I previously had plans to start a shop business selling household items, and I am happy to say that the business is now up and running. For this achievement, I give great thanks to the support in terms of transfers that I received from GiveDirectly. For this year and beyond, my goal is to expand the shop into a larger store where I will be selling a wide variety of items, increasing my profits. To achieve this, I plan to use a portion of my transfers to increase my stock and meet the needs of my customers more effectively. Additionally, livestock farming has always been my aspiration. I want to allocate another portion of my future transfers to buy more goats and add to the ones I already have. I hope that these goats will multiply, increasing in number and value, so that I can sell them in the future and support my family whenever I am in need. I am truly grateful to GiveDirectly for providing me with this opportunity to improve my life and the lives of my family members. With their support, I am working toward a brighter future.

I have a daughter who is currently in college, studying hair and beauty. Recently, she needed to clear some school fees which would allow her to continue with her course, so I spent $30 from my recent transfers to ensure she could keep pursuing her education. Supporting her education is a priority for me, as I believe it will provide her with valuable skills and opportunities for the future. In addition to supporting my daughter's education, I have always aspired to be a livestock farmer. In order to fulfill this desire, I spent an additional $68 for two goats in the hopes that they would multiply and appreciate in value so that I can sell them in the future and support my family. Lastly, I used the remaining $4 to buy food for my family, adding to our existing supplies to ensure we do not go hungry. It is very important for me to provide for my family’s basic needs, especially during challenging times where we are facing hunger due to the prolonged sunny season which destroyed our crops in our farms leading us to harvest nothing.

Receiving support from GiveDirectly has filled me with hope and determination for the future. My main goal is to establish an income-generating activity by starting a small shop business. With subsistence farming becoming increasingly unreliable due to unpredictable rains, a shop will provide an income to support my family. I plan to save diligently over the next three months, aiming to gather at least $100 as start-up capital. With this shop, I can ensure my family has enough to eat, access to education, and a brighter future.

I do casual jobs and subsistence farming to provide for and sustain my family of five. Out of the last three recent transfers, I used $20 to help my son, who was stuck trying to pay school fees for his two children, my beloved grandchildren. They had been sent back home due to unpaid fees, and it felt deeply satisfying to help them return to school. Knowing that their education is secured gave me immense peace of mind. Since I mainly rely on subsistence farming, I spent $46 to clean and plow my two-acre farm in preparation for the planting season. Despite the uncertain rains, I did my part, trusting God for the rest. Additionally, I used $14 to complete the ongoing renovation of my house, which had collapsed due to strong winds. With the remaining $22, I cleared a debt of $20 for foodstuffs I had bought on credit, and I spent the last $2 on some sugar. Paying off the debt made me feel free and relieved, and I'm grateful for the monthly transfers that made all this possible.

In an effort to enhance my income, I am strategizing to accumulate sufficient funds over the next three months and initiate a small kiosk business. The modest earnings generated from this venture will enable me to independently address my personal needs, reducing my reliance on my sons. I am genuinely pleased that the assistance from the transfers will pave the way for me to realize this goal.

Two years ago, my youngest daughter enrolled in a beauty college with a specialization in hair braiding. As her parent, I took on the responsibility of covering her school fees, which amounted to $50. I am pleased to share that she is on track to complete her course this coming April. During the rainy season last year, I hired someone to plough my land. I initially paid $20 for the service and subsequently settled the remaining debt of $14. This investment proved fruitful, resulting in a bumper harvest from my farm. To ensure the safety and stability of my home, I allocated $14 to the mason responsible for repairing my house. The house is now in good condition, providing me with a sense of security. With the remaining $4, I made practical purchases, acquiring sugar and detergent. I am genuinely content with the positive impact of the transfers, as they played a pivotal role in supporting my daughter's education at the beauty college and facilitating crucial improvements to my home and agricultural endeavors.

I've harboured a long-standing aspiration to establish a small shop as a means of generating income. While I've been engaged in subsistence farming and livestock management, which are certainly commendable endeavours, they haven't consistently yielded substantial returns. Consequently, providing for my family's basic necessities, such as food and education for my children, has proven to be quite challenging. My current objective is to accumulate sufficient savings to procure a substantial inventory of cereals, sugar, and household goods that I can retail for a profit. This will help reduce our dependence on subsistence farming, which is both seasonal and subject to occasional failure. Launching the shop will establish a more dependable income source, and this is a goal I am committed to achieving in the upcoming year and beyond.

