I receive from GiveDirectly, ensuring that it is well-equipped to meet the needs of my customers. Once it is fully stocked, I plan to expand the business premises and add more stock with a variety of products. This will not only increase its profitability but also enable it to support my family's needs. I am deeply invested in this dream and am hopeful that it will become a reality, as it is crucial for my family's well-being."

"Currently, I operate a salon business which is my major source of income. Operating from my doorstep presents several challenges as some clients prefer not to visit a home-based salon. Therefore, I have to travel to their doorsteps, which is time-consuming and sometimes causes me to lose customers who arrive at my doorstep and leave before I can reach them. Additionally, the lack of electricity means I cannot offer services such as blow-drying, and I have to redirect customers to other salons in the nearby center. In the coming year and beyond, I am working tirelessly to raise $250. This amount will help me secure a place at the market to operate my business. Furthermore, the funds will enable me to purchase the equipment needed to operate the business more efficiently."

"In my entire life, I have really wished to be a driver. Coming from a very humble background, my parents cannot afford to pay my college fees because the little they get from daily casual jobs is too small compared to the fees needed. Therefore, in the coming year and beyond, I want to invest in buying goats and eventually get money to pay for my college. Doing this course will be an eye-opener for me because I will now be self-employed. Additionally, I will get income to enable me to support myself as well as my family members. What motivates me is that once I am done with this course, I will get employed immediately since in our area, most people look for drivers to employ but they are scarce."

"In the coming year and beyond, I want to venture into a goat rearing project. This is because I have a passion for livestock keeping, and additionally, goats are easy to maintain. In my area, the climate favors them, and I see most people who have ventured into this are doing well. Prices of goats are rising, hence this is an advantage to goat keepers. To achieve this goal, I will use part of my monthly transfer to buy a goat every month. Eventually, once I have a good number, I will sell some and eventually buy a cow. The reason why I need this cow is because they provide many benefits ranging from milk to fertilizer to siblings, etc. And this will be good financial security, hence I will not live a life of worries. Since I know once I have a financial problem, I can sell and get money to sort out my issues without begging from neighbors and friends."

"In the coming years, I hope to accomplish a dream that has been close to my heart for a long time. I want to build a spacious house that will comfortably accommodate me and my grandchildren. At the moment, we are all crammed into my small, one-room mud-wall house, and it's a struggle to find space for everyone. I’ve been diligently saving, and so far, I have managed to put away $70. With the help from GiveDirectly, I plan to continue saving $10 every month. This might seem like a small amount, but each dollar brings us closer to our new home. My vision is to see my grandchildren playing freely in a bigger house where they can have their own space, do their homework in peace, and sleep comfortably."