In the coming year, my biggest goal is to start a clothes-selling business to create another source of income. I want to specialize in women’s clothes because they have a ready market, and their demand is always high. To achieve this, I plan to save from both the monthly transfers I receive and the income from my charcoal business. Every month, I will set aside a portion of my earnings, bit by bit, until I have enough to buy my first stock. With hard work and determination, I believe I can grow this business, providing more stability for my family. Beyond this year, I hope to expand and make my clothing business a reliable source of income, allowing me to support my household even better.

I am a mother of two school-going children, and I work hard to provide for my family. I sell milk and run a small charcoal business, while my husband supports us as a motorbike rider. With my recent three transfers amounting to $102, I first prioritized paying $34 for my children's school fees. Their education means everything to me, and I want to ensure they stay in school so they can have a better future. This payment helped ease the pressure of school expenses, allowing me to focus on my businesses. I also invested $52 into my charcoal-selling business by buying more stock to keep the business running. I usually buy from local charcoal burners and sell them at my store, and this additional capital has boosted my stock, attracting more customers. With the remaining $16, I bought food for my family to ensure we had enough to eat. These transfers have been a lifeline, allowing me to strengthen both my children’s future and our family’s livelihood.

In the coming year and beyond, I would like to pursue an income-generating activity. I have been thinking about this for a while and have shared the idea with my spouse. I have decided to start a charcoal business to generate daily income to support my family. As a result, I want to start saving a portion of my monthly transfer to open this business. I chose this business because it requires little initial investment, and I can increase the stock as I gain more customers. Additionally, charcoal is a non-perishable commodity, so I don't have to worry about it spoiling if it's not sold quickly. This business will provide me with the opportunity to meet my family's basic needs without having to take on a lot of strain. Currently, I struggle to find casual jobs to support my family. I'm grateful to GiveDirectly for providing me with the financial support that has enabled me to have this idea.

Since I and my spouse rely on casual jobs that are unreliable, receiving consistent income has been challenging. GiveDirectly has provided transfers that have eased our financial burden, particularly in paying fees for our two children. This has allowed our children to focus on their studies without frequent interruptions due to fee balances. With my most recent transfer, I used $24 to pay the school fees for my children and $22 to purchase new school uniforms for them. Additionally, I fulfilled my desire to start chicken rearing by buying four chickens at $4 each. This will serve as a future financial security, allowing me to sell chickens to cover my children's fees if needed. I also bought a goat at $ 40 as a reminder when my transfers come to an end.

With the financial boost from the cash transfers, I can now revive my charcoal selling business, tapping into the demand for charcoal in the community. In addition to this, I have plans to open a clothes shop, addressing another critical gap in our village. This will not only serve as an income-generating venture but also enhances the overall quality of life for the people in my village. I'm so excited that the cash transfers have brought a lasting impact on my family and the community at large.

Tired of enduring the challenges posed by a leaking grass-thatched roof for the last five years, I decided to invest a portion of the Givedirectly transfer in buying building materials worth $42. This investment will allow us to repair and upgrade our home, providing a more comfortable and secure shelter for my family. The leaking roof, over the rainy season, has been a persistent issue, and finally being able to address it brings a sense of relief and stability to our daily lives. using $8 from the cash transfer we started a poultry business as a source of income. with the festive season, I spent $34 for Christmas shopping, ensuring that my children had a celebration at home. This included provisions for my son's initiation ceremony, a significant cultural event that added to the joy and unity within our home. Moreover, I allocated a considerable portion, $1800, towards purchasing food and other household needs. The unconditional cash transfer has alleviated our immediate challenges setting the stage for a more secure and prosperous future for us.

Looking ahead to the coming year and beyond, my main objective is to ensure the successful completion of my house. This new dwelling will provide ample space to accommodate all four members of my family comfortably. Additionally, I am determined to continue investing in the purchase of more hens, as it offers a promising long-term investment opportunity. As these hens multiply, I plan to sell some of them and use the proceeds to acquire goats in the future. I cannot express enough gratitude for the financial support I have received. It has transformed my life, allowing me to break free from a sense of helplessness that plagued me before receiving these funds. The assistance has enabled me to live a better life and pursue my goals with renewed hope and determination.

