Cash has allowed me to dream. I never in my wildest imagination thought I could join a savings group and make large cash investments. I recently bought a cow using my $150 received from the cash I had saved. I want to now open a business. I will require around $100 to start the business. My plan is to save and get to this amount and then start the business. This will change my financial fortunes as now, my husband is the sole income earner in our home. I would like to see this change.

I am now a member of a village and loans savings group thanks to receiving Givedirectly transfers. Receiving cash has empowered me to save and even plan for my future and that of my family as a whole. I have recently saved $60 to my village savings group. I was also able to make school fees payments for my children at $24. I was also able to buy some food at $8, replace my door at $4 and pay my solar debt at $2.

My strategy involves utilizing the savings from my transfers to enter the realm of livestock farming, aiming for their multiplication and subsequently sell them kickstart a business, thereby ensuring financial stability.

My transfers have consistently provided vital support for my family's needs, and in recent months, I've allocated them to various essential expenses, including savings, education, and investments. I prioritize saving a significant portion each month, with the goal of accumulating enough to purchase livestock and delve into livestock farming. Therefore, I saved $60 of my transfers to achieve this goal. The plan is to invest in goats, allowing them to multiply and eventually sell them for profit, which I'll use to expand my business ventures. Ensuring my children are well-equipped for school is paramount, so I dedicated $22 towards purchasing school essentials like sweaters, shoes, and other supplies. Additionally, to sustain our family's food supply, I allocated an extra $2 for groceries. As it was planting season, I set aside $12 for our farm in preparation for planting. Lastly, to honor my financial commitments, I used the remaining $2 to pay off a solar loan.

My main focus is on establishing my own business, a retail shop, by the end of this year. As circumstances have left me jobless, I see this as an opportunity to create something meaningful and sustainable for my family. With diligent budgeting and careful savings from my monthly earnings, I am determined to turn this dream into a reality. My ultimate goal is to support my husband in providing for our young family and ensuring our children have the best possible life. I believe that through hard work, dedication, and a clear vision, I can build a successful business that not only sustains us financially but also fosters a bright and promising future for our loved ones.

Being unemployed for what felt like an eternity had taken its toll on me, relying solely on my spouse's income to survive. His earnings from selling fruits in town barely covered our basic needs. When the unconditional cash transfer came through, I saw it as a beacon of hope. Immediately, I prioritized securing my children's education. With $20, I wiped away the constant worry of their school fees. No longer did I have to watch them miss out on classes due to unpaid dues. Thanks to GiveDirectly, they now had the opportunity for a stable and quality education, a gift that filled me with immense pride. With a newfound sense of agency, I also directed $40 into my Merry Go Round savings, determined to transform our living conditions. Our house, with its lack of a door and crumbling walls, had long been a symbol of our struggles. Investing in repairs became a symbol of hope for a better future. Additionally, I took the opportunity to provide my children with dignity and confidence by purchasing new clothes and shoes, spending $24.2, to ensure they felt proud of their appearance. As Christmas approached, the remaining $17.9 ensured our celebrations were filled with warmth and abundance. Gathered around the table, we savored each meal, grateful for the support that made it possible. This holiday season was not just about festivities; it was a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of a helping hand.

I have a major goal of constructing business premises(4 rooms) within the nearby center for renting purposes with the assistance of my spouse who runs a business in Mombasa. This may take a while as it requires a lot of money, but I recently doubled the amount I save in the local savings group to make this more attainable. When I receive my share, I will be purchasing the required construction materials in bits to prevent the money from being spent on other needs that may pop up or may come up as emergencies. Once the business premises have been constructed, I will rent out three of them and retain one for my own business ventures. I intend to start a grocery business as a means of having a consistent flow of income even after this program is over to keep me from going back to the pathetic kind of lifestyle I lived before I was enrolled into this program. Before I dive into this major project however, I would like to fix a steel door onto my newly constructed house. As we could not afford a decent steel door yet, we are currently using a wooden door from our previous house which is not only spoiling the beauty of our new house but is also not providing much security as it is old and spoilt. This is therefore my biggest priority at the moment.

