I am a father of five children, with two still attending school. To provide for my family, I work in construction. With the last three transfers totaling $102, I decided to invest in building a better house for us. For a long time, we have endured living in a grass-thatched house, which becomes unbearable during the rainy season due to constant leaks. Every month, I planned and carefully bought two pieces of iron sheets, along with the necessary ridges and nails. Now, I have accumulated 32 pieces of iron sheets, more than enough nails, and ridges to complete the roofing. I also gathered all the required building poles, setting the stage for construction. Looking at the materials, I am filled with excitement and hope. The house will need 24 pieces of iron sheets, but I purchased extra because I have a dream of starting a grocery store once our home is complete. This extra planning ensures that I will have the materials ready to construct the store. The thought of finally ending the long nights of being soaked by the rain and providing a dry, safe home for my family is thrilling. This house represents more than shelter; it is a step towards stability and a brighter future.

This coming year, I am filled with hope and determination to start my grocery business, a venture I have long dreamt about. In our village and the broader community, there are many businesses, but none that supply fresh vegetables consistently. I see this as an opportunity to fill a vital gap and provide a much-needed service. To make this dream a reality, I have already started purchasing construction materials for the grocery structure. It will require 12 pieces of iron sheets for roofing, and I currently have six pieces. Every month, I plan to buy at least two more iron sheets until I have all I need. With each purchase, I am one step closer to fulfilling my dream of running a successful grocery business that benefits not just my family, but everyone in our community.

Life in the village used to be extremely challenging as I had no savings to rely on and farming became increasingly difficult due to a prolonged drought. However, the intervention of GiveDirectly has brought about a remarkable transformation in my life. I now have a thriving livestock business, owning over thirty chickens and goats. With the support received, I was also able to acquire thirty-one pieces of roofing sheets and building poles to begin construction of my own house. Additionally, I've established a kiosk to kickstart my own business venture. This newfound stability has filled me with joy, and I am determined not to return to my previous dire situation. Utilizing the entire $102 received from GiveDirectly, I invested in purchasing iron roofing sheets, a crucial step towards realizing my housing and business aspirations. Establishing the kiosk will not only provide me with a means of income but will also symbolize my journey towards self-sufficiency and prosperity. I am truly grateful to GiveDirectly for the assistance they have given me.

Looking ahead, my focus is on establishing a thriving vegetable-selling kiosk in my community. This venture will be a lasting legacy that will endure beyond the conclusion of the project. I am committed to financing this initiative through the proceeds from my chicken business and the transfers I receive, ensuring its sustainability and long-term success. The positive transformation that these transfers have brought to my life fills me with happiness and gratitude.

Over the last three months, I allocated the entire $102 I received to purchase roofing materials, including nine iron sheets and nails. These materials are crucial for building a new house and a stand where I plan to start a vegetable-selling business. Currently, my house is in extremely poor condition with a decaying grass-thatched roof that leaks water during rainfall. This makes the space uncomfortable to occupy due to dampness and cold. On the other hand, the vegetable-selling business has been a long-desired venture of mine, but financial constraints from my carpentry and house construction casual jobs have limited me to meeting basic needs like food. I am grateful that the cash transfers have provided an opportunity to realize these accomplishments that previously seemed difficult to achieve.

My goal is to initiate a vegetable-selling business in my village. In my area, people have to walk for almost a couple of hours to find a market or a vegetable-selling stand. I am confident that starting this business will give me an advantage due to the demand for vegetables and the lack of competition. To kickstart the business, I need at least $60 to acquire the initial stock. Before starting the business, I plan to set up the stand by purchasing building materials. Once everything is in place, I aim to begin building a new dwelling space for my family. The current house, with a grass-thatched roof, leaks water during rainfall. I am certain that obtaining a completely new house will provide better shelter for my family.

My primary source of income has always been farming, and I can attest that over the years, I have reaped numerous rewards from it. Because of the harvest we received from it, we could not go without food for more than a year and even sell some of it. In addition, we always had enough of vegetables, tomatoes, and onions in our garden. However, the drought that caused no crop over the past year has cost us. Considering that it was my primary source of income, it has been difficult to support the family. As a result, we skipped the majority of our daily meals, and on occasion, we went a whole day without eating. Many thanks to the organization for making it simple for the family to afford meals. I purchased four buckets of maize and beans totaling $94 using the transfers from the previous three months, which was sufficient to feed my family for a while. In addition, I spent $4 on two chickens and $4 on water for our home.

