I am currently employed at someone else’s hotel, but it's becoming increasingly difficult as I barely have time for my family, and the business is often inconsistent. I have a strong desire to start my own business selling fried potatoes and vegetables near my home. To achieve this goal, I am saving through a merry-go-round and planning to purchase essential items such as cooking pans, knives, and buckets for washing vegetables and potatoes. This new venture will not only help improve our living standards but also allow me to create more time for my family, as I will be running the business from outside our home.

As a mother of four, my top priority is ensuring my children receive the education they deserve. With the recent transfer, I spent $66 to clear their school fees, ensuring they wouldn’t miss out on their studies after being sent home due to unpaid fees. Seeing them back in school brings me immense joy. I also spent $2 on four books, providing them with essential materials for their lessons. I used $22 to buy food for my family, ensuring we have enough to eat. The remaining $12 was saved in my merry-go-round, helping me move closer to my dream of starting my own business. Currently, I work at someone else’s hotel, which is increasingly challenging as it leaves me with little time for my family and the business is often inconsistent.

I am planning to start a business buying and selling charcoal and vegetables because working at a hotel in rural areas offers very minimal pay, making it difficult to improve our financial situation. I chose the charcoal and vegetable business because the market is not saturated, and due to the harsh weather, finding vegetables in our area is challenging. I plan to buy vegetables where they are available and sell them locally. I intend to start saving part of my transfer in a chama to facilitate this business venture. I am truly appreciative of the great support from GiveDirectly, which has significantly improved my life and enabled me to better support my family's needs.

I have four children, two in upper classes and two in lower classes. My spouse and I do casual jobs; I am employed at a hotel, but the pay is minimal and not enough to support my family's basic needs. Additionally, my spouse runs a motorbike taxi business, but it does not earn enough to comfortably sustain our family. Thanks to GiveDirectly, I am now financially relieved since I started receiving these transfers. The recent transfer allowed me to prioritize essential expenses. I allocated $20 to buy food to ensure my children have enough to eat. With the remaining $90, I paid school fees, dividing the amount equally among my four children. This support has brought immense relief, and I deeply appreciate the assistance.

This year, my objective is to accumulate sufficient funds to purchase a water tank, priced at $500. Acquiring this tank presents a promising business opportunity for me, particularly in light of the persistent issue of water scarcity in my village, particularly during the dry season. My strategy involves storing water in the tank and subsequently selling it to generate income. I am immensely grateful for the ongoing financial assistance from Give Directly, which has been instrumental in supporting my family's education endeavors.

I utilized $4 from my transfers to procure stationery supplies for my four children in anticipation of their return to school. Prior to their resumption, I invested in new school bags for $17 and purchased fresh school uniforms for two of my children, amounting to $20. This provision of essential items ensures their focus on education and enhances their learning experience. Additionally, I covered exam fees totaling $13, facilitating their participation in upcoming examinations. In November, I allocated $14 to plow my farm in preparation for planting, resulting in a bountiful harvest that currently sustains us. Furthermore, I allocated $20 towards obtaining birth certificates for my two eldest children, a prerequisite for their education. This investment was crucial to ensure their compliance with school requirements. Amidst these expenses, I managed to save $5, while also allocating $9 towards purchasing food for my family. I am deeply grateful for the financial assistance provided by Give Directly, which has significantly contributed to our well-being and stability.

My goal is to establish my own vegetable-selling business, driven by the desire to provide for my family more comfortably and with less financial strain. To achieve this, I am committed to saving a portion of my monthly income, aiming to set aside between $10 to $15 each month. My target is to open the business in February next year, believing that the income generated will significantly contribute to our financial well-being and create a stable future for my family.

Receiving the GiveDirectly transfers came as a lifeline during a challenging time in our lives. With my husband and I relying on low-paying jobs, it was a constant struggle to provide for our children. The timing of the transfers was perfect as we were struggling with the need to pay our children's examination fees. With immediate relief, we used a portion of the transfer, which amounted to $10, to settle the required fees, ensuring their education continued uninterrupted. The remaining $24.70 was also of great help in terms of addressing our ongoing challenge of putting food on the table for our family of six. We felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for GiveDirectly's support during this critical period, and it made a significant impact on our daily lives.

My hope is to start my own business in the future. I have been diligently saving money, which I usually receive from Givedirectly, with the intention of opening a cafeteria.

I utilized $8 of the money received from GiveDirectly to pay for my child's school fees. Additionally, I regularly set aside $10 in my Merry Go Round savings, which I can access in times of need or save for future use. The remaining $16 is allocated towards fulfilling my family's essential requirements, such as purchasing food.

I have been working in a different town from home so that I can be able to cater for the needs of my family and also assist my husband financially. Therefore afterI received my most recent transfers I ended up sending KES 2,200 back home so that my kids were able to cater for what they needed. I asked my children to deposit KES 600 of that money in the savings committee that I belong to and they ended up using the balance to buy four packets of wheat flour and six packets of maize flour. I still have a balance of KES 1,200 on me which I plan on using by paying for tuition fee when my kids resume school next week. As for my funds back in November I did a similar thing but this time around I sent the entire money back home so that they would ensure they have nutrition and also so that one of my kids could seek medical attention because he was sick.

GiveDirectly is a caring and uplifting organization. Concerning the program the community was enrolled in, there is an assurance of getting some money monthly. Even though is not much with proper planning, one can do wonders because there is a guarantee of getting it every month. I fully support the idea.

By the time I received my tenth transfer, I was undergoing some frustrations concerning my children's school examination fees. They were two days old at home after being sent out of school to collect $6 exam money I did not have at the moment. Upon receiving the transfer, I felt so happy because GiveDirectly enabled me to pay the exam money immediately and my four children went back to school happily. As they returned to school, their bright faces relieved me and gave me peace of mind. Thereafter, I invested $10 in a merry-go-round program that we have and through this program, I save some money for the future without straining. I also used $10 for food and $4 to buy some personal effects.

My excitement went off the roof the instant I realized that the Organization had actually sent the transfers and this is just because we hardly had any food in the house and I was worried we were going to sleep hungry therefore I was grateful.

Paying the debt for my children in school was more important and this is because they were gettingg kicked out of school every single day for over a week and I had got to a point where I had run out of lies as well to tell the school, so I'm glad that I could finally deal with that and settle it.

A week before I had received the funds my kids were being sent home on the daily due to the fact that they had a debt in examination fee that I hadn't settled, so when I realized that I had the money now I went ahead to pay KES 300 for the two of them. I also had a debt at the store so I ended up paying KES 200 because there was a time there was barely no food in the house and I had to go take something to feed my children. I also bought four and a half kilograms of maize flour worth KES 500 so that we would at least have something to eat for the next couple of days. I used the remaining balance of KES 200 to buy laundry detergent and body oil.