My transfers have always been of great support to my family and these past few months, the money has been spent on a range of essential expenses ranging from personal and school requirements to investments. In summary, I spent some of the money on personal needs like shoes and clothes for my children and I, payment of school fees for my children and investment on poultry(geese) and lighting. Months ago, I managed to purchase a solar lighting system on credit, depositing a specific amount then paying for the balance in monthly instalments. Receiving the transfers was the major motivation towards making the purchase due to the assurance of the monthly transfers that would support in paying the required monthly instalments. It is a great pleasure to have a clean source of light and move away from the daily purchase of kerosene but even more excited about the fact that I am now able to charge my phone from the comfort of my own house. The availability of the Solar light has also made it possible for my children to comfortably do their schoolwork past daylight hours which has positively impacted their performance in school. Receiving the transfers also enabled me join a savings group where I save part of my transfers which I intend to invest in different ways to ensure a consistent flow of income after the project is over.

We have a plot that we bought around four years ago. Our plan is to continue saving some amount every month from what I receive from Givedirectly and combine with that my spouse makes from his business and develope the plot. We plan to rent out the shops once developed as an additional income for our family.

After a solar panel that I used for lighting got spoiled, I was was forced to use a torch for lighting which is very inconvinencing as one has to move around with it every other time. I therefore deposited $25 from my March transfer for a lighting system which includes a solar and bulbs for lighting. I am expected to pay $0.5 every day towards repayment of this syste. I am so relieved ever since getting this system, that even my children can do their homework with little effort. I have also been saving atleast $10 every month in a savings group with 10 members. The rest of the transfers has helped me purchase food and other household necessities for my family of five.

The only thing I desire the most now is to change the floor of my house. I have a good house but the flooring has to be improved. I also want to start a small business where I can easily sell little things like match boxes, salt and soap and I will later expand my business to a big shop after attracting a lot of customers.

My children used to use plastic bags as their back pack to school and it really affected their self esteem. I spent $14 to buy them a school bag and they were extremely joyful and thanked God for all the blessings. I decided to join a merry go round where we have to put aside $10 every month. I was able to join the merry go round because of GiveDirectly's monthly transfer and due to the merry go round, I was able to buy more chicken and goats. The remaining $10 I was able to buy food for my entire family.

This is the only support program that I have been able to take part in and benefit from the time I got married. I have seen a positive impact even in the environment that I live in because the whole village understands. Give a direct mechanism of sending monthly funds which has brought understanding to the community.

With a family of four children, lack of employment, and drought. It has been a challenge to meet the basic needs of a family of six members. As soon as I received the funds, I used $14 to buy three chicken layers and saved $10 on a monthly rotational savings group, The remaining amount was used to buy food for the next three days since the household had run out of food.

I was at home around 8 p.m. when I heard a message alert on my phone. Upon checking its content O realized that Give Directly had sent my first cash transfers. I shouted with joy and excitement because I knew my children would finally get new school uniforms. Immediately, I called my husband to inform him of the great news.

My heart always broke to see my two children leaving for school in casual clothing alongside their peers who appropriately dressed in school uniforms. I had wished for a chance to purchase their decent school attire. Thankfully the cash transfer presented an ideal opportunity. Seeing the leave to school in the required garments is the greatest difference brought about by the transfer.

As the sole provider of my family of six, my husband operates a business selling apples in Mombasa. He sends me around KES 400 every week to meet the household’s needs. However, sometimes this amount barely puts food on the table for an entire week or meets school expenses for the children. In fact, when I received the transfer, two of my children were struggling with school uniforms. They used to wear casual clothing to school. One lacked uniform while her sisters were torn beyond repair and growing short since she had been wearing them repeatedly for two years. Therefore, I spent KES 1,000 from the transfer to buy new school attire. I spent the remaining amount on snacks so my children would take decent breakfast the following day before leaving for school.