I managed to pay my rent upfront for eight months to avoid any altercations with my landlord during the period I would be partly in college taking a course in hairdressing. This was a good idea because I have not had any problems with my landlord since then which was a very frequent scenario before because I would always delay paying each month's rent. The transfers also made it possible for me to join college and take a course in hairdressing which would never be possible without the transfers because I would not raise the required fees on my own as I only depended on domestic jobs that could barely take care of my needs.

Before this project, I had never thought of owning any business of my own because I did not have any capital or skills to run any. After I received these transfers, I decided to take a course in hairdressing which has now given me the idea of opening a beauty salon where I can also be selling other beauty products. I was able to save some of my transfers, which I plan to add to the little savings I have been making from the domestic jobs I do to set up the business once I complete my course.

I had joined college to take a course on hairdressing before I received my most recent transfer, so I used part of the money to pay for my fees. Because I had previously had a very tough time raising the money to pay for my rent in time, I decided to pay my rent eight months upfront to avoid having issues with my landlord. This decision was driven by the fact I would take most of my time in school having less time to work which would make it even tougher earning enough money to cater to all the needs including rent. I also bought a few household items such as a small gas cooker a new mattress and also foodstuff. I saved the rest of the money in my bank account.

My life is currently different from how it would have been had I never received the transfer since I have been able to start pursuing a hairdressing course. Because of this, I have been able to plait at least one person in a day and get not less than 500 KES as an income unlike before where I used to depend on washing clothes for people and end up getting 200 KES in a day. This is a great improvement in my life and I thank GiveDirectly for making this happen.

My new goal in life that I didn't have before receiving the transfer is to start a business of selling fruits in retail. I will be getting these fruits from rural areas and I believe that it is more profitable as I will be buying them at a cheaper price. Since I am doing a hairdressing course, I am now planning to open my own saloon which I will be operating. This will help me diversify my sources of income and it will make me meet all my family needs on time.

I have always experienced a problem in paying my house rent and I would at times stay for a month with paying them. When I received my most recent transfer, I spent a good amount from it to pay for my four months rent in advance so that I can have ample time to look for money and be able to save some. Because I always had a passion for hairdressing, I decided to use part of my money to pay for my college fee so that I could be able to pursue a course in hairdressing and beauty. I also saved the remaining amount so that I can use them in case of an emergency so that I will not have to take a loan.

At the moment, I am planning to open a cosmetic shop and a saloon which I will be operating it. I will operate these two businesses in the same building so that someone who wants to come to saloon can buy anything she needs from my cosmetic shop. With this, I will also be able to market my saloon as well as my cosmetic shop to my different customers who will visit either of my shops.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am now happy. I have been able to enroll in a college where I am pursuing a hairdressing course. I believe that after I am through with my studies, I will have perfected the art of hairdressing and I will open my saloon. From this, I will be able to get money for my daily upkeep.

I received my recent transfer at a time I had not paid my house rent for the past three months. Because of this, my landlord had locked my house and I was taking refuge at my friend's house. When I saw a Mpesa message indicating that I had received GiveDirectly, I sent directly half of the amount to my landlord so that he would inform the caretaker to come and open my house. I spent some of the money to enroll for a part-time course at a hairdressing college. This will later enable me to open a saloon which will bring me an income. Buying food in small amounts is expensive and I sometimes sleep while hungry when I do not have money to use. After receiving money, it prompted me to buy some food which would last me for some time. I saved the remaining 2000 KES so that I can be able to use them in case of an emergency.

It was in the morning when I was preparing myself to go and start looking for some work to do when I received a Mpesa message. Upon reading the message, I became so happy since I knew that I would sleep in my own house on that day as I would use the money to pay for my rent. I whispered a word of prayer to thank God for His blessings and I then informed my friend about the good news.