Owning a large piece of land that I can call my own has always been my ultimate goal. To achieve this, I have been saving a portion of my transfers in our savings group. Once my funds mature, I plan to use them to buy small female cows. My hope is that these cows will grow, multiply, and increase in number, allowing me to sell some of them in the future to finance the purchase of the land I’ve always wanted. Having my own land will provide my family with security, unlike our current situation where we live on family-owned land. This dream brings me immense joy. In addition to this goal, I have been working on building a three-room house for my family, and I am pleased to see it progressing well. I only have the roofing left to complete, and I am hopeful that by the end of this year, my house will be finished. My plan is to continue using a portion of my transfers to buy the remaining materials needed for the house. I am excited for the day my family moves into our new home, as it has been a long-held dream of mine.

The transfers from GiveDirectly have finally brought some much-needed hope into my life. My family currently lives on a piece of land owned by relatives, and I have always dreamed of owning my own land. To work towards this goal, I have been saving a portion of my transfers, and recently, I saved $40 with the intention of using it to buy young cows. I believe these cows will become valuable assets that I can sell in the future to help me purchase the land I desire. In addition to saving for cows, I spent $30 to buy a goat, hoping it will multiply so that I can eventually trade it for more cows. Recognizing the importance of keeping my family fed, I also allocated $28 to buy food since we had exhausted our supplies and needed to ensure we wouldn’t go hungry. Lastly, I used the remaining $4 to buy clothes for my daughter, and it brings me joy to see her happy and feeling great in her new outfit. I am grateful for the support from GiveDirectly, which is helping me take steps toward a better future for my family.

My greatest goal for the coming year is to construct a three-roomed house for my family. Currently, we live in a dilapidated one-room house. Building a new house will provide us with more space and allow us to host guests comfortably. To achieve this goal, I plan to save enough money through my savings group and use the funds for construction. Additionally, I can raise more money by selling some of the livestock I own. I am very appreciative of the financial support I have received so far, which has greatly helped me take care of my family and work towards this important goal.

I am the sole breadwinner for my family of six, earning a living as a tailor. However, I earn very little because my customers, facing serious economic hardships, are focused on providing basic needs for their families. Despite this, I am grateful for the financial support from Give Directly, which has helped me turn my life around. Before receiving the transfers, life was tough. I survived on a single pair of clothes due to a lack of money. With the transfers, I spent $43 to purchase two small goats, and I now have nine goats, all bought with this financial aid. Recently, my wife and I welcomed a new bundle of joy, and I spent $34 to clear the hospital bill for her delivery. I also saved $10 with the hope of accumulating enough funds to build a bigger and better house. I purchased food worth $11 to ensure my family has enough to eat, especially since it is difficult to harvest anything from the farm due to hot and dry weather conditions. Additionally, I spent $40 on soap and detergents to keep clean and wash clothes. I am very grateful for the financial support I have received from the transfers, which have greatly improved our lives.

I have a young family, my tailoring works only needs to support my wife, my mother and I. I make a good amount of money from my business that I also opened a grocery stall for my wife in the same vicinity as my business. She is now also contributing to our income. I would want to increase my income because as much as we have things going well for us now when we begin having children we will need more and so I am saving for a second machine so as to create a small local training space that will earn us an income. I plan to continue saving from my transfers to achieve this goal.

My life has turned around since I started receiving Givedirectly transfers. I used to be a herder, when Givedirectly started giving me cash I started buying my own animals which over time multiplied. I decided to sell a number and start a tailoring business since I already had the skill set. I built a shop and bought the machine for sewing. I spent $30 in December buying African fabric which I made clothes with and sold on profit. I January I bought 2 rolls of school uniform material at $30 which also I used and made uniform that I sold and made a profit. I now make about $20 weekly which is twice what I would make from herding. I got a goat in February at $25 while spending $4 on thread and needle and saved $5 to my savings group.

I've now amassed a total of 17 goats, and my plan is to sell them at the beginning of next year once their count reaches 20. My aim is to generate $500 from the sale, which I'll then use to establish a retail shop offering fast-moving consumer goods and Mobile Money services. Currently, there are only two shops serving our entire village, and there's a significant demand for fast-moving consumer goods. Furthermore, I intend to provide Mobile Money services to reduce the frequent long queues people experience when trying to access money transfers. Occasionally, the existing shop runs out of cash, requiring the owner to make trips to the main town and deposit more funds, which can be inconvenient for customers who have to wait. I'm forever grateful for the transformations that will be happening through GiveDirectly transfers.

