I currently sell petrol to my villagers and have established two branches: one in Mtulu and the other in Awali. My goal is to expand these branches to boost profits. I started this business because finding a good job was difficult, so I created my own employment. Initially, I had no competitors, but now there are about three, making expansion crucial for sustaining and growing my business. Expanding will also enable me to create jobs for others who are currently unemployed. Once I clear my debt with the merry-go-round, I plan to take another loan to further expand my business.

As a father of two, with one child currently in school, I used $30 from my transfer to pay his school fees and ensure his education continues without interruption. I run a small petrol-selling business, which I started with a loan from my merry-go-round group. I currently owe $60 to the merry-go-round, and I have repaid approximately $100.50 of this loan so far. Each month, I pay $20 to the merry-go-round to reduce my debt. To date, I have paid $60 towards this debt. With the remaining $12, I bought food for my family to ensure they don't go hungry.

I own a small business for selling petrol. Since it has been helping me earn a small income to support my family, I would like to expand it. Expanding this business will give me a good return, am sure. Since we have many motorbike riders who fuel their motorbikes every day, And since we are very few in the area, people have not flooded the business yet hence I want to take the opportunity before the market is flooded which I know will take a bit longer time. I am grateful for the support from GiveDirectly, since it is through the transfers that I established this business and I still want to save part of my transfers to expand it.

It was a heartwarming experience to receive the money just after my wife gave birth. The moment I received my transfer, I allocated $25 to process her discharge, and this has remained as a beautiful reminder. Whenever we see our baby, we remember the GiveDirectly transfer. Additionally, I used part of the transfer, $4, to purchase food for the family. With the remaining amount, I used $25 to pay for my child's fees, ensuring she is not sent home for the fee balance. Lastly, I also bought one chicken for rearing, as they multiply very fast and can be sold in case of any financial need.

My dream is to expand my business and reach new horizons. I'm planning to open another shop at a different location, The additional income from the new venture will secure a better future for my family. With the savings accumulated through the unconditional cash transfers, I'm determined to enroll my little one in a quality school once she reaches the school-going age. The transfers have contributed to the well being of my family and I.

A while back I took a debt from a loaning group to kick-start my petrol selling business. Paying it back had been an issue, so with the transfers I used $60 to pay off the lingering debt. This eliminated a financial burden that had been holding me back. The remaining $42 went towards addressing our daily household needs. My wife, who is currently unemployed, and our child depend on my income, and ensuring their well-being has been my top priority. Before the assistance from the Givedirectly transfers, I worked in a low-earning job as a bicycle mechanic. This support has provided the leverage needed to break free from financial constraints. I'm happy knowing I'm able to sustain my family more comfortably, all thanks to Givedirectly.

I am currently hustling and I want to start a business where I would be selling petroleum. I currently want to clear my debt then take another loan of around $150 to start this business. I noticed that a lot of people are not into this business so I saw it fit to fill the gap. Thanks to GiveDirectly I can now start to think of ways to brighten my future.

In June of this year, I encountered an unforeseen emergency and reached out to my merry-go-round group, in which I actively participate, for financial help. I borrowed $150 to address this pressing issue. Upon receiving the transfers, I promptly repaid $30, leaving me with a remaining debt of $120. With the remaining $4, I bought shoes for both my child and myself, ensuring that our daily routines remained unaffected.

My life was good during the period of time my business was running and my hope is to restart this business again. I hope to save my subsequent transfers to use it for restarting the business. Right now I am farming but the proceeds from farming take longer to be seen so I hope I am able to meet a substantial amount to restart my business and provide for my family.

Givedirectly has changed my life for the better. I started a business selling food in Kilifi town through GD transfers, I never used to have a source of income before that and with a young family it was really challenging. I used most of my March transfers, $30 to reinvest in the business but in April during the Ramadan period I was forced to close up shop as business was affected greatly. I have siblings in school still and since my father as a farmer doesn't make much I used $25 of my May transfers to pay school fees for them. In April I used most of the money for food $20 since my business wasn’t doing so well at the time. I also added some savings from the business to what was left in April and bought a goat at $30.

