Moving forward, I aim to focus on keeping livestock, especially goats. Although I would have wished to keep other types of livestock, I live near the trade center where diseases might break out and affect them. Goats are more resilient to these disease spreads than any other livestock, like chickens, which is why I prefer them. By rearing goats, I can sell them in the future to raise funds for the school fees of my three children—one in high school and the other two in primary school.

Sometimes when I receive the transfers and have no urgent needs, I invest in livestock for rearing. Therefore, I recently bought a goat for $31. With this goat, when it reproduces in the future, I can sell it to raise funds for my children's education. Currently, I have three children in school, whom I mostly support through my small vegetable business here in the village. There was a time when one of my sons fell ill and needed to undergo a kidney operation. The operation had to be conducted at Kenyatta Hospital, which is in Nairobi and miles away from home. I used $34 for transportation. I am relieved that the surgery went well, and he returned home, where he has been recovering well ever since. Towards the end of last year, the short rains persisted. I decided to prepare my one-acre land for planting. I hired an ox plow and paid $16 for the service. I spent the remaining amount to buy celebratory food for my family since it was the Christmas season. I wanted them to enjoy delicious meals.

My primary objective is to enhance my financial stability by diversifying my income streams. Recognizing the inadequacy of relying solely on one source of income to support my family, I have decided to venture into the lucrative livestock business, with a particular focus on goats, given their profitability in my local area. I am pleased to report that I have already started the acquisition of goats, and the forthcoming transfers will be allocated to expanding this venture. This additional source of income promises significant benefits for my family, giving me the peace of mind that I can adequately provide for their needs.

Selling vegetables in my village has been my means of earning a living, though the business has faced challenges. The prolonged drought significantly impacted my income, making it difficult to provide for my family. With insufficient capital to expand my stock, I faced the possibility of closing down the venture. Fortunately, GiveDirectly's transfers played a crucial role in reviving my business, stabilizing it, and transforming it into my primary source of income. Seeking to diversify, I invested $68 in purchasing a goat and four chickens, marking the beginning of my livestock venture. The remaining $34 was allocated to hiring oxen for land cultivation, taking advantage of the rainfall to cultivate maize and beans for consumption. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to GiveDirectly for providing me with the opportunity to improve my life.

I want to be able to afford my children's school fees. I also want to grow and expand my business as well as venture into livestock farming. By doing this,I can be sure that my family will be well taken of, which will give me peace of mind.

I own and run a small grocery store in my village where I sell my neighbours essential supplies. I am pleased that my shop has grown significantly since I started receiving transfers. I had been finding it difficult to feed my family, so I used $96 solely to purchase food. This was done to ensure that my family never lacks food. With the remaining amount, I added 6 more hens to my stock. This is a good investment for me as I anticipate it will yield me good returns after they multiply.

Having the capacity to regularly put food on the table and keep my three children in school is something that I have always yearned for. Unfortunately, the little earnings I have been making from the vegetable-selling business, barely keep my family fed throughout the week. Although my son also actively contributes to the household needs, the casual jobs in house construction that he hugely relies on hardly come by. Therefore, regardless of the financial constraints, I plan to start saving at least $5 every month. I believe that these savings will help alleviate some of the hardships in the future.

To provide for my family of ten members(wife and children), I run a small vegetable-selling business in my village. Sometimes, the strain from the financial obligations forces me to dig into the capital to buy food and pay tuition for three of my children, who are still in school. As a result, growing the business is quite challenging. Gladly, the cash transfers have constantly revived and brought life to the business by allowing me to obtain more stock. I spent $20 from each of January’s and February’s transfers specifically for this purpose. Am happy that I have started to realize a monthly revenue increment of at least $25. From the remaining funds, I bought three chickens worth $9 and secured food with the rest. The aim of keeping chickens is to easily sell them in the future and raise money for emergencies. In December, I spent every penny on Christmas shopping, particularly foodstuff. At least my family enjoyed their festivities courtesy of the cash transfers. 

GiveDirectly is a fantastic organization because it enrolls recipients directly and distributes unconditional transfers without the assistance of outside parties, such as government officials. This is a good way to make sure the money goes to the right people. I encourage them to keep doing what they're doing to support those in need in the community.

I own a small kiosk where I sell food, fish, and” Omena”. Due to the poor economic climate in our village, my business has been struggling. The majority of customers make purchases on credit with the intent to pay when they have money. I frequently run out of money before I can replenish my stock for the business. I used half of my transfer money $15 to boost my business and increase sales by purchasing more stock. With the $15 that was left over, I made food purchases to supplement my home's dwindling supply. Due to the tough economic times, the food I purchased prevented my family from going hungry.

I received a text message on my phone at 8 pm. I was in my shop waiting for customers who shop late during the night. Upon reading the text message, I was surprised to realize that I had received my first transfer. I smiled from ear to ear and immediately closed the shop and went home and shared the good news with my family.

The transfer has made a big difference in my life, by helping me boost my business that was collapsing. The business is picking up well and I can take care of my family’s needs from the income I earn from the shop.

I ran a small kiosk business, which is my only source of income. During the election period, conducting business was hard due to the tension and anxiety of people around the village. Many customers opted to stay indoors, reducing the influx of people buying goods from my shop. The wholesalers where I bought my shop products closed their business, hence I could not buy more things for my business. This forced me to spend some of the capital to attend to my family's needs. When I received my transfer, I spent KES 1300 to boost my business by buying new socks for my business. Besides spending money on my business, I bought food worth KES 1700 for my family.