I have reared birds before, chicken, ducks and even Guinea fowls. All this birds are tiny birds and you cannot make much from their sale, for example a chick from chicken can be sold for as low as $1, this for me felt like a loss as they were also very prone to the new castle disease which keeps wiping out chicken flocks in our area. I looked at this and decided to rare turkeys which are big in size , bring in better income and are less prone to this commonly existing diseases. A Turkey chick can go for $5 and this is a very young chick. My goal is to breed my Turkeys and build a bigger house to hold them in large numbers and then sell them at a profit. This funds combined from savings from my teaching job I hope to put up a business.

I had bought Turkeys in previous months using my cash transfers, I now have 3 female turkeys. This Turkeys usually require feeds to ensure they grow well and are within good health for breeding. I bought them feeds in November and December at $10. I also bough food for the festivities at $24 for both November and December each. In January I looked at the turkeys and felt that they were all grown. I felt it was the best time to breed them, I took $30 from my January transfers and got a male Turkey. I spent the remaining $4 on sugar for breakfast.

I recently ventured into turkey rearing as an extra source of income because they are less prone to diseases and sell at a better price compared to chickens despite the little difference in the time they take to mature. A 6-month old turkey can sell for approximately $30 while chicken of the same age would sell at $10. Chickens are also prone to diseases which quickly spreads whenever there is an outbreak in the village as many households rear chickens. After almost experiencing a loss from my chicken rearing business due to diseases, I decided to venture into turkey rearing which is less common within the village. I have only 4 turkeys at the moment but aims at increasing the number by using my transfers to purchase more of them at a young age then selling them when they mature. There is no ready market for turkeys within the village but I have identified a market where I will be selling them in town once they are ready. Once this turkey project is self sustainable, I will think of a new project that the transfers can help me to accomplish.

The farming season that we just concluded was made successful by the transfers that helped me in hiring labour and purchasing quality seeds that led to a bumper harvest. Food security that has been a pain for us over the past few years is now a forgotten story as we were able to harvest enough to last us a while. This was made possible by the transfers that enabled me to hire a cow-driven plough to plough my farm on time as tractors are a bit more costly. I was also able to buy the best seeds with better yield and hire labourers to weed my farm in good time. Without the money, I would have managed to cultivate only a small portion of the field which would have resulted into less harvest. During the farming season, we were also experiencing famine as we had not had any substantial harvests over the past 3 years due to failed rains, so basic food items such maize had doubled in price and was also scarce. Part of the transfers helped with the purchase of foodstuff and other basic household requirements I used the most recent transfer to seek medical attention and to clear some debts I had accumulated months back when I had to take a loan to pay the labourers I had hired to work on my farm.

I fervently pray for the protection of my farm from pests, and if they do happen to appear, I hope their detrimental effects on my crops are minimal. At present, I am focused on cultivating maize and vegetables, with the primary goal of providing enough food for my family so that we won't starve. When things turn out well, I will plan on planting more maize so that I can sell them to get enough money. Thanks to GiveDirectly for it all.

I was previously burdened with a debt that I felt compelled to pay.I had hired an individual to work on my farm, utilizing his ox to cultivate my land. This endeavor required approximately $34. Unfortunately, the drought persisted, leaving me with no alternative but to seek additional assistance. Thankfully, the current situation has improved as it is now raining and my crops can easily grow.

I would like to continue with my chicken business. I want to grow my chicken rearing into a business as its a venture that does not require so much technical expertise. As my chicken grow I hope to get them to a point that they lay eggs that I can sell while hatch others to add to my current numbers. I also hope to use Givedirectly transfers to feed this chicken to allow them grow and also buy medicine whenever necessary or even vaccinate whenever necessary. My hope is that when my numbers grow to above 200 I can now venture into other businesses from the proceedings of this chicken rearing buisness.

I had a plan of rearing chicken, improved local chicken. I had been using portions of my first months transfer towards building a chicken coup in preparation to getting the chicken themselves. I knew it would be more expensive to buy day old chicks and so I bought eggs and took to a hatchery and used approximately $0.60 to get the chicken to hatching. After hatching I ended up with 60 chicks which I moved to my coup. I have been using $18 of my last three months transfer to get chicken feed which will usually last three weeks meaning I have to supplement the last week with small amounts from the local shops. I also used a portion of my November transfers, $3 on vitamins and $5 on antibiotics as I had lost chicks during the early days and decided to be safe on issues of disease. Now my chicks are four months old. I also used portions of my months transfers on food because food is the most vital thing here as a result of the drought we are experiencing.

We are grateful for the support that has boosted our living standards amazingly. They did not ask us for a bribe or any handout, which makes the program one of a kind. Though my humble request would be for us to be paid at least early every month other than in the middle of the month.

My ambition is to advance my career. With this, I can easily get employment. I plan to expand my poultry project to arrive at this dream by saving up on the profits that I would be making.

Unfortunately, I had doubts about the legitimacy of GiveDirectly's program at first. I always wondered how practical that assistance could serve all village members. My concerns abated when I received my transfer. It was late in the evening, and I was still at school where I work as a PTA teacher. I was so happy when I confirmed my transfer that I could not continue with what I was doing. I just packed my belongings and moved home, feeling happier and more relieved than before. That evening, I walked through to my house while singing a thanksgiving song to God.

I was in a serious financial state before receiving my transfer. I had been imagining ways to get out of that state, but I could not see any. However, receiving the transfer was a huge relief for me. I was able to prioritize paying off all of my debts, allowing me to be free. It has given me peace of mind, and I can now approach the shopkeeper without feeling guilty. I am relieved that I now get along well with the shopkeeper.

Before the day I received my transfer, I had been struggling financially. Although I work as a PTA teacher, my wages are too low to meet my family's needs. As a result, two months ago I took some foodstuff from the nearby shop on credit. Unfortunately, repayment was a big hurdle. It, therefore, took my peace and I was always feeling guilty. Fortunately, when I confirmed the receipt of my transfer, I opted to spend KES 1,000 on clearing that debt. In addition, I spent KES 1,000 on buying food to supplement the food my family had. The rest of the transfer helped me to initiate a saving program. I am so glad for the timely help from GiveDirectly.