Currently, I have a goal of starting a shop business where I will be selling fast-moving commodities like a foodstuff. I chose this kind of business because it has less competition since it is a handful of people who are doing it in our area. The aim of this business is income generation because making and selling charcoals has become unreliable due to the scarcity of trees in our area. Before the first quarter of this year elapses, I would like to have flagged off the business.

Initially, our community people did not have any investments due to poverty. They could not start any kind of business because whatever they got was from hand to mouth. GiveDirectly enables us and uplifted us to a higher level of investment. Currently, people have invested in livestock farming and other businesses which give them their daily needs. On my side, I feel the shop business will work out well for me.

On the withdrawal day, I bought a sack of maize for $60. This was the first thing I did because hunger had struck us and drought had no mercy on us. I am happy because my family got some food which took them some time and rested from the tiring job of making charcoals. Thereafter, I opted to buy three goats for $90 as an investment. Due to the lack of a defined source of income which made my family wear outdated and shaggy clothes, I opted to buy them some clothes. After that, I decided to keep the remaining amount for the family's upkeep because both food and water were scarce. Before then, we used to go up to two days a week without taking some meals. As of now, we are grateful that we get food through the help we received from GiveDirectly.

It was around 7pm while I was in process of preparing supper when I received the text message confirming that I have received the money from GiveDirectly. I was so grateful when I got the money because I knew that I was going to do the things I had always desired and wanted for a long time, especially getting livestock.

The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving money from GiveDirectly is that I am so grateful for the livestock I was able to get, and my own stall for my business to resume and operate independently. I am so grateful.

I spent most of my transfer which was KES 23000 on building my own stall for my local kiosk business which I wanted it to resume operations as it had closed down due to my health problems that had rendered it inoperative for almost three months. I wanted reinstate it because it has always been my sole source of income and getting my own stall is the independence that I've always desired so that I don't have to share the little that my business will raise with anyone, especially the owner of the stall where I used to have my kiosk. I also spent KES 17000 on buying livestock which was a cow and two sheep because I had always desired to have them both for short and long term benefits, in which the short term benefits include getting milk on regular basis for my family and even get to sell the surplus to our neighbors for a little cost, which will help me with meeting my family's immediate needs. For the long term benefits, I know that they will multiply and increase in numbers which inturn I'll be able to sell one or two and address the financial challenges I will be facing in the future, all thanks to GiveDirectly.