After accomplishing the plans I had set for the second transfer, I developed an entrepreneurial goal. Once I get money, I aim to build a rental house. This idea came after realizing that rental houses do not disappoint in terms of revenue when well managed and they have a guaranteed income monthly. By so doing, I will have a source of income from the rental collection and this will enable me to take good care of my family by catering to their daily and basic needs.

GiveDirectly has uplifted the lives of many community members and ensured that they move out of the pathetic situations they were in. On my side, I had never dreamt of owning a block house in my life but GiveDirectly enabled me. I am also thankful because the organization empowered me to get an investment. All these could not be possible if it were not for GiveDirectly. So far, I cannot fault GiveDirectly because I am satisfied that it does well and it did commendable work.

Investing in livestock has been my desire for a while. Besides the goats which I already had, I used $150 of the second transfer to buy three additional goats alongside four sheep for $40, eight chickens, and two ducks for $16. I opted to invest more in goats because they are cheaper compared to cows and they have ready markets. After that, I added $50 to the remaining amount and constructed a new two-room block house. The $50 had remained from the first transfer. The reason for building this house is because the house I lived in was in a poor state. Leave alone leaking during the rainy season, it was also on the verge of collapsing because the poles had been destroyed by termites. After my calculations, I realized that renovating the house was more expensive than building a new one.

I was with my children at home at around 6:00pn when I received a message from GiveDirectly that confirmed the receipt of my first transfer. I joyfully celebrated with my family after confirming the news. My husband was not home at that moment, and I had to wait for his arrival to break the news to him. He was grateful and excited as well since he had lots of proposals that we needed to complete using the amount.

The biggest difference in my daily life is the hope I have in my new business that has been feeding my family with at least KES 2000 every time I rent it out. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for the generous support I got and I am still hopeful of doing a lot with the second transfer.

It has been a family dream to start an income-generating venture that would feed my family going forward. Providing for a family of six in a draught-prone environment where farming cannot drive and without any other source of income had been a significant challenge. When I enrolled in the program, I was excited knowing that this was an opportunity not only for me but also for the entire family to transform. After a chat with my spouse, we settled on a service provision business by buying a medium-sized tent and 20 plastic chairs at KES 42000. The business has been lucrative and without much competition within the community. Renting it out for a day pays us KES 2000, which we divide into the daily household bills, and the remaining goes to the family savings account. I am grateful and confident to expand it soon when I receive the second transfer. I also paid school fees for my three children in primary school and can attest to the fact that they are enjoying ample time studying with the other children without any disturbance since the last payment I made.