I had a dream of building a bigger house and thanks to Givedirectly transfers this dream was achieved. I finished with construction and hence my mind is now settled on a new dream. I would like to rent a space and start a vegetable stall. My husband is a motorcycle rider and this usually help take a part of our financial burdens of me. I however would like to chip in more in my family finances and that's is why I am trying to start the business.

The festivities are so different with Givedirectly being with us financially. We no longer worry about clothing for our children or shoes as we know we can adjust transfers to cater for this need. In December I bought clothes worth $21 for my children and also got myself a nice piece of African wrap, locally known as "leso" at $5. I also joined a savings group to which I have saved $20 monthly and I saved $40 in the last two months. I bought food at $1 and soap at $1. I also paid school fees at $7.

In the coming year and beyond, my main objective is to establish a larger shop dedicated to selling household essentials. This venture holds the promise of diversifying my income streams, ultimately elevating our living standards. To bring this vision to fruition, I am planning to secure a loan from my savings club and I will supplement it with subsequent transfers. Reflecting on my journey thus far, my heart is filled with gratitude and joy for all that I have already accomplished.

Give Directly has truly been a tremendous blessing for my family and me. With their support through previous transfers, I was able to construct a more spacious house, as our previous one was small and inadequate. Gone are the days of constant struggle, and it fills me with joy to witness the transformation in our lives. In August, I seized an opportunity to start a small business selling vegetables, which has been thriving. To ensure the stability of my shop, I invested $15 to expand my stock. Additionally, I used $25 to purchase a goat, as I'm keen to start animal rearing, with the intention of selling them for a profit in case of emergencies. Another $25 was allocated to repay a loan I had taken from our savings club, while the remaining $47 was set aside for unforeseen future needs.

My goal is to build a spacious house that can comfortably accommodate my family of seven. Currently, we are living in a small one-roomed house, and the lack of space has become a significant challenge for us. To address this, I am determined to embark on a construction project and build a three-roomed house by the start of November, I aim to provide my family with a larger, more comfortable living space that can better meet our needs and improve our quality of life.

The GiveDirectly transfer that I received was a lifeline for my family during a time of dire need. My husband and I have struggled to find stable sources of income, which made it challenging to meet our children's needs. We were unable to pay their school fees, and our food supply had run out. However, GiveDirectly stepped in and provided us with the much-needed funds. The transfer allowed us to pay off $12 in school fees for my three children and purchase 5 packets of maize flour worth $12.70, replenishing our food stock. Additionally, I was able to save $10 in my savings group, contributing towards my future housing construction project. The relief we felt was immeasurable, and we are grateful for GiveDirectly's support.

I joined the merry go round on 12 December after I started receiving transfers from GiveDirectly so as to be able to save enough for my future. I want to start a business where I will be buying tomatoes in bulk and selling them to my villagers so that I will make huge profit and achieve all my long term goals. I also want to buy more goats and cows in the future and have that sense of appreciation and belonging at my home.

As a mother, I have really tried to make ends meet but it seems to be impossible. I have no job at the moment and I stay at home looking after my beautiful family. The moment I received my transfers I took $25 and bought a goat since I had no goat at all. I used $6 to buy food for my family and the remaining amount of $3 I saved in my merry go round so as to be able to take my money back in a larger quantity and be able to do something big for myself and my family.

They employed my husband as a motorcycle rider for the longest time and his earnings were as low as $2 daily. As time went on, we realized we could get our motorcycle on hire and purchase and increase his revenues and employ him. When I got enrolled in the support program, at the beginning of the year we took the motorcycle for hire purchase. We pulled all our resources to settle the weekly payment of $24 towards the motorcycle for the next two years. Upon receiving my cash transfer, I paid $10 for the motorcycle payment, saved $10, and instead of using all the remaining cash on food, I used $4 to buy new clothes for my four month baby. I am grateful because the funds have enabled my family to run a motorcycle business.

When the organization finally sent out the funds, I instantly used KES 1,000 by purchasing four packets of maize four because we barely had food in the house and could not rely on farming anymore to feed the family because it barely rained which has consequently led to drought. After that I took another KES 1,000 and left it in my savings account because I was hoping that I could put away some money with each transfer I received and hopefully eventually open up a business, so I could stand a better chance in helping to cater for the needs of my family and myself. Eventually j was left with about KES 1,000 a d I decided to split it into two and used the first half to purchase an attire since it was long since I bought myself new clothes, then the rest I decided to buy two hens because I wanted to invest on poultry farming.

In my opinion, Give Directly helps reduce the impact of poverty by enrolling affected people into their program and giving them monthly transfers. I have witnessed the transfers improving people's daily lives in terms of securing food, growing businesses, and supporting education. Give Directly is highly spoken of in my community; everybody proclaims the goodness the organization denotes.

I always yearned to actively participate in a self-help group and have a stable source of funds. So I prioritized contributing KES 1000 towards the group to become an active member. I spent the remaining amount on purchasing maize floor worth KES 1000, two chickens for KES 500, and bought two pieces of clothes at KES 500

Without any expectations and just at home doing my laundry duties, I received an MPESA text with which I was extra excited as on reading it, my account had been credited with KES 1200 which I was able to head to an MPESA agent and withdraw the cash.

Life after the transfer changed immensely as I was able to save up in the chama and also makes sure that my family doesn't sleep hungry nor my kids sent home for school fees balances.

Having had health issues and no way through, GiveDirectly came forward to assist in transfer of funds worth KES 1200 which I was able to use up KES 300 for medical expenses at the time. I was also able to save up KES 600 in our local chama for future reference whilst the extra KES 300, I bought food supplements for our household.