My objective for this year is to replace the grass thatch on the roof of my current house with iron sheets. Because farming, which was my main source of income, is today deteriorating, the economy is difficult. On the other hand, although I build houses, the industry has recently been inactive. People are not building houses, which I think is a result of the challenging economic. Despite all of this, whenever I receive the monthly installments, I will buy the construction materials needed to build the house in bits. By the end of the year, I am hoping to have raised enough money to upgrade the house, giving me a solid building that will not cost much to maintain in contrast to the grass thatched homes. Every month I have to replace the grass, but there isn't much grass left because of the present drought, and what little is available is pricey.

Since it has not rained in about a year, we have run out of food and water. The government has at least helped by providing us with water to quench our thirst, even though it is not enough, it is better to have something than have nothing at all. At times our children come with one liter that they get from school and we use it at home. The drought is out of control and making our lives intolerable. With the money I received, my only concern was equipping the house with enough food that will at least last us for the next two weeks. I spent $30 on buying flour and the remaining $4 I bought cabbages and kales. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for the transfers, they are very beneficial.

I lost the 8 goats I had due to the drought as there was not enough water and grass for them to feed on. I decided to go job hunting in Mombasa and occasionally I find something to bring home but at times I leave empty handed. I work as a carpenter who makes tables and sometimes I burn charcoal and sell it. When I save enough money, I want to start a greengrocery where I will produce vegetables like lettuce and tomatoes and sell them to my neighbors.

I spent $28 on purchasing food and other basic household items for my family. Due to the prolonged drought in our area, we have not been in a position to plant any crops. We depend majorly on casual jobs to earn some money to meet our basic needs. When I received the money my family had enough to eat and we are so grateful for the support because were it not GiveDirectly we would have missed getting food. The remaining $2 I spent on purchasing water for domestic use. I am so happy for the support from GiveDirectly because it has enabled me to get the basic needs on time.

I have always had the intentions to grow my farm but since the finances were not there, I could not. So when I received the money from the program this time round I went ahead and bought a goat of KES 1,500 while my wife did a similar thing with her finances as well so we ended up having two goats. This was an investment for since we planned to rear and breed the goats so that in case of any financial emergency we could sell them and cater to that situation. Afterwards I took the balance I was left with of KES 1,500 and used KES 1,040 to purchase eight packets of maize flour and used KES 120 to purchase a kilogram of beans. I am still left with KES 340 which I plan on buying more beans and sugar as well.

I commend the organisation for the job it is doing especially since it is creating an opportunity for us to elevate our living conditions. I never in a million years thought I would ever be capable of thinking a business because the money I made from the casual jobs I did could not sustain such plans. I hopeful that by the time this program is done we will not be in the same poverty stricken situation we are in.

I found out about receiving the transfers through my wife after she received hers because both of us were lucky enough to get enrolled. After she informed me, I went through my phone and confirmed her information and immediately ran to the store to get some items. Finding out that GiveDirectly had yet again kept its word was amazing. In my opinion the funds could not have picked a better time to come than when they did. I was happy and relieved at the same time.

Before receiving the funds from the organisation, I was in a literal dilemma. I barely had any money, there was hardly any food in the house, the kids were about to resume school and my job was hardly paying off especially when it came to payment and provision. I felt stranded and completely stressed out. Luckily, it's as though I had spoke to God himself, GiveDirectly ended up sending the transfers. Upon arrival, I hastily took the transfers and bought eight packets of maize flour for KES 1,040 while I used the remaining balance of KES 160 and bought tomatoes and sardines. I dealt with nutrition because it was the most important at the time especially because of my children. I did not want them to starve.

As I had mentioned, both my wife and I were enrolled to the program and thus both of us receive the funds which have come in handy on numerous occasions where we felt our hands were tied and helpless. For instance, with the recent transfers I catered for nutrition meanwhile my wife used her transfers to cater for tuition fee and school uniform. Through the funds we have managed to cater for the needs of our family together which has further improved our relationship.