I currently live in my brother's house, and I dream of building a large room for myself. Whenever I receive my transfers, I buy a metal sheet, which brings me closer to achieving my dream. So far, I have bought ten metal sheets, but I still need six more to reach my goal, and I have spent $21 on these metal sheets. I live with my seven siblings, and together we ensure, we work hard to ensure we have enough food for the week. I spent $69 on groceries, since I received my transfer and wanted my family to be healthy. With the remaining $12, I purchased four chickens. Investing in chickens is a good investment since they hatch easily and can later be exchanged for goats.

I currently have four chickens, and I plan to exchange them for goats, ones they multiply. Though I don't have a stable job, I often work at construction sites. Once the chickens mature and hatch, I will trade them for goats to fund my house construction. My dream is to build a large room because I currently live in my brother's house. Each time I receive my transfers, I buy a metal sheet. So far, I have purchased ten metal sheets, but I need sixteen in total. I aim to have my own house so that when my brother marries, I can easily transition to my own place and the whole process will be seamless.

Every month when the cash transfer comes through, I feel a surge of hope and determination. With $42, I purchased livestock, my intention is to sell them later, generating an income that can sustain our family. Alongside this, I've been running a small grocery shop with a friend, each of us earning $3.5 daily. It's a modest sum, but it's made a significant impact, especially in supporting my siblings' education. I have three younger siblings who rely on my father's meager earnings from his small business, as my mother tends to our livestock at home. I live at my elder brother's place, and for a long time I've been longing for my own place. With $42.5, I purchased iron sheets to begin building my house. It's a dream I never thought would come true, but thanks to the assistance from GiveDirectly, it's slowly becoming a reality. Lastly, I allocated $17.5 to buy food for the family, supporting my father's efforts to provide for us all. Each dollar spent is not just a transaction but a step towards a better future, and for that, I'm immensely grateful.

With the cash transfers I'm receiving, my aim is to finish building my house, a dream that has felt out of reach for so long. Once this is done, I plan to expand my herd of livestock. This will not only boost my income but also ensure I have the means to support my own needs and those of my family. All thanks to Givedirectly for creating a better future for myself and those I care about.

I am currently staying in my brother's house, and I took $20 to purchase metal sheets for my upcoming house construction project. The aim is to have my own house, granting me the privacy I desire. I allocated $5 to buy food for my family, and with the remaining $9, I added one more chicken to my poultry, bringing the total to three. I would like to express my gratitude to GiveDirectly for all their support and assistance.

I aspire to construct my own one-room house, as living with my brother has limited my independence. With each transfer I receive, my plan is to purchase two metal sheets, gradually working towards the goal of building my own space for greater independence and privacy.

I joined an informal savings group when Givedirectly came our way. We have no standard amount that we give, we save as we get so for me I have tried to save as maximum as possible. My savings in the month of March was $15, in April it was $20 and in May it started with $20 and I later felt I could add on to it and I added $4. I also buy bags of flour using my transfers to contribute towards the family meals as I still live with my family. In the month of March I spent $7 on flour, in April I spent $2 and in May I spent $10. I have a phone and this means that I may need credit from time to time so I can communicate with my family and friends, in March I spent $2 on the credit voucher and similarly for April. I was able to by myself some clothes using the Givedirectly transfers in April where I spent $10 to enable me look nice.

I never cleared my highschool education due to being sickly most of the time, I am better now but this set me back so much. My hope was to at least do something beyond my secondary education that would be able to earn me a living and this bore my dream of becoming a driver. I want to to pursue a driving course and once I get a license I will be able to seek work in so many environments that can hire a driver. I want to use my savings for this. I am also saving towards building a house for myself. I ma living in my older brothers house and as much as he hasn't asked me to live it is important for me to have my own house so that I am even able to advance my life.

In 2019, while I was in standard 5, I sadly got into an accident that left me with a damaged foot. Later, I suffered from recurrent illnesses and was not able to attend school most days, which eventually caused me to quit. I did not return to school after my recovery two years later. Since then, I have been caring for my father's goats instead. I occasionally bring water to residents of the village for a charge when a friend gives me a bicycle, but it doesn't pay well. My dream was to enroll in a driving school and get work as a driver, but I was unable to pay for it. The program was the ideal choice for me because it brought back my goal of enrolling in a driving school. In order to save money for enrolling in a driving school, most likely this year, I have saved $54 of my transfers from the previous three months in my Mpesa account. I invested $15 on three chickens that I am raising as a long-term investment in order to increase my income. The majority of my clothing was also unattractive, and I will need quality clothing once I start college. As a result, $18 was spent on new, decent clothing, and the remaining $19 was used to buy groceries for our family. I am motivated by the fact that I am almost ready to fulfill my desire of enrolling in a driving school, and I am happy and appreciative of the organization. Finally, I aim to get a reliable work in the future so that my future family would have a reliable source of income.

I am grateful to GiveDirectly for sending the transfer because, besides the transfer helping me to take care of my basic needs like daily food, I am owning livestock which includes 2 goats and chickens. I'm planning to join a college to learn some driving skills later this year and I am expecting to sell this livestock to raise the fees I need. I am also planning to save Ksh. 1000 in our local merry-go-round so as to raise the required tuition of Ksh. 10000. I believe I will be able to secure employment once I become a qualified driver because currently I am surviving on casual jobs and looking after animals.

As soon as I realized that the transaction had actually been sent out I went ahead to buy two hens which cost me a KES 1,000. This is because I personally do not have a job that is why I plan on buying more poultry as a business venture. Afterwards I decided to buy five packets of maize flour would cost me KES 1,000 because nutrition is also a challenge.I am still left with about 1,000 which I have not been to used but I plan to leave it in my savings account in case of financial strain later on.

In my own opinion, the Organization is doing quite a great job because we definitely did not expect in a million years that we could ever receive such financial assistance which is great transition for us back in the village since we were living in extreme poverty.

I dropped out of primary school while I was in class five. I developed serious complications with my eyes that hindered my learning. This forced me to drop out of school, as my parents could not afford to pay both my school fees and medical bills. My parents' poor financial status was a stumbling for me to go back to school after I got better. I fully depend on my father, who is a water vendor in Mombasa town. The little he earns is enough to buy food for the family. Therefore, when I received my first transfer, I bought a chicken at KES 300. I have a long-term goal of venturing into poultry farming and ensuring I am self-employed and self-dependent. I spent the remaining amount on buying food for the family and easing my father with the heavy burden of taking care of the family’s needs.

Being able to buy food for the family is an enormous difference that the transfer has made in my life. I always felt bad that I could not help my father in providing for the family while having sight problems. Being able to do that gave me much joy and I am looking forward to becoming financially stable by investing in poultry farming and helping my family.

I was in my grass thatched house at eight pm resting. I received the text message on my phone and I quickly checked it out. Wow! I was surprised and my mouth remained wide open for a few minutes. I could not believe that I had received my first transfer. When I went to my mother's house, I told her the good news, and she was happy.