Our family consists of five members, with I being the eldest. My father is a casual laborer, which means his income is not consistent. Therefore, we primarily depend on my mother's business, which involves selling traditional brew, although it doesn't generate a substantial income. Given our financial circumstances, I've been allocating $30 each month, for purchasing goats and $4 for food. I've chosen to invest in goats because they are cost-effective animals with a high reproductive rate compared to other livestock. My ultimate aim is to sell them in the future and use the proceeds to establish a retail shop. It's worth noting that our village currently has only two existing retail shops. Despite the financial challenges and responsibilities I face, I take great pride in having successfully constructed a house using the transfers I received.

Driven by the awareness of the distance between my village and existing shops, I, as a motorcycle driver, am determined to open a shop within my community. Through dedicated savings and unwavering determination, I am steadily working towards turning this vision into a reality. Every fare and hard-earned income fuels my passion and brings me closer to accumulating the necessary funds. Challenges along the way serve as stepping stones for growth, and I embrace them wholeheartedly. With a focused mindset and astute financial management, I am paving the way for a future where my shop will bridge the gap between convenience and distance, fostering community and prosperity within my village.

With the support of GiveDirectly, I triumphed over hunger by wisely spending $20 on nourishing food. Seizing the opportunity, I invested $14 in a goat, amplifying my herd from eight to nine. As these goats mature and multiply, I envision a thriving future where I can trade them for a cow, unlocking a realm of possibilities. This journey from scarcity to prosperity showcases the transformative power of determination and assistance, and I am thrilled to embark on this path towards a better life.

In the entire village, I have realized that I am the one who owns a sewing machine, so in the next coming years, my greatest plan is to have additional sewing machines, expand my current working place and have people equipped with the tailoring skills. I will achieve this by expanding my livestock-rearing project by buying more goats and selling them when they reach a certain stage to enable me get enough money to buy the machines.

It had always been my wish to have livestock of my own, and with the business that I have been doing and also other family needs in place, I had not been able to. Upon receiving the transfers, I decided to start with a small amount and therefore bought a goat worth $15 as I work to get more cash to buy more goats who I believe in future would be my source of income. I also bought food worth $10 for my family, added $5 to my tailoring business and saved $4. I was grateful knowing that my livestock-rearing project was finally with me.

Upon receiving my second transfer, I saw it fit to invest in my tailoring business to attract more income. I, therefore, used $550 in stocking up on cloth materials, linings and other essential items for my business and then I used $50 on transportation. Secondly, I bought foodstuffs worth $100 that would last for the remaining days of the month. Finally, I saved $200 for emergencies. I don't have a family yet, but I plan to have one once I am financially stable. I am happy to have accomplished so much in a short period, it was not easy to pull this off before due to financial constraints, thus I am grateful.

Since the transfers were just recently sent out, I got the chance to withdraw the money but I still have not used the transfers. I plan on using the transfers to purchase a goat because I have plans to ensure that I keep purchasing farm animals because back here in the village they're are always on demand and this will help me in the finances since I could always sale the animals because I eventually intend to build a better home for myself since my house is quite small and barely spacious. The goat will cost me about KES 3,000 which is the amount I received from GiveDirectly.

GiveDirectly gives me transfers and I am happy. I now have hens and goats. That shows a lot of progress, which is good. I have now suggestions on how GiveDirectly can improve at the moment.

For the first transfer, I used KES 900 to buy 3 hens for domestic use and the remaining KES 250, I bought clothes with it. For the second transfer, I withdrew KES 2500 and added KES 500 from my savings and bought a goat. I saved the rest- KES 500.

I was woken up from my nap by a message alert. When I checked, I saw that I had received some funds as promised by give directly. Although the money was not enough, I was very happy so I used it to buy some poultry, a shirt and soap

The biggest difference I have had in my daily life is that, for the longest time, I have never had money in my mobile banking wallet. Now, I not only have that privilege but I have also made my first savings of 50 shillings.

I used to study tailoring but when my parents could no longer afford the fee, I was forced to drop out. Since I had learnt the basics of tailoring, I opened a shop to continue with my practice as a way to earn a living and perfect my skills. Since my shop is still new, I do not have many customers. Therefore, I still depend on my mother, who is a traditional wine Brewer, for financial support. I also practice poultry farming so I used the funds to buy three chickens at KES900, the remaining KES250, I bought a t-shirt and soap.