I am the family breadwinner for a family of three children. My husband is currently bedridden due to tumour cancer. Therefore, the entire family depends on me for basic needs such as food, medical expenses and utility bills, something that has always motivated me to have more goals for the betterment of the family. I started a small shop using my first transfer, nevertheless, the business ain't promising due to insufficient funds for expansion. I am planning to expand the business from retail to wholesale. I plan to spend KES 30,000 to add more stock. I also have a new goal of buying a mattress and a bed worth KES 7,000. I have been using traditional bedding and old sacks which are quite uncomfortable while we sleep on, something that caused backbone pain whenever I wake up and hence lowered my productivity at the shop. I got a sigh of relief and happiness knowing that this is a dream come true when I received my second transfer of KES 55,000. I am forever grateful for the support provided by GiveDirectly, long-lived GiveDirectly fraternity

GiveDirectly is the only organization I have known to provide training and education (Census) before giving out the transfer, hence we are equipped with knowledge of where the transfers came from, thus eliminating any chances for doubt and fear, reason as to why we shouldn't pay bribes. We have also been given the freedom of spending the transfer based on one's priorities and needs. I just love the way GiveDirectly takes initiative for follow-up. Most organizations will give you aid without any future follow and this has led to misuse of funds within communities and families. Follow-up surveys ain't just a strategy of reporting how we used the transfer but it also allow us to interact with different GiveDirectly's team members.

I am the family breadwinner for a family of three children. My husband is currently bedridden due to tumour cancer. Therefore, the entire family depends on me for basic needs such as food, medical expenses and utility bills. I was overwhelmed with joy when I confirmed the receipt of KES 55,000 from GiveDirectly. I spent KES 30,000 in adding more stock to my shop, the business has not been doing well due to lack of enough resources for expansion. Furthermore, I spent KES 16,000( fare and treatment) to seek medical attention for my husband who was to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy in Nairobi and Mombasa. In addition, I bought a bed and mattress for KES 9,000. Before, I was using traditional beddings of old sacks which were uncomfortable and hard to sleep on. I always felt backbone pain after waking up something that lowered my productivity at work. I am so grateful for the support provided by GiveDirectly, we currently enjoy good sleep as a family and also manage to have good meals from the profit earned from my business which is usually KES 1,500-2,000 daily.

I can still remember very well, it was around 8 PM when we were taking supper when my mobile phone started vibrating. That was an indication of a new message but because I am illiterate, I asked my helper to check. Upon reading the texts, he realized that it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly. Wow! They had finally debited my first cash transfer as promised. I felt so happy about the blessing and we couldn't afford to continue to take our meals due to the excitement.

The biggest difference in my daily life that I will always mention is the fact that I bow have a stable business(kiosk). Since there are just two shops in the village I felt there was a need for me to start the business but I did not have the capital. Before then I did not have any job not means of income. Therefore I used to depend on my elder son since my spouse is old and ailing. Most of the days, my son could not meet all our daily needs and this was because he also had a family of his own. Having this business has improved my standards of living because I have been earning good profits. I can now be able to take food care of my three family members and provide the monthly medical funds for my spouse. I will forever be thankful to GiveDirectly because were it not for their support we would still be struggling daily.

I spent KES 48000 of my first transfer on starting a kiosk business that I am currently operating in the village. I have now been selling maize color, cereals, vegetables, sugar, and all sorts of essential household foodstuff. Initially, I did not have any job but my prayer was to be an entrepreneur and I thank God this is accomplished. To add to that I bought medicine worthy of KES 5000 for my spouse who was diagnosed with colon cancer a few months ago. I am happy that the money came at a good time since it was his review date and we did not have enough cash to facilitate the medication. With the remaining amount of money, I bought foodstuffs for my family and other household needs.