My dream is to become a successful businesswoman by starting small and gradually expanding my ventures. I've already taken the first step by opening a grocery business, which helps me earn a daily income to support my college fees. Additionally, I've enrolled in a tailoring course, which has always been my passion. I was able to fund these initiatives through my monthly transfers. To keep the grocery business running while I attend classes, I've hired a relative to assist me for a fee of $2 per day. My primary goal for the next year and beyond is to complete my tailoring course. Once I finish, I plan to transition to my next goal: opening a tailoring shop. This will allow me to combine my love for fashion with my entrepreneurial ambitions. I envision a future where my business flourishes, providing me with financial stability and the means to support my family comfortably. By the time I have my own family, I aim to have made significant progress in my career, ensuring a better life for them. Every step I take now is focused on building a strong foundation for my future, and I'm determined to work hard, keep learning, and overcome any challenges to turn this dream into reality.

After completing school, I moved to Kaloleni to start a business due to its urban setting, which is conducive for business growth. With part of my savings, I rented a house and opened a grocery business. Luckily, the business has been successful, and to manage it when I'm not there, I hired a relative to assist for $2 per day. Thanks to the financial support from GiveDirectly, I enrolled in a tailoring school to pursue my passion. Upon receiving my recent transfer, I allocated $60 to pay for my tailoring course, ensuring I don't owe any fees. Additionally, I used $30 to pay overdue house rent and the remaining $12 for personal items such as soap, body oil, and other necessities. I am truly grateful for the support provided by GiveDirectly.

In the coming years, my dream is to become a successful businesswoman by starting small and gradually expanding my ventures. Initially, I plan to sell vegetables, which will allow me to understand the basics of running a business and managing finances. As I gain experience and save up, my ultimate goal is to open a big boutique shop where I will not only sell clothes but also design and make them myself. This will combine my passion for fashion with my entrepreneurial spirit. I envision a future where my business thrives, providing me with financial stability and the ability to support my family comfortably. By the time I have my own family, I aim to have made significant progress in my career, ensuring that I can offer them a better life. Every step I take now is towards building a foundation for that future, and I am determined to work hard, learn continuously, and overcome any challenges that come my way to make this dream a reality.

Some months ago, I came up with the idea of going back to college after realizing that I needed to achieve something significant in life. Therefore, upon receiving my cash transfer, I enrolled in a one-year tailoring course at a nearby college. The monthly cash transfer has been a lifeline, allowing me to pay for both my tuition and accommodation fees. This opportunity has filled me with hope and determination, knowing that by the time I graduate, I will be equipped with the skills and experience necessary to seek employment or even become self-employed. The thought of being able to secure a better future for myself is incredibly motivating. Before receiving the cash transfers, I struggled with small businesses that provided minimal income and came with numerous challenges. I lacked any formal skills, which limited my opportunities and made every day a struggle. However, the support from the cash transfers has been transformative. Now, I am not only gaining valuable skills but also a sense of purpose and direction. I can envision a future where I am no longer bound by the limitations of my past but empowered to create a stable and prosperous life. This journey has been a turning point, and I am profoundly grateful for the chance to reshape my destiny.

I am the third born of seven, my mother is farmer and my farther is a Gardner for hire in the city. I have 4 younger siblings who are still in school and 3 older siblings. My immediate follower finished his secondary school last year and is yet to join any school. I have another younger one who finished primary school and is yet to join secondary school and my parents are still struggling to raise the necessary finances for this. My plan is to ensure I finish school and the redirect the money to educate my siblings.

I was enrolled in the Givedirectly project while still in secondary school. I was struggling through school as my parents could not raise enough money to take care of us all as at the time 6 of us were in school. So ever since I use my transfers to ensure I get through school. I used my November transfers to pay school fees of $20 and used the rest of the money as my allowance to buy food, make my hair as well toiletries while in school. This was the same case in December. In January I was in arrears for my rent and knew I needed that sorted out, I paid rent of $15 and paid electricity worth $5. I still used the $14 as my allowance for food and toiletries. 11-2000-school fees, 1000- pocket money. 400- braided her hair, DEC 2000-schoolfee,1400 pocket money, JAN rent at school-1500, electricity-500, shopping food and toiletries. Started receiving money when in form four. college teaching. mother is a farmer, father is gardener. 7 children

My dream is to join college to pursue a course in teaching, but coming from a poor background makes me certain that my parents are not able to afford the required fees for the course as they are already struggling to pay fees for my younger siblings. This has left me no choice but to raise the money for my course on my own hence the reason I relocated to a nearby town to start a grocery business as it was the easiest to set up using minimal capital. My main aim is to stabilize this business to a point where it can sustain my daily needs and boost my savings as well. This will allow me to save my entire transfer amounts and hasten my dream of joining college. Once I am in school, I can hire someone to run the business while am away and use the transfers for my personal and school needs. Joining college and paying for my own tuition fees would be the biggest achievement in my life and would serve as a good example for my siblings and encourage them that we can still achieve greater things in life despite our current condition.

