As a father of six children, my priority is always to ensure they have what they need to thrive. My oldest is in college, four are in primary school, and the youngest will start school next year. To support my family, I run a small kiosk, which is our main source of income. With the recent three transfers totaling $102, I allocate $50 towards school fees for my children. Education is crucial, and I want to make sure my kids have every opportunity to succeed. Paying their school fees ensures they can continue their studies without any interruptions. I also used $35 to restock my kiosk. Keeping my business well-stocked is crucial for maintaining a steady income. This investment helps ensure that my customers find what they need when they visit, which in turn supports my family. Finally, with the remaining $17, I bought some food for my children. Making sure they have enough to eat is fundamental, and with these funds, I could provide them with nutritious meals.

This year and beyond, my biggest hope is to expand my small kiosk business. It all started with a single shelf of goods, but thanks to the support from GiveDirectly, I can now dream bigger. My priority is to stock more essential items that my community needs, like food staples, toiletries, and school supplies. With a growing business, I will be able to provide everything my family needs without worrying about tomorrow. Most importantly, I want to ensure my children can go to school without the burden of unpaid fees holding them back. I dream of seeing their eyes light up as they chase their ambitions, knowing they have the support and resources they need to succeed. Expanding my kiosk will be a step towards securing a brighter future for my family, where my children’s dreams can flourish without limits.

For the past three years, I have been running a kiosk business, serving as the primary source of income to provide for my wife and five children. However, before the cash transfers began, the business struggled to generate sufficient profits. Most of the capital was directed towards buying food for my family and paying school fees. With the commencement of cash transfers, my goal was to enhance the business by expanding the stock. Every month, I dedicated $15 from the cash transfers towards buying more items for the kiosk. However, recently, I faced constraints with the school fees for my children as they resumed from the holiday. I used $68 to settle their fees, and I had to contribute some additional funds from the shop because I was enrolling my son in a carpentry college. Despite the financial challenge, I am pleased that their education is not interrupted, and I consider it a worthwhile investment in their future.

I aim to expand my kiosk business, and thanks to the cash transfers, the business has shown steady, albeit slow, growth. This progress has placed me in a better and more secure position to provide food for my wife and five children. The main challenge has been school fees. Ideally, by the time the cash transfers cease, I hope the business will have expanded to a point where I can comfortably pay school fees without dipping into the capital funds. I firmly believe that with a larger stock, the business can generate a better income than it does currently. 

For the past three years, I have been running a kiosk business, which serves as the main source of income to provide for my wife and five children. However, before the cash transfers started, the business was not doing well in terms of profits because most of the capital money was used to buy food for my family and pay school fees. The business would run with a $40 stock of items for over two weeks. When I began receiving the cash transfers, my goal was to expand the shop by increasing the stock. Every month, I set aside $15 for buying more items. I am happy to say that nowadays, the business runs with at least $100 per week, which is a significant improvement. I also use the remaining amount to pay school fees for my children so that their education is not interrupted. I am immensely pleased that this has allowed them to stay in school throughout the term, and they rarely miss out on learning.

My goal is to further expand my kiosk business. Thanks to the cash transfers, the business has grown from operating with $40 worth of stock to at least $100. This has put me in a better and more secure position to provide for food, medical expenses, and school fees for my five children. I would be delighted if, by the time the cash transfers cease, the business could run with a stock of around $500. I believe that with a larger stock, I can generate a better income than what I'm making right now. My ultimate aim is to be able to financially support the education of my children, who are currently in primary school, until they finish college.

Using the recent transfer, I used $24 to boost my business which I rely on it not only in providing the basic needs for my family but also in paying school fees for my five primary school children. Therefore, I used the $2 to equip my shop where I sell fast-moving goods such as foodstuff and personal effects. I am delighted to see how the business is positively responding and my clients are happy since they get what they need unlike before. For the remaining amount which was around $10, I paid some school fees for the children so that they could be retained in school for proper concentration as they prepare for their mid-term examination.

I have a strong passion for education. My main objective for this year and the future is to see my kids through school. I think that investing in my children's education will help them have an easier time achieving success in the future because I believe that education is the key to success. They should not experience suffering similar to what I did while growing up, in my opinion. My children becoming successful in their academic endeavors and career pursuits will be my greatest achievement. Through the business I operate plus the monthly transfers I receive from GiveDirectly, I will be able to see my dream coming to pass.

I am honestly extremely grateful for help that I have received from the organisation since I got enrolled. The funds have enabled me to keep my business afloat which in turn help me provide for my family as the breadwinner. This time around wasn't any different because I ended up using KES 2,000 so as I could buy more stock for my business since I owned a kiosk. Afterwards I went on to spend the remaining balance of KES 1,400 in providing for nourishment for my family. That is why with that money I ended up purchasing six packets of maize flour and one and a half kilograms of beans.

I am a father of six working as a small-scale business owner while my wife is a subsistence farmer. Five of our kids are still in school, and I plan to raise more money to cater to their education needs. To realize this, I plan to expand my mini-shop with $500 to maximize my profits. I will borrow a loan from our merry-go-round group which I will top up with the income from the business to actualize this goal.

The clear information I received from GiveDirectly during enrollment has been critical in my transfer decisions. The group that came to our village was patient and left no one in doubt about what we needed to do. I am pleased that no one complained after receiving the transfer, and that everyone was grateful for GiveDirectly's generous assistance.

With the difficulties I am having with my physical health, it has been difficult to adequately provide for my family of six. I have been reliant on a small retail business I started at home, the stock of which keeps dwindling as we use it without repaying it. I spent $10 to replenish the empty shelves with new stock after receiving the transfers from GiveDirectly. I also paid $10 to cover a portion of the tuition for two of my primary school-aged children who were at home at the time. I am glad they are all in school, and I am hoping the transfers will keep them in school for the next few years. In addition, I spent the remaining $10 on groceries, which included maize flour and fresh vegetables for my family. 

Providing for my family has been a challenge, especially since the onset of the rapid rise in the prices of most foodstuffs. I run a small kiosk in the village where I sell mostly foodstuffs but the profits have reduced of late. Five of my children who are in primary school had tuition arrears of KES 3000 which led them to be sent back home. They had stayed back at home for two days before I received the transfer. I, therefore, paid KES 1000 to reduce the balance, and I am glad the head teacher allowed them in school as I looked for more money to clear the balance. The remaining KES 2000 I used to boost my business and through that, the profits have improved.

Having been able to pay for my children's school fees is the biggest difference in my daily life. Previously, they would be sent back home frequently because they would persistently go back to school before clearing their arrears. This impacted negatively on their performance in school. I am glad I was able to pay for part of the arrears hoping to clear the balance with the next transfer.

The moment when I received the first transfer I felt very excited. It was devastating to have my children back at home while others were in school because I could not raise their school fees. The money meant that my children would attend their classes the following day. I shared the news with my spouse who had also just received her share, and we were both happy.