I am filled with gratitude towards GiveDirectly, as their support has made it possible for my daughter to attend college. She is currently in her first year, pursuing a three-year hairdressing course. My main concern has always been the daunting task of raising tuition fees for her education, especially given my lack of a stable source of income. The relief and happiness I felt when receiving this support were immeasurable, as it allowed her to enroll in school. Since I started receiving financial assistance, I have made a commitment to contribute $20 every month to ensure that her education continues uninterrupted. My spouse is also a beneficiary of the program, and together, we have overcome the challenge of financing our daughter's education. It brings me great peace to see her thriving in her studies, and my fervent hope is to witness her achieve her educational aspirations and become self-reliant after completing her course. Furthermore, I allocated a portion of the assistance, $14, to purchase four chickens, which I am now raising at my homestead. I currently own ten chickens, and my goal is to expand this venture, eventually exchanging them for goats as they multiply. Lastly, I used the remaining funds to purchase building poles and renovate my house, which had suffered damage on one side. Thanks to the renovations, my home is now in a habitable condition, and I no longer worry about the impact of rain as I did before.

I am a subsistence farmer who also tends to livestock, occasionally relying on my sons who also have families of their own to support. My two daughters are currently enrolled in college courses for hairdressing, and I want to make sure that they finish their coursework within the program's time frame. Since I don't have a reliable source of income to cover their tuition, I am dependent on the transfers to keep them in school. As a parent, I will be pleased if my daughters achieve their educational goals, which will help them build their future, and become independent because I am confident that once they have finished the program, they will be able to find employment or work for themselves and provide for their needs.

My financial situation prevented me from enrolling my two daughters in college when they finished high school. Because I was unable to secure their future earlier than now, I felt like a loser as a parent. I was concerned about leaving them without skills that would at least enable them to be independent in the future. When the transfers started coming in, I enrolled them in a college to complete a two-year hairdressing course. I'm pleased that after they finish the courses, they will be able to support themselves and possibly even launch their own businesses. I also used a portion of the most recent transfers to purchase some building poles so that I could renovate my home in addition to paying my daughters' tuition. In addition to being in poor condition, my house was also becoming unstable as a result of the recent rains. I am now at peace and no longer concerned about rain because it is now sturdy and able to withstand rain.

Unfortunately last June I had a tragedy where one of the walls of my house collapsed, and so we ended up moving to the other room that was left. My plan for this year is to ensure that I use this money to rebuild my house. I have already started buying building material like timber, and I will continue to do so with the funds that I will keep receiving each month. I also intend on using a portion of the transfers to finally start a grocery business so that I can make some money to sustain my family better.

The house where I currently reside is in a dilapidated state. The rain had washed the house's back wall, but I lacked the funds to renovate it. Because I did not have the money to renovate it, I had to endure the extreme cold at night for several years. I immediately spent $14 on buying wood to repair a section of the house after getting my transfer. Although the work is not yet complete, I am making good progress and am optimistic that it will be completed soon. Second, I set aside $20 to pay my two school-age children's back fees. I would like to have a lighter load when they start learning again.

I am pleased that the organization enrolled on a large number of the poor residents of our community. Given that the drought that started three years ago caused us to lose our primary source of income, the transfer has resulted in good developments in our daily lives. However, I would want to suggest that the organization reevaluate enrolling the individuals who were omitted at the time of enrollment.

I support my family by farming animals, while my wife works in the village selling vegetables like kales. Selling the very few veggies brings in a pitiful $2 in profit for my wife. We struggle to make ends meet since we make too little money to cover all of our family's expenses. My two secondary school-aged children rely on me to cover their tuition costs. My two eldest sons, who both work in Mombasa town, give me money when times are tough to help with upkeep and school costs. I spent a significant amount of my second transfer on a goat, which cost $20. This is a wise investment for the future because as the goat population increases, I will get richer. This would enable me to pay the secondary school tuition for my two boys, which I am now unable to do. Along with the goat, I also purchased constructing poles for $10. My home's two mud walls crumbled after forming some sizable fissures making my house unsafe for habitation. This will enable me to make the necessary repairs and return the house to its former state, making it habitable for my family.

I was chilling at home in the evening when my phone beeped an indication that I had received a message. Since I could not understand the content of the message, I waited till the following day and asked my son to check it out only to confirm that it was an Mpesa message. We were glad as a family and decided to prioritize the renovation of my house by purchasing timber.

The biggest difference in my daily life is being a step forward as far as renovating my house is concerned. I bought timber ready to Kik start the process of renovating the wall of the house which had collapsed.Thank you so much for the financial support.

For the last six months, I have been living in a depleted house after one of the walls of my house collapsed. Due to limited resources, I have not been able to repair it. However, upon receiving my recent transfer I decided to set a side KES 600 for buying timber that will be used to fix the wall. Indeed I was so happy for I was convinced of renovating my house in due time. To make ends meet, I have been depending on my son . On the other hand, my wife do operate a traditional made alcohol . Additionally, I did pay KES 370 as school fees and bought food for my family of four. Thank you GiveDirectly.