In the upcoming year and beyond, my plan is to open my own sewing shop. I’ve already ordered a machine from Mombasa and paid for it using the savings I accumulated through our merry-go-round group. With my coursework complete, I’m ready to launch the shop, which will provide an income to support my family. I also plan to rent a nearby space and stock additional items to sell alongside my tailoring services. I’ve purchased the sewing machine and am currently awaiting its arrival. Once it arrives, I will open the shop and start this new chapter. I'm truly grateful to GiveDirectly for their support, which has renewed my optimism in achieving this goal. Additionally, I plan to invest in farming tools, including a bull for ploughing, and I’m saving for this through the same merry-go-round group. I am optimistic about achieving my goals before the transfers come to an end.

I engage in farming while my spouse runs a small shop to support our family. With the recent transfer, I spent $60 on my monthly merry-go-round contribution, as I'm planning to use these transfers to acquire farm inputs. I also paid $14 in fees for my two children to ensure they wouldn't be sent home due to outstanding balances. Additionally, I purchased new school uniforms for them at $14 since their previous ones were torn. Lastly, I bought $14 worth of food for our family. Thanks to GiveDirectly for their support, which has eased our financial struggles.

In the upcoming year and beyond, my plan is to purchase a sewing machine valued at $170. With my coursework completed, I am now able to open my own shop. This venture will serve as a source of income to support my family. Additionally, I intend to rent a shop near my location and stock a few additional items alongside my tailoring business. I am happy to report that I have saved up $100 towards the purchase of the machine, leaving only a small percentage remaining. I am truly grateful to Give Directly for their generous financial support, as it has given me renewed optimism in achieving my dream goal.

After my roof was damaged by the wind, I decided to prioritize its repair by allocating $68 from my most recent transfer to purchase iron sheets. Additionally, I used $10 to pay my children's school fees to ensure they wouldn't be sent away due to outstanding balances. I also dedicated $20 to my chama contribution, as I have joined this savings initiative to work towards my goal of purchasing a tailoring machine in the future, now that I have completed my college studies. Lastly, I spent the remaining $4 on personal items such as soap and body oil.

Givedirectly has given me a chance to hope and dream. I am a trained tailor but not practicing now. I have not been able to do any tailoring works because I do not have the machine to sew clothes. I however have plans of renting out a shop near my place and use it as a shop where I can do my work as a tailor. I plan to buy the sewing machine soon, I now have $100 in savings and hope to get to $150 which will be enough to buy a sewing machine.

I have been able to save since I got enrolled in the Givedirectky transfers. Thanks to Givedirectly I am able to work towards my goals using the cash transfers I receive by saving something. I can now work on things I could not achieve using my own earnings. I have recently saved $40 from my recent transfers. I have also used a portion of the transfers to pay school fees for my children. They both need $19 per term for school fees, I paid $30 for both of them from my transfers and topped up the rest of the school fees arrears from my earnings. I have also got food from this transfers as well as toiletries at $10 and $8 respectively.

In the upcoming year, my objective is to acquire my own sewing machine. Presently, I rely on a borrowed one, which can be inconvenient when the owner requires it, and I have pending work to deliver. I have diligently saved a portion of my transfers to achieve this goal, and I am happy to announce that I am close to getting the required amount to make the purchase. Possessing my own sewing machine will significantly enhance my ability to work and deliver to clients promptly, ensuring a consistent and guaranteed income. This prospect brings me a great deal of fulfillment, as it marks a significant step towards greater independence and efficiency in my profession.

I sustain my family of six through a combination of farming and tailoring, striving to secure a livelihood. Previously, the circumstances were challenging as my husband, a farmer, struggled to generate sufficient income, leading us to resort to selling charcoal for financial support. I am pleased that the situation has undergone a positive transformation, not only for our family but also for the broader community. New businesses have emerged, children now have access to education, and their overall well-being has improved. From the transfers received, $42 was allocated to purchasing food for my family during a time when we had none and had not yet harvested. Additionally, I used $20 to settle an outstanding school debt and another $20 to acquire a small goat, intending to raise it for future financial support. The remaining funds were prudently saved in our savings club for future use. I am filled with immense joy as many of my challenges have been alleviated, and I eagerly anticipate a brighter future ahead.

As a professional tailor, my dream is to turn my skills into a thriving business. Unfortunately, financial constraints have always stood in the way, making it difficult for me to afford the necessary equipment, like a sewing machine, and materials to start my venture. However, with the monthly cash transfers, I see a promising opportunity to finally make my dream come true. I estimate that I will need a capital of at least $150 to acquire the required sewing equipment and materials. Earlier this year, I joined a savings group, where I have been regularly depositing $10 each month. This practice has brought me closer to my goal of buying the equipment needed to start my business.

