In the coming year, my primary focus remains on expanding my current shop to offer a range of products and services, with the aim of enhancing its appeal and profitability. To achieve this goal, I plan to use the funds I've saved through the merry-go-round savings group. By consistently contributing to this savings initiative, I aim to accumulate enough capital to finance the expansion and transformation of my shop into a more extensive establishment. With the financial support from the merry-go-round savings, I am confident that I can achieve this significant milestone within the coming year. I look forward to the potential growth and success as I work towards realizing my dream.

Receiving unconditional money from GiveDirectly has been a truly positive experience, primarily because of the fair and respectful treatment we all receive as recipients. The organization excels in ensuring that everyone is treated equally, regardless of background or circumstance, which fosters a sense of dignity and equality among us. Everything about the process, from the disbursement of funds to the follow-up, was handled with care and efficiency. GiveDirectly's commitment to treating us with utmost respect has made a significant difference in how we perceive and appreciate their assistance.

Being a mother of five, I am committed to securing a stable future for my family. While my husband works at a quarry, I manage a retail shop that serves as our main source of income. With my recent unconditional cash transfer, I chose to invest $50 in purchasing additional stock for my shop. Maintaining a well-stocked inventory is essential for sustaining a steady income, especially as we prepare for a future without external aid. This investment not only supports our livelihood but also ensures that my children can attend school comfortably without worrying about school fees. The impact of this decision has been significant, and I am genuinely grateful for the support that has enabled me to take steps toward securing a brighter and more stable future for my family. The financial assistance from GiveDirectly has made a meaningful difference in my life and the lives of my loved ones. This support has relieved concerns about our financial stability and has allowed us to prioritize providing the best opportunities for our children. I am thankful for the opportunities and empowerment that GiveDirectly has provided, and I am determined to continue working hard to ensure the success and growth of my business for the benefit of my family's future.

In the next one year and beyond, I hope to accomplish a lot including being part of merry go round contribution. Our first born is in grade five and will soon graduate to grade six and this has made us ready to pay school fees. We hope to stock the shop with more goods. The shop has changed my life and that of my family and I am so grateful for this. I have a stock of goods totallying to KES 17000

In my opinion, GiveDirectly does well by enrolling us individually and giving all of us equal amounts without bias on anyone. No quarrelling among members.

I used all of my recent transfer to get a licence for my newly opened shop. I had started the business and I was facing a lot of challenges with the local authorities and I saw it fit to get a legitimate licence. I was paying a lot of money to the authorities. I am now happy that I do not have to worry about them anymore. Right now I have started another business outside my shop of selling grocery and I am so happy that I am now self employed.

In the next one year and beyond, I will be concentrating on stocking my newly built shop with goods for resale. I expect that I will continue receiving an accumulated amount of transfers that had paused for over a year and this will allow me and my husband to easily stock the shop within the next couple of months. Once this is done, I will also be concentrating on other investments such as purchasing of livestock that will help me pay school fees and meet other needs in future. Once my transfers were paused, I was unable to accomplish most of the things but now that I have started receiving the money, I will use it to do the things I had earlier planned to do without fail. These are plans that I am putting together with my husband and which I hope shall come to pass and bring forth change to me and my family. Of importance are my four children who needs the best in terms of education and which I am prepared to give.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did very well by allocating equal amounts of money to all its beneficiaries within a specific village. he criteria of choosing eligible individuals was all inclusive as well and we are grateful for that. I would not have made the progress that I have so far made were it not for GiveDirectly. I always look forward to receiving the money from GiveDirectly and putting it into good use by making profitable investments. I am so far proud of the shop that we have since built with my husband and I look forward to achieving much more courtesy of these transfers.

I used all the money that I received to erect shelves in our newly built shop. I combined the transfers with that of my husband who also received the same amount and we used this amount to put up shelves as we had expected and planned earlier. I am happy that the shop is now fully complete and once we get our next transfers, we will use it to stock the shelves with commodities that we have planned to sell. Opening up this business shall be a great milestone for me and my family as it shall increase the amount of income that we receive as a family and also save us from over relying on quarrying as a means of making ends meet. It shall be more helpful to us in paying school fees who are fast approaching the secondary school level of education. I am so grateful for wahat GiveDirectly has been able to do in my life especially in changing our living standards. I look forward to better days ahead. Relying on quarrying to meet all the needs of our family has somewhat been a challenge especially on rainy days since we do not get clients coming because of the bad roads. This business shall cushion us against such bad times.

With the most recent transfer, we have been able to complete the construction of a shop we have been building for the last one year. We hope to start stocking the shop with goods for sale once we receive our next transfer. We will also be using the transfers that we get each month to stock the shop progressively. We expect to continue pursuing this goal in the coming year and beyond as it is a project that will help us meet the needs of our children especially payment of school fees once they start their secondary education. This is a project that will allow us diversify our sources of income and avoid depending entirely on quarrying to make ends meet.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly does very well by enrolling all individuals above 18 years in an household. This promoted a lot of independence among people receiving the money where everyone is free to make decisions on how to spend the money. I personally do not find anything wrong at all in how GiveDirectly conducts itself and its operations.

