In the coming year and beyond, my goal is to buy a posho mill machine using my transfers from our savings group. There isn’t a single machine available in the whole village, and the one we have access to is quite far. I haven’t yet asked for its price, but I plan to send my spouse to inquire. Owning a posho mill will not only provide additional income for my family but also serve the entire community. Running my shop has given me incredible financial independence. Without the transfers and my business, I wouldn’t have been able to join a savings group. Instead, I would still be struggling to stretch the little money my husband earns to cover school fees and feed the family. I am excited to continue growing my shop, increasing my income, and ultimately buying more goats and cows. For me, rearing livestock is an excellent way to secure quick cash during emergencies.

I run a small shop business, and to ensure its stability, I use my transfers from GiveDirectly to support it. The income I generate from this shop helps me provide for my family. With my most recent transfer, I spent $44 to purchase more African Kangas for sale along with other shop items. Additionally, I used $13 to buy a turkey and $34 to buy a goat. I chose to invest in the goat because they multiply quickly, increasing their financial value. Once they have multiplied, I plan to sell some to cover my children's school fees. The remaining $5, I gave to my child as pocket money for school.

My business has given me great financial independence. I would never have been a part of a savings group without the transfers and the business as I would be scampering to use the little I get from my husband to pay school fees and feed the family. I look forward to adding much more to the shop and ensure this increases my income. In turn I will be able to buy more goats and cows which for me are an easy way of getting cash when in emergencies.

I used to have a business before Givedirectly came to our village but the troubles of life had driven my business to the ground. Receiving the transfers allowed me to restart my business. Now this transfers have been the ones sustaining the business. I have recently spent $34 to add to my business. I am happy for this as I now can depend on myself for my financial needs without necessary having to wait for my husband to get jobs. We have a small savings group where I have recently saved $19. My son in college had his school fees also paid from the transfers at $10. I have also bought a goat at$34 and some chicken at $9.

My primary goal is to buy a posho mill that I can operate right from my home. I have started saving through my Merry Go Round group, and I am confident that by early next year, I will be able to afford it. In our village, there is currently no posho mill, which means people have to travel far to get their maize ground into flour. This not only costs them time and money but also poses a significant inconvenience. By setting up a posho mill at home, I believe it will be in high demand because it will serve a crucial need in our community. This high demand will likely bring in good returns, enabling me to take better care of my family. It will provide a steady income that will help cover essential expenses such as school fees for my children, healthcare, and other household needs.

My previous kitchen, which also served as my granary, was swept away by the heavy downpours that came through some time ago. Since then, I have had to cook in an open space outside my house, which I always felt was unhygienic and inconvenient. With the cash transfer I received, I finally started building a permanent kitchen. I bought bags of cement to lay the foundation, marking the first step toward creating a safe and clean cooking area. This improvement is not just about convenience; it's about restoring a sense of normalcy and health to our daily lives. In addition to improving our living conditions, I used some of the funds to boost my business. I expanded my clothing sales and invested in my retail shop, and I'm thrilled to see the positive results. My business is thriving, and I no longer worry as much about bringing food to the table every day. With the remaining amount, I bought a goat, viewing it as a potential asset for future financial stability. This goat represents a safety net for any tough times ahead, providing a sense of security that I hadn't felt before. Thanks to this support, our lives are gradually transforming, and the future looks brighter.

AS I mentioned earlier I have a shop and I use it to generate income. I however would not want a repeat of what happened in the past with the business. I plan to increase my chicken from the now 15 to more chicken that would be able to generate income. Animals multiply giving an assurance of your money growing daily. My goal is ensure this chicken business becomes sufficient enough for household expenses and even expanding the business.

I have owned my shop from before the time Givedirectly had enrolled me in the project. My shop flourished in the years before but things started going downhill after both my children transitioned to higher learning. I found myself using the money required for restocking to cover their school fees needs and would end up taking goods on credit from wholesalers and since I could not keep up with the payments I was forced to scale down. However when Givedirectlly enrolled me in their program I vowed to ensure my shop was restocked back to its former glory and that how most of my money is used. In October I used $20 in restocking and $30 in November. I bought clothes for one my children in October at $10 and clothes for myself at $4, this was also the case in December, all the transfers went onto buying clothes and shoes for myself and children for the festivities. In November I saved $4 to the local savings group I am in.

Now that my business is stable and generating income, I am eager to explore additional sources of revenue. My plan is to invest in a poultry selling business, as I believe it will provide a sustainable income to support my children and meet the needs of my family. I am incredibly grateful for the positive changes in my life, as I have gained financial independence and can rely on myself, thanks to the support from Give Directly. This opportunity has given me a fresh start and opened up new possibilities for a brighter future.