Every time I receive the funds, my priority is to address the major needs of my family after which I save the remaining amount through a savings group. When I joined the savings group earlier this year, my goal was to accumulate enough capital to start a kiosk or tailoring business in the future. I have always aspired to be a business owner, but the lack of resources has been a significant obstacle. My husband runs a kiosk business, but the income generated from it is limited and barely covers our basic needs. Thanks to the cash transfers, I am now hopeful that I can save enough money to make my business dream a reality. Recently, from the cash transfers, I managed to save $10 through the savings group. Another $10 was allocated to pay school fees for my two children who are currently in school. This has been essential in ensuring they never miss classes, and I am optimistic that this will positively impact their academic performance. The remaining cash was utilized to buy food, which alleviated some of the financial burdens on my husband. Now, we rarely go without meals, all thanks to the support we receive through the cash transfers.

As I mentioned earlier, I have saved $10 monthly for a local savings group that I am in. I have a big goal that I hope I will be able to achieve. I am working towards starting a business. I hope to put up a local general shop using my savings. The business will require about $20 to start and I hope to be able to get here through this savings. I want to be able to contribute to my family's finances to ensure my children have access to education and proper nutrition.

Had it not been for GD I do not know how it would have been in my home. I am a small-scale farmer who has not been able to plant or harvest for five years due to the drought. My husband who has a shop is making much less than he used to before. Receiving this cash has ensured my kids consistently attend school and we have a meal very few times when we lack food. I have been uniformly spending my monthly transfers. I spend $10 monthly paying school fees for my two school-going children, we spend $14 on food and $10 goes into my local merry-go-round group.

My main objective for this year is to launch my own business and achieve financial independence. Now that I have the skills to help run the business, I'm looking at purchasing a sewing machine and clothing supplies. Working on the farm is my current source of income, but it only pays very little due to the severe effects of the drought, which have prevented the farm's crops from growing. I will start earning money once the business is up and running and I am able to draw clients, which will help me support my family.

Although I have formal training in tailoring, I only occasionally use it when there is a need, earning a $2 commission in the process. Our family of six relies primarily on my husband, who owns a retail business in the community market, at the moment. I want to set up a shop and buy a sewing machine to increase my income. In order to do this, I joined a non-official rotational savings group where we each save $10 each month in order to buy the sewing machine after we have earned our shares. I was able to save $30 as a result of the money I've gotten over the past three months. With some of the transfers, I paid $30 in overdue fees for our primary school-age children. I then used the remaining $34 to buy 34 kg of maize flour for our home. I am happy that I helped my spouse take care of our family's needs.

The dependency on my spouse has pushed me to save a bigger portion of my transfers so that I can start up something for myself. I have therefore saved KES 5000 of the last three transfers in a monthly rotational and savings group so that I can raise money to purchase cows for rearing. They are not only a good source of milk but once they give birth we shall additional cows which we can comfortably sell in the future in case of an urgent need for cash. I also spent KES 1000 to clear the school fees arrears my son owed the school, and bought 20 Kilograms of corn flour at KES 2500 for family use. I still have KES 500 for daily household use.

Living us at liberty of making decision on how to spend the transfers was a great idea because we are able to identify our needs by ourselves. I wouldn't have thought of opening the business anytime soon if it were not for the unconditional cash transfers.

For several years in my marriage, I was a housewife and it's not something which I loved. I wanted to get out there, get a job and support my husband in raising our four children but I didn't have skills that would enable me get a decent job. I'm grateful that my husband paid for my tailoring course whereby I graduated last year. All I wanted after graduating is to open my business but my husband who's a shop keeper could afford KES 15000 to buy a sewing machine. Being enrolled in the program was a great opportunity for me to save towards buying the machine. I joined a sacco where I have been saving KES 2000 monthly. I saved KES 2000 of recent transfers in the sacco and spend the balance of KES 1000 to buy food since there was no food at home. I'm hopeful that a year's time, I will be able to buy the machine and open my own tailoring shop.

I was still on bed rest as it was only two days after I had put to bed a set of twins and I had not recovered yet. My husband had also informed me that he had gotten some money to buy the infants some clothes since they only had rags for clothes. So, when I saw the message confirming the receipt of the transfer from give directly, I was ecstatic. Therefore, I sent the funds to my husband to substitute what he had to facilitate the purchase of the infants' clothes.

It was only two days after I had put to bed a set of twins when I received the funds. I had no money to buy them clothes so what I was using as their clothes were old rags. So, this money gave me the privilege to clothe my children. I was also doing some tailoring classes before I gave birth. Therefore, after my maternity break, I plan to continue with my classes, where I am to pay Kes1000 monthly and these funds will help with this bill.

I was on my way to my tailoring training lessons when the contractions started. On my last prenatal visit, the midwife had advised me that my due date was on January 22, so having the contractions 4days earlier came as a surprise for me. I was without any infant clothes and my husband, who is a shopkeeper, was working towards gathering funds for the babies' clothes. I was forced to use rags to cover the twins with as I waited for their clothes. When the funds came in, I sent it all to him so he may buy more clothes.