Over the last one year, I embarked on a journey of building a shop on the roadside. This was in an effort to diversify my sources of income after I got the support from the monthly transfers that I receive. Just as I had started the construction of the said shop, then the transfers that I received were stopped because of allegations of misuse of the same on alcohol. The building had to stop because the income that my husband and I got from the quarrying business that we did could not allow us to continue with the construction. I am so happy that the issue was finally resolved and we have since continued receiving the transfers which have allowed us to complete the construction of our shop. With the most recent transfer of $120, I used all of it to cement the floor of the shop and to erect shelves in it. I am glad that it is now fully complete and it is just a matter of time before it can be operational. With the next transfer that I will get, I intend to use it to stock the shop with goods that will be sold. This is a project that I would not have taken keen interest in had I not been paused from receiving the transfers. I quit brewing of alcohol and I now rely on quarrying and casual labour to make ends meet in my family. I am very optimistic that once we start a business in this shop it will give us more profits considering that we will not be paying rent.

One of our major projects is completing the rentals we have been working on. These properties have been a work in progress for some time now, and I am determined to see them finished in the next year. It will be a great accomplishment for us, and I believe that these rentals will provide a stable source of income for our family. To fund the completion of the rentals, I will utilize the transfers I receive to raise the necessary funds. While the amount may not be substantial, I will also use the income I generate from sand mining. It is a physically demanding job, but I am willing to put in the effort to ensure our dreams become a reality. Another important milestone in the coming year is my son's transition to Junior High School. I am both proud and excited for him as he takes this next step in his education. To ensure he has the best opportunities, I am committed to saving money for his school fees and other related expenses. Once the rentals are ready, I also have plans to utilize my tailoring skills. I believe that having a space where I can set up a small tailoring business which will provide additional income to my family.

Firstly, they ensured that everyone received equal amounts, which eliminated any potential complaints. Additionally, despite the money being given unconditionally, GiveDirectly made sure to provide clear guidelines on how the funds should be used. They emphasized the importance of spending the money responsibly and within the confines of the law. By doing so, they ensured that the community members did not engage in any illegal activities. Moreover, the entire process was transparent and well explained. I would not want anything changed in the GiveDirectly's program. Everything is good about it and we cannot be grateful enough.

I decided to use $80 of it to buy a donkey, and let me tell you, it was the best decision I ever made. We were going through a dry season, and getting water was a struggle. We had to walk long distances just to fetch water, but now, with the donkey, things have become so much easier. The donkey helps us carry the water containers back home, saving us time and energy. It is a real blessing. After buying the donkey, I still had some money left from the transfer, so I decided to invest it wisely. I used the remainder to buy essential food items for my family. It is such a relief to know that even when I do not have any extra money, we will not go hungry. Before, I used to pay someone to fetch water for me, and when I could not afford it, it was really tough. But now, with the donkey and the food supplies, we have a sense of security and stability. The donkey has truly been a lifesaver, and I am grateful for the transfers that enabled me to improve our living conditions in such a practical and meaningful way.

We have a plot of land that we purchased some time ago, and we have been working on building a shop on it. To help fund the construction of the shop, we plan to use the transfers that we receive from GiveDirectly. It is not a lot of money, but every little bit helps, and we are grateful for the support. My husband has been doing some sand mining work to bring in some extra income and I am proud of him for all that he has accomplished. While he is out working, I stay at home taking care of our four children. Three of them are in school, and I want to make sure that they are doing well and getting the support that they need. We will also be saving some of the money that we earn for our children's school fees. Our eldest child will be joining junior high school next year, and we want to make sure that we are prepared for the expense. Education is important to us, and we want to do everything we can to ensure that our children have the opportunity to succeed.

One thing I really appreciate about GiveDirectly is that they haven't changed the program design. They are consistent and reliable, and that is something I value a lot. It is reassuring to know that I can count on them to help me and my family each and every month. I also appreciate how well everything was explained to us. The staff at GiveDirectly also check up on us during follow up and find out how we are doing. I cannot think of anything that GiveDirectly can do differently since everything is well done.

When I received the money, my first thought was to use it to improve our living conditions. My husband and I discussed and decided to pool our resources together to make the most of the transfer. We live in a rural area and one of our biggest challenges has been to have a sturdy roof over our heads. Therefore, we decided to use the transfer to buy ten iron sheets and building nails. These materials would allow us to build a stronger and more durable roof that would protect us from harsh weather conditions. In addition, we used some of the money to buy household food items. Food prices have risen lately, and it has become harder to afford basic groceries. We used the transfer to stock up on essential items like rice, flour, and cooking oil, which would help sustain us for the month. We also had an unfinished house that we had been building for some time. We decided to use the transfer to finish up the construction of the house. This would provide us with more space for our growing family and allow us to live more comfortably. Since the house we had was smaller, we decided to use some of the money to build another house. This would give us more living space.

In the next one year and beyond I have plans of completing the construction of a shop that I had started. I am left with the floor to cement and I also have one of my children who will be joining secondary school.Since we are receiving transfers with my husband then we will be using these transfers to make these improvements in bits.

Giving support in form of cash was a huge score by GiveDirectly. Looking at the things that I have been able to achieve makes me very happy. I now get to supplement the income that I get from quarrying and this has made our lives quite easy as a family.

When I received my recent transfer of $59, I used all of it to cement the floor of my house. We had for a long time wanted to bring this house to completion but we hardly had enough cash to do this. Having sand readily at our disposal, it was quite easy for us to cement the floor since all we needed was money to buy cement. I am personally so happy that this has come to pass and we now have a better house to call home. I look forward to achieving much more in the coming future with help of GiveDirectly transfers.