I allocated $31 to purchase hens, which will serve as a long-term investment for me. My plan is to raise these hens and, as they multiply, sell some of them to generate funds for acquiring goats. Goats are more valuable and can fetch a higher price in the market. Additionally, I invested $32 in buying four pieces of iron sheets. This investment will enable me to construct a new two-room house, as my current dwelling is too small to adequately accommodate my family of four. The new house will provide ample space and safety for my loved ones. Furthermore, I am pleased to share that I have successfully paid off my child's school fees, ensuring that there are no outstanding balances. This brings me great joy and relief. In addition, I used $27 to purchase food, which played a crucial role in nourishing my family. This support was especially important as my husband, who works as a motorcycle rider, does not earn a substantial income. I am grateful that the financial assistance from the transfers has made a significant difference in my life. It has allowed me to make major improvements, such as providing decent meals, enhancing my appearance through clothing, and ensuring that my child receives an education.

I am very focused on completing my house. We live in a small one-roomed house which does not allow for much privacy. We live in this small room with my two children and Husband. My oldest is now 4 years old which means soon he will be old enough to need his own space. My youngest is yet one year but I know time flies and he will catch up with his sibling. I want us to be able to have a space for my husband and me while the children have their own space hence my working on constricting a three-roomed house. I have also been buying chicken since I lost the ones I had to a sickness that swept through the village. Now through GD, I have 8 hens with 15 chicks and I only expect the numbers to grow. I plan to sell them and buy goats which can be used for business to take my children through school since they soon will be school-going.

If you walk through the villages surrounding us, especially those that have received GD transfers you can tell the difference. I have seen a marked change in the lives of my family and community at large since GD started giving us financial support. I am one of those who have greatly seen a difference through these GD transfers. Last year in August we set out on building a house for our family. We could not previously afford it as I am a charcoal seller and due to the drought, it's harder now to produce charcoal. My husband is also a motorbike driver but the drought has also affected him since the demand for motorbikes has gone down causing a decline in his income. We have however been able to feed our family and even start on the building project due to GD. Every month I spend $20 buying two sheets of Iron and the $14 left is usually spent $10 on food while $4 goes to purchasing chicken. In march, I, however, spent $8 on the treatment of my child who was having a flu and $6 went into purchasing food.

I was really excited to receive the transfers this time around as usual since I have been gradually buying iron sheets so that I eventually build a bigger house for me and my family. This time I ended up using KES 800 on buying the iron sheets which accumulated the number to nine so far. I ended up remaining with a balance of KES 2,600 which I purposely considered matters concerned with nutrition since it was the festive season. I bought half a dozen packets of maize flour, six kilograms of rice, two packets of wheat flour and a quarter litre of cooking oil.

My husband, who works as a motorcycle rider, is our family's sole provider. He can earn up to KES 2,000 a week. This amount, plus what I earn from charcoal burning (KES 500 per week), is only enough to meet the household's basic needs, such as food and clothing, but nothing more. That is why saving for a larger house than the one-room structure we currently live in has been difficult. The transfers provided an ideal opportunity to build a two-bedroom house to accommodate our growing family of four. As a result, I spent KES 2,400 on two iron sheets. Having obtained 7 pieces of iron sheet this far, the goal is to assemble at least 24 pieces before beginning construction. Also, I bought two chickens worth KES 300 to rear, let them breed, expand the flock and generate money from their sale in future.  I used the remaining funds to purchase food to supplement the stock in the store. At least, my family now has enough food to last a month.

Basically, GiveDirectly as an NGO is very unique in its ways of operations. It does so well in using the model of giving direct cash transfers as a way of supporting us, the neediest people in the society. The transfers are very helpful to us, especially during these hard economic times when there are no sources of income, food as well as fuel prices are extremely high. As a result of the transfer, we nowadays find it easy to buy food despite having been affected by consecutive two drought seasons. So far, I have not yet witnessed what GiveDirectly does not do well.

Although I am single, I am a mother of two, 1 son and 1 daughter. I have been spending my time in my mother’s house which is relatively small. This cannot accommodate us all comfortably since we are a family of 8. As soon as I confirmed the receipt of my transfer, I used the whole of it to buy 3 iron sheets and 10 round poles with anticipation of building my own house. I am, therefore, planning to build a new house in which I shall live with my two children.

I was outside cleaning the compound, my phone was in the pocket and I heard it vibrate. I reached for it and on checking, it was an MPESA message from GiveDirectly. My account had been credited with KES 1200. I could not believe my eyes, at first I thought that it was dream. I checked again a second time just to confirm what I saw and indeed it was money in my account. This was an early morning surprise.

Having always had a dream of owning a home, I'm very excited to say that this will be achieved. With the forthcoming transfers, I will be able to continue buying the materials slowly and hence start building afterwards.

Being a single mother of two and still staying at my parents house, it has always been my dream to have a house of my own. When I received my first transfer of KES 1200, I knew that it was a step closer to achieving my dream. I withdrew the cash and immediately bought two iron sheets. These I kept aside so that I'd add some more sheets and start building when I have all the required materials.