Currently, my life is different from how it was in that, I have my own business which I depend on. Previously, I could do casual jobs like construction work in order to take care of my needs. I am the firstborn and had to look for ways of surviving because I could not depend on my parents since they are unemployed. Mostly when I did not have money, I ended up lending but repaying was a problem due to low income that I could get from casual jobs. I thank GiveDirectly because I have been able to handle my budgets with ease.

My new goal is to save money. I want to use the money to grow my business. Currently, I have few types of equipment in my business and I will really like to reach a point where my customers will be comfortable using the type of equipment that they like.

I spent part of my transfer on starting up a business. I had the passion of having a business which will give me income everyday. After school, I had been idling around like other boys in the neighborhood and could depend on my parents for financial support. When I got the money from GiveDirectly, the idea of starting a business came in my mind. I bought a play station and rented a room where parents and their children come to play various games and I get money out of this entertainment business. There is only one person who is involved in the business of operating play stations and so far there is no competition as such. I am glad that I get money by the end of the day.

My life is currently different in that my parents can now support themselves with the business that I assisted them to start. They no longer have to wait for my support from the unpredictable casual jobs that I used to depend on, they now have a restaurant which earns them an income.

My goal is still to complete my college education and graduate and to start a cooking oil business in my neighborhood in Mathare 4B village.

I spent my most recent transfer to pay for school fees arrears that I had in college. I started college at the Kenya Institute of Management in the year 2017, where I study Archives and Records Management. My father has been chipping in to pay my school fees whenever he could, as I also depended on casual jobs to pay my school fees. My father then retired to our rural home around mid last year and he stopped working. I had no other reliable means to pay my school fees, which forced me to drop out of college whereby I also left behind some school fees arrears. I was happy to begin receiving my transfers as I now have hope that I can complete my education. I spent the remaining of my transfers to partner with my mother back in our rural home at Siaya county, to begin a restaurant, which is so far doing well and supporting my parents.

I will use my next transfer to purchase the remaining equipment and rent a premise where I can set up the business. The rest of the money will go to my college fees.

I have a sponsorship from an organization that pays part of my college fees, but raising the other part has always been a challenge because neither my mother nor I have a stable income . Receiving this money and paying part of the fees has taken a huge burden off our shoulders and given us a peace of mind as we know that the next transfers will go along way to help clear the balance.

I was planning to start a gaming business in this area but the equipment required for this business are so expensive that I could not purchase all of them. I spent part of the money I received to purchase some of the equipment such as a computer and Sound system. I also paid part of my college fees with part of the money then saved the remaining amount in my bank account for any emergencies.

I was so excited when I saw the messages because that was the first amount of that kind that I ever received on my phone. I immediately called my friends to find out if they had received the money as well. That was my best day of the year.