I am planning to reopen my small hotel, which focuses on selling food items, and this is my main goal for the coming year and beyond. The hotel previously failed due to a lack of water, as we are currently experiencing significant drought, making water very scarce. Those who have it are selling a 20-liter jerrican for Kes 50, which is quite expensive. This was one of the major challenges that led to the closure of my hotel. I am solely responsible for taking care of our children since my spouse and I separated. Life is very challenging, but I am grateful for the support from GiveDirectly, which allows me to earn something and plan for my family's needs. Additionally, I have moved in with my children to my parents’ place, where I receive some support from them; otherwise, life would be unbearable. To achieve my dream of reopening the business, I save a portion of my transfer so that I will be prepared without facing challenges when the time comes. I am thankful to be part of this program.

Upon receiving my latest transfer, I used $10 to settle a debt from a shop incurred when I had no food at home. Additionally, I purchased $38 worth of food for my family since our supplies were low. I also paid $14 in school fees for my child who is in second grade. I save part of my transfer in our merry-go-round for future investments, so from this recent transfer, I allocated $20 for savings. I'm thankful for the financial support that has made life easier. Without GiveDirectly, we would have faced significant challenges, especially since the prices of goods continue to rise daily.

Since separating from my spouse, I shoulder all the responsibilities. I plan to open a small shop to generate additional income to support my son's school fees. However, I haven't been able to start this project yet because we are currently facing hunger due to a poor harvest caused by the scorching sun. The little we get is spent on food. Once I have a good harvest, I will divert my monthly income towards this project. I am optimistic that once this idea becomes a reality, the extra income will allow me to comfortably provide for my son's education, bringing me peace of mind. I am grateful to be part of this program.

It's unfortunate that we won't harvest anything this season due to the harsh weather. Since I rely on casual jobs like burning and selling charcoal, I depend on this support to take care of my family. When I received my most recent transfer, I spent $72 on food for my family because we didn't have any at home. With the remaining $30, I paid my children's school fees to make sure they can stay in school.

My aim for the upcoming year is to strengthen the stability of my pastry business, ensuring consistent profits that will significantly increase my income. I am eager to utilize the transfers I will receive to purchase additional stock and supplies for my business. With this extra income, I will be able to comfortably provide for my son's education, bringing me peace of mind. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this program.

I began selling pastries once I started receiving my transfers, as a means to support myself and my child. Before this, it was challenging to afford education for my siblings and provide food for our household. However, I am deeply grateful for these transfers, as they have enabled me to start a successful business. This newfound source of income has allowed me to pay my son's school fees and purchase necessary items for our household.From the transfers, I allocated $59 to buy uniforms and pay school fees for my son, fulfilling his educational requirements. Additionally, I used $28 to restock supplies for my pastry business, which has been thriving. The remaining funds were utilized to purchase new clothes for myself, as my old ones were worn out. I am thankful for this opportunity to enhance my quality of life and provide for my family.

I used to hawk Arabian pastries as a way of making ends meet, I wanted to expand the business but being that food was scarce I had held off on this idea. However two months ago we had harvested and were spending less on food and so I started investing on the business. My hope is to grow to a point that it allows me to comfortably take care of my child and educate the child without a struggle.

I am a single mother of one. I still stay at my father's house and was dependent on him to a big percentage until two months ago. I started a food stall where I sell a variety of popularly local foods such a flat bread also known as "chapati", beans stew, tea and other Arabian pastries. I spent $30 from my transfers in September buying utensils for my business while in October I bought food to boost my stock at $20. In August I bought food for our home at $15,while in September I spent $4 and $14 in October. I also got to settle a debt at my child's school at $4 and bought clothes worth $15 in August.

I am very excited for my business. I used to hawk pastries and this would earn me $0.5 to $1.5 in a day in profit and this was not sufficient in purchasing food for my family. I needed to find a way of increasing my income and starting the street food stall was the way to go. I now make between $2 to $3 which although still not sufficient is more that what I got before. I want to grow this business further through my transfers to ensure that I make a sufficient income to take care of my family and even educate my child.