I have grocery business that I started at the beginning of this year. I started the business with very few items due to lack of sufficient money to purchase all the items I may have wanted and in good quantities. With the help of the transfers, each month, I have been adding new items to the stall and also stocking on the already available items. It is safe to says that I have been using most of my transfers to boost my business which has grown tremendously courtesy of the money. Our status back home is not so encouraging, with mother being a full time housewife and my father working as a gardener. This forced me to relocate to a nearby town to start this business in order to save enough money to sponsor my dreams of joining college because I know my parents are unable to afford the required fees. Seeing my business grow this much and being in a position to save more each day makes brings closer my dream.

I am currently focused on saving enough money to pursue a career in college which is teaching. Despite receiving a C grade, I am resolute in my determination to join college and create a better future for myself. I firmly believe that education holds the key to unlocking a world of opportunities and success. With careful planning and dedication, I am eagerly preparing to embark on this new chapter of my life.

After completing high school, I took a leap of faith and started a small cabin business selling fresh vegetables. With just $30, I started the business and used the remaining $4 to cover my personal expenses. The journey wasn't easy, but through sheer determination, my business began to flourish. Every day, I greet customers with a smile and offered them a colorful variety of nutritious produce. Managing my inventory and building relationships with customers taught me important lessons about responsibility and never giving up. This humble venture not only transformed my life but also sparked a newfound sense of purpose and self-reliance.

I intend to launch a small kiosk business this year where I will sell food and vegetables. This is one activity I can do to pass the time as I collect money so I can go to college. I need to start the business in order to raise the $200 to pay my secondary school in order to receive the academic certificates. Once I have the certificates, I will continue to save money until I have enough for my tuition so that I can enroll in college and pursue my dream course in teaching.

I finished my secondary education in December of the previous year. I am delaying my goal of going to college until a later time due to the poverty at home. I'm currently looking for a job that will allow me to pay off my substantial $200 debt from unpaid school fees. After I've paid, I'll receive my academic credentials and sign up to continue on my path toward becoming a teacher. I spent $24 to partially pay off the past-due school fee debt I owed the school when I received my January transfers. I choose to use the remaining $10 to buy two hens as I look for ways to raise money to pay off my debts and obtain my academic certificates. I'm hoping the hens will grow in number quickly so I can sell them later and use the proceeds to pay off the debt from the school fees.

In my opinion GiveDirectly does very well by giving aid in form of cash. This has given us the freedom to choose how best the money would be used and bring out maximum benefits from it. Seeing how different people have used the money to do different things is really an amazing fact. I am particularly happy that I was able to pay my own school fees and be in a position to continue pursuing my studies undisturbed. I hope to clear my secondary education and even further my studies into the next level. On the other hand, GiveDirectly should strive to do everything possible to make sure that we get transfers each month without fail. Whenever we do not get a transfer for a particular month, it ruins our plans and you would hear people raising complaints about it.

I used $25 to pay my own school fees and used the remaining amount $5 as pocket money. I am a form four student at a local school here at home and getting money to pay my own school fees has been really tough. This is because we are six siblings in my family and all of us are looking up to one parent to pay the school fee for us. It has been tough for him doing so because he relies on casual work to earn an income. It was a huge relief getting this transfer and giving him a helping hand. I still have huge school fee balances of $150 but I am happy knowing that I will continue receiving the transfer and in due time I shall be able to clear the fee. I am also very hopeful and optimistic about joining college after I clear my form four studies this year.

The Mpesa message which indicated a deposit had been made to my phone was a big relief. In my life, no one has ever sent me such an amount. I was excited and indeed I was grateful to GiveDirectly. It was around 7 pm and I could not wait but hurried to the nearby Mpesa shop where I withdrew the money so that I could pay for my school fee early in the morning the following day.

The biggest difference in my daily life is having been able to both purchase some of the personal essentials and paid for my school fees however little it was. I am currently in my final year of secondary school but getting to this level was not a walk in the park. For a while, I contemplated dropping out of school and assisting my parents to fend for my other siblings. But clearly, jobs are hard to come by and such a move would expose me to early marriage and the poverty cycle would continue. Seeing my sister who cleared her secondary education last year struggle to raise money for clearing the arrears she owes the school to enable her to get her certificates from the school motivates me to keep striving. I am glad that GiveDirectly came to my rescue.

I am a student at a nearby secondary school and am in form four which means I will be doing my national exams at the end of the year. What bothers me most is the troubles that I have undergone to reach this far in my academics. I come from a very poor family. I have six siblings, and we come from a very poor family. My father owns a handcart and his main source of income is to hawk water in Mombasa town. My mum ekes living selling charcoal. This means she scourges forests to make a living. Unfortunately, as a result of many years of forest destruction, the charcoal business is no longer lucrative as trees have become scarce and income continues to plummet. Coming from a poor background has greatly affected our way of life. We top the list of those who owe the school huge arrears and thus we are frequently sent back home. As an adolescent girl, I require sanitary pads among other essential things but my parents can not afford them too. It is devastating but thank God, GiveDirectly came to my rescue. With the KES 1200, I used KES 1000 to reduce my school balance to KES 10,000. For the remaining KES 200, I purchased a few sanitary pads and undergarments. At least I was able to resume my studies for a while but, unfortunately, at the moment I have just been sent back home again for the remaining arrears.