My life has transformed a lot because initially I was employed by someone else but right now I am proud to say that I am self employed through the motorbike business operations. There is nothing satisfying and gratifying as being self-employed. Were it not for the transfers from Give Directly, I do not think I would have been self-employed to date.

My goal right now is to save as much as I can going into the future so as to be able to buy another motorbike. Getting a new motorbike will ensure that my finances grow in bounds thereby giving me more financial freedom and financial ability to take care of other financial needs in the family. I will also be able to create employment opportunities for young youths who will be willing to take up the job and earn a living out of the business.

I used to work as a motorcycle rider where I had been employed for the last three to four years but then I did not like the story of being employed so I opted to call it a day and dropped out of the job. I finally bought my own motorcycle using the cash transfers that I received from Give Directly which I have been using to ferry passengers at a small fee. The total cost of the motorbike was approximately 70000 KES. The business I could say is lucrative and self-sustaining because ever since I started the motorbike operation I have never lacked. Moreover, the amount of money that I have been making on a daily basis has also increased significantly.

My life is greater unlike before. At the moment I am self-employed through the motorbike that I bought through the transfers. Before I used to be employed in the motorcycle and the earnings was too little. We had to forego so many things as a family. At the moment I earn over KES 1000 daily which is enough to meet my family's daily needs. I even have some extra which I save through table banking.

Earlier on before receiving the transfers, I had no mindset of investing in my rural home. My focus then was the urban life including paying all the bills since I could not afford big investments. After receiving the transfers I realized that I could do farming and get lots of money out of it. I have already planted two acres of vegetables and in the next two to three months they will have matured. I am planning to transport to a market here in town and sell them at a higher price. If all goes well I might also relocate my family to my rural home something that I had not thought of. The transfer was an eye-opener to me, my focus at the moment is on self-employment, which is possible through the motorbike that I bought and farming back at home.

I spent the first transfer on buying goats at KES 10,000, I bought a motorcycle on loan and made the first payment of KES 20,000 and the rest went towards buying my mothers households goods, fare home and other investments that I made with the transfer Include using KES 30,000 to lease the land back in my rural home . This money went towards tilling, labour and buying of seeds for the various vegetables that I have already planted.

My initial plan was to purchase my own motorcycle for the transport business, but this was not possible because the money was to be sent in instalments, that is why I settled for the shoe business. I will try as much as possible to save some money from the shoe business which I will combine to the next two transfers and purchase my own motorcycle. Having my own motorcycle will make the transport business more bearable as I will be working on my own terms and there will be no sharing of profits.

I was previously employed as a motorcycle taxi driver. This job was quite risky yet it did not give much money because I had to give almost half of my daily income to the motorcycle owner which left me with little money that could not take care of my family needs. With my own business now, I am able to plan and budget with the profits that I make and I can easily take care of my needs.

I used part of the money to upgrade my life by purchasing some household items such a television and a gas cooker. I then used the rest of it to start my own business. I settled on a shoe business because it is something I had done a year ago but it collapsed due to poor planning. I know it will do well because I am wiser now and more responsible.

I was excited the money had come but did not want anyone in my house to know, so I had to keep my excitement to myself. If my wife had seen the message, she would have made some monetary requests which I did not want to fund at that particular moment because I had planned for this money.