After opening a grocery shop, I intend to begin accumulating money in order to purchase a motorcycle before the end of the year. I intend to use the motorcycle to deliver goods and run personal errands in order to cut transportation costs and increase efficiency. This will help my grocery business grow and create more income at the same time.

What I like best about Give Directly is that the organization allows us to be responsible for our own spending without any strings attached, which was incredibly educational for everyone in the village. We were obliged to make our own decisions and do reasonable things to show for it.

I worked for my uncle as a casual laborer for three years now and I earned about $60 per month, this was too little to cater to my family's needs so receiving unconditional transfers from Give Directly was life-changing for us. From the second transfer, I decided to first buy food worth $100 enough for two months for a family of three, unlike before, where we survived with one or no meals at all, we can now afford all meals for the next two months. Secondly, I opened a grocery shop using $300 so that I can have a reliable source of income for my family, gave my wife $ 50 for her own needs, and saved the $80 for emergency purposes in the future.

I was in my village retail shop around 4:00 p.m. when I received a Mpesa message confirming the receipt of my first transfer. I had no doubt that the $550 I had just received was from GiveDirectly because it was almost two weeks after enrollment and I was not expecting any other money in my account. Concurrently, I received numerous calls from customers who wanted to pick up their money from my shop, confirming that the transfer was from GiveDirectly. Later, I went to a nearby shopping center, Kapkwen, and bought more stock for my shop.

The biggest difference in my daily life is the increased business as a result of bringing in new stock and replenishing exhausted ones. Customers are more satisfied because they no longer have to travel to town to purchase goods. With this, I was able to increase my profit margin and thus provide for my family of three without putting my business at risk.

When I first received a transfer from GiveDirectly, I was running a small retail shop in the village. The stock had decreased in the previous months because I had been giving out goods on credit, and most customers would fail to pay on time due to the economic crisis. It was a relief to get the transfer at the same time as everyone else, including my customers. The majority of them paid off their debts, allowing me to restock because demand for the few available items was high. I spent $250 of my transfer on expanding my business and a portion of the payment from customers on replenishing depleted items. I am glad I have since made a good profit margin, and I hope to do more with the subsequent transfer. I also spent $240 on a heifer that I am currently rearing to increase milk production when she matures. I had been buying at least a liter of milk every day for $1 for my family of three, which  I am confident will end once the heifer calved and began producing milk. In addition, I used the remaining funds to purchase building materials for my new kitchen. Despite the fact that the materials I purchased are insufficient, I have begun construction in anticipation of the second transfer's disbursement.