Prior to my enrollment in the program, my clothing materials business was on the brink of collapse. I found myself using both the profits and capital to cover my children's school fees. However, everything changed when I became a participant in the Give Directly unconditional transfer program. Suddenly, I had a consistent income stream that could breathe new life into my business. With the newfound financial support, I invested over $68 to purchase additional products for my business. As a result, my business began to flourish, attracting more customers and yielding a healthy profit. Recognizing that the transfers would eventually come to an end, I made a strategic decision to invest in a goat. The goat's ability to multiply will not only increase their numbers but also enhance my initial investment. I am immensely grateful for the financial assistance provided thus far, as it has significantly improved my quality of life. Moreover, it has allowed me to successfully meet the expenses of my daughter's final year of secondary school, ensuring her educational journey remains uninterrupted. Overall, the program has been a transformative experience for me and my business. It has provided the means to revive and expand my enterprise, instilling a sense of hope and stability for the future.

I had suffered from a slow-performing business that subjected me to a lot of financial constraints. As a result, catering to my needs was hard. I could rely on my husband's support because he had not had been having a source of income. He has been away in search of a job. Therefore, with the monthly transfer, I hope to boost my business to support my children's education and enable them to obtain their nutritional needs. I would not wish to live a life of begging again. However, that is an inevitable situation when I do not have a source of income.

I have not yet spent my most transfer. However, I have been running a business dealing with ready-made clothes and other foodstuffs. Due to hard economic times, my business has not been doing so well. I have been using my monthly transfers for the previous three months to boost it, and it is picking up. With the recent transfer, since I have not spent them, I hope to use them to boost my clothes business. From this, I shall be able to raise some cash that can help take care of my family of four members. It will aid my family to acquire nutritional needs since my husband's income is low. It will supplement and ease our struggles.

I want to transform my enterprise from its current state as a retail store into a wholesale store by the end of the year. To do this, I've already started setting aside $20 each month in a savings group with 25 other people, where members rotate receiving shares on a monthly basis. I'm hoping to use the $500 in shares I'll receive by December to accomplish the goal. With wholesale, I will have a wider selection of goods, which will appeal to more consumers, resulting in greater sales and, consequently, higher income.

My primary source of income has been a retail store for a longer time. When we had used up the majority of the capital and it was operating with less stock, I was worried that it would collapse at some time before I started getting support from GiveDirectly. Thank God, I was able to revive it through the monthly transfers, and it is now steady. I used all of the transactions from the previous three months to grow the stock in the business. Now that it has improved, I am making monthly profits of over $20.

I am a mother of two kids working as a tailor for livelihood. I also operate a small-scale business while my husband works as a casual laborer. Our two kids are school-going; one is in secondary school, and the other is in college. Using my transfers, I boosted my business with KES 2000 which was a bit down due to inflation. I shared KES 1000 with my daughter for pocket money to sustain her at school. I thank GiveDirectly for considering me to be one of their beneficiaries.

As soon as my husband and I completed building our current house, we ran out of money hence its floor was not fully made. Therefore, immediately after I received my transfer, it catered to the labor cost of making the floor. Initially, we were living in an earthen-floor house. It was always dusty and could occasionally subject us to coughing and respiratory problems. This situation made us frequently go to the hospital, hence spending more money on medication. Although the work is in progress, there are not many specks of dust at the moment. Moreover, we have begun to experience some relief from previous respiratory problems. Thanks to GiveDirectly for the timely help.

GiveDirectly, in my opinion, does s well in explaining the nature of its program to all its potential recipients. Many of us were able to comprehend the program, which led to our passionate acceptance and participation. It has also done a good work of visiting the vulnerable recipients so that the impact of the transfer may be seen. There is nothing that GiveDirectly does not do well among the communities it works.

My husband and I ran out of money as soon as we finished building our current home, thus the floor was not finished. As a result, as soon as I received my transfer, it covered the labor cost of laying the floor. We used to live in a house with an earthen floor. It was often dusty, which caused us to cough and have respiratory difficulties occasionally. We had to go to the hospital all the time because of this condition. That was a costly way of life. Even though the fact that work is ongoing, there are few specks of dust at this time. Furthermore, we have started to feel better from our earlier respiratory issues. Thanks, to GiveDirectly, for the prompt assistance.

Since I had never received such kind of support in my lifetime, I felt so good and extremely happy when I confirmed the receipt of my transfer. I was so happy because with the transfer, I was certain that it would be possible to acquire additional stock for the business. As a result, I would be able to supplement the income from tailoring services which has drastically gone down due to the hike in prices of tailoring materials.

Seeing my business being restocked is the biggest difference in my life. Although it is not a big shop, it was almost collapsing because I hardly had any stock. I am so glad that as a result of the transfer, it is now operational. In line with this, I shall find it easy to raise upto KES 100 on a daily basis. Thus supporting my family in terms of buying food will no longer be a big struggle for me.

I run a small shop which has not been performing well due to inadequate stock. I always desired to add some stock although I never had money. Immediately I received my transfer, I spent part of it on purchasing some commodities. Nowadays, there is a positive change, my customers hardly miss the items they require. Previously the business was not performing and this literally stressed me. Thanks to GiveDirectly for the financial support.