I'm proud of the excellent progress I've made, particularly in raising my family's income. I owe GiveDirectly since I established a little restaurant with the prior transfers. We have survived thanks to its success and the $5 profit it generates each day. Since we don't supply a lot of food right now, the restaurant typically runs out of food by 2:00 o'clock in the evening, which forces people to eat somewhere else. I intend to improve it with the next transfers so that we can serve a huge number of consumers and have it functioning till seven in the evening. All of our customers' wants will be met, and we'll also increase our profits. We have a son, and my goal is to give him the best possible standard of living, including all the necessities.

My transfer came while my two younger brothers, Hassan and Ibrahim, were planning to sit for their national exams. Because our father could not afford to help them obtain the necessary examination materials, I spent $13 on the items. Furthermore, we lacked adequate food, because my father is too old to work and support the family. He instead relies on small-scale subsistence farming. I contributed $15 to the family's food budget. I work in the hotel industry, but my earnings are insufficient to support our family. My burden of supporting the family reduced courtesy of the transfer. I am glad I have had an easy time focusing on my nuclear family since then.

In addition to my three family members, I support my father to take care of my five siblings who are all in school. I repair motorcycles to earn a living but the KES 200 I make from it daily can not sustain all of our needs. There are times when I do not get a single customer which means that I take nothing home. My father is aged, and he can not do much and thus he makes little money from his construction work. To improve my income, I bought both a goat and two chickens for rearing worth KES 3200 with the hopes of benefiting from them in the future after they reproduce. KES 5800 I spent on foodstuffs that can sustain us for some period, especially with the current famine that has led to hike in the prices of most of the food commodities. I am not yet in a position to comfortably meet all of our needs but I appreciate the support and I believe that things will work out with time.

In my view, GiveDirectly does well in promoting well being of the community members living where it works. This it does by giving direct transfers to the impoverished and less fortunate recipients. Through the transfer, there has been an increase in people's living standards. Some have started running their own small business as well as raising livestock. As a result, our struggle towards obtaining food and paying school fees for our children has drastically gone down. I am very appreciative of GiveDirectly.

Even though I have not yet used my transfer, I intend to use it to purchase a bed and a mattress. I was sleeping on the floor before, where I could spread several maize sacks. I could wake up exhausted and in severe pain whenever I slept on the floor. As a result,  l shall have a better place to spend my time now that I have had a bed and a mattress. I am quite appreciative of GiveDirectly's assistance. I am sure I would still be attempting to get better beddings if it had not been for the transfer.

It was at night around 10.08pm and I was in a nearby village finishing up on a motorcycle tyre repair.On completing my job as I was giving my client my mobile number for transfer of payment. I saw an mpesa message which made me happy and excited at the same time.On my way out I called my wife and my mother to share the goodnews and I was delighted to hear they also received their funds as well.

My plan is furnishing my house and atleast am glad that this transfer will be the change in the experience of my sleeping pattern. It has been uncomfortable to sleep on the floor on a pile of ragged clothes especially in the cold season.Moreover am ambitious that my dream of opening a vegetable shop will come true because I only need to start the business with a capital of KES 2000 and start earning a profit of KES 500 per day which is atleast enough to provide a meal for my family of four members.

I just completed my high-school education just the other day.I moved out and started my family recently. Life has not been easy because have been working as a casual laborer in jobs like repairing motorcycles, and bicycles. Sometimes I am forced to work in construction sites especially when I don't have any repairs to be done.My main aim has been to furnish my house because at the moment I sleep on the floor without beddings.Since have been able to survive on the KES 300 earned on repairs or KES 600 earned from construction sites ,I decided to save all my cash transfer in order to buy a bed and a mattress. My assumption is it will cost around KES 8000 which is my two months cash transfer and my savings of KES 2000 from my two jobs.