The trajectory of my life has changed greatly through receiving this transfers. I used to sell coastal pastries through hawking before Givedirectly came my way and even after until the month of April where I started a bigger business. I have a stall from which I sell food to people. I used $30 from my April transfers for this and have been adding $20 monthly to expand the business in the month of May and June. I also was able to pay school fees for my child, I paid $4 in April, and $5 in May. I was able to buy some clothes and shoes for my child too at $14. In May I bought food for the house at $9 from the transfers.

As I said earlier, I have a small business selling local pastries but I would like to expand the business. I have approximated that with at least $300 I will be able to start a roadside food stall which will be able to meet the needs of different clientele notwithstanding the meal time. I also believe the expansion of this business will increase my income greatly allowing me to take my child through school and also provide for other basic needs such as food and clothing without a great struggle as it is at the moment. If I also can have money to spare I will add the number of animals I own to ensure that as they grow I build on my investment.

I am a single mother and depend on my small business of selling local traditional pastries locally known as 'mahamri' to make ends meet. I make about $1 to $1.5 per day. I have a child in school and it is difficult to keep up with payments as a result of a small income. GD transfers have made a big difference as they have ensured my child's access to school as well as allowed me to get treatment for her when she fell sick in March. I spent $20 on treatment and I am glad she is doing much better. I have also been spending between $10 to $15 monthly on food except in March when I instead got a chicken at $4. I used $10 in February to add to my business which improved my stock and in turn sales.

I've had a difficult time adjusting to life as a single parent. I make a living by providing prepared meals to construction workers. As a result of a lack of clients to sell to, I've recently experienced losses in my business. There are fewer and fewer construction jobs, so I have a small pool of potential customers. The person most impacted by my financial woes is my son, who attends Kanyumbuni Primary School and must stay at home because I am unable to afford his tuition. As a result, I paid $5 in school fees when I got my transfer so that my son could resume his studies after two weeks at home without going to school. In addition, I spent $10 on building poles so I could fix my house. My one-room mud home is dilapidated and on the verge of collapsing due to the flimsy poles. I will be safe if the house is fixed. I purchased clothing for myself at last. I've managed to get by on two pairs of torn clothes since the start of the year. I'm happy that getting the clothes will help me look presentable while I work hard to provide for my family.

The financial aid offered by the organization has been quite life changing in all honestly because it has offered me a helping hand in taking care of my family and looking after my children. It has also given me a new form of hope because prior to knowing the organization I was sinking in financial stress since I could barely cater to the needs of myself and that of my family and that is why I agree that GiveDirectly is doing an amazing job.

Prior to receiving the donation from the organization, my children were literally on the verge of being kicked out if school since I was struggling financially and had failed to settle the debt I owed the school. Therefore as soon I got the funds, I used KES 1,000 of what I had received and ensured that I paid tuition fee for my children. Afterwards I used KES 1,000 and bought a sack of maize because there was barely any food in the house and I opted for maize because the flour was quite costly and would barely last a week in my house. I also used KES 500 to purchase some clothes for myself since it was quite long since I bought my self any new attire meanwhile I used the balance left of KES 500 and bought two hens because I planned on investing in poultry farming.

I arrived home very exhausted from fetching water from a faraway water pan. Immediately after I arrived, my phone vibrated loudly, and checked it out. I jumped up in ecstasy as I learned I had received my first transfer. I hurriedly went into my room and prayed to God, thanking him for the miracle.

Paying school fees for my son using the money from the transfer is the biggest difference I have had in my life. By staying at home, my son’s studies are interrupted, and this has affected his performance greatly. I am glad that he will now concentrate and post excellent results, having resumed back to his studies.

I am a single parent bearing all the responsibility of taking care of my son. Previously I had a small business selling fried potatoes and “mahamri”. Later on, the business collapsed because of bad debts and a lack of sufficient funds to reinvest into the business. Since then, I have struggled to provide food for my family and pay school fees for my son. We often sleep hungry and survive mostly on a cup of porridge the whole day. My son owes his school KES 1500, and this forced him to stay at home while his fellow students continued with their studies. Immediately after I received my transfer, I spent KES 300 to clear part of the debt that my son owed to the school. Besides paying the school fee debt, I spent the remaining KES 850 to buy food for my family.