In April 2024, I opened a shop in Mtulu Village by renting a place from my brother. I sell various items such as flour, oil, sugar, rice, and soap. I used $102 from my transfers to add more stock to my business. Before this, I didn’t have any work, but thanks to GiveDirectly, I was able to stock my shop. With an initial investment of around $500, contributed by my husband’s and my savings, we successfully started the shop. It’s now doing well, keeping me busy and increasing my income.

As a mother of one, my goal is to expand my shop, where I currently sell items such as flour, oil, sugar, rice, and soap. Previously, I relied solely on farming, which left me without work during dry seasons. Thanks to GiveDirectly and my husband, I was able to start this business, which keeps me busy and increases my income. I plan to save my transfers and the profits from my shop to expand my inventory. I aim to add new products like beans and greens and increase my stock to boost my profits and grow the business.

I've been diligently saving my transfers to fulfill my dream of opening a grocery store. Out of my recent transfers, I allocated $1200 to pay for my child's pre-primary school fees. Additionally, I invested $3000 to boost my omena business, and $6000 was set aside for the opening of my grocery store. These savings not only aim to provide for my family but also to pave the way for a more secure future for myself. Previously, I used to engage in casual jobs like burning charcoal, which took a toll on my health. However, thanks to these transfers, I saw an opportunity to transition to a healthier and more sustainable livelihood. Currently, I live with my spouse and one child, while my husband operates a motorbike taxi business. With determination and hard work, I am optimistic about building a better life for my family and myself.

In the coming year and beyond, my aspiration is to establish a grocery business and ensure its stability by offering a variety of commodities. My goal is to enhance not only my own living standards but also those of my family. Once I have stabilized this business, I anticipate generating sufficient profits to easily cover my children's school fees. I have a strong desire to achieve self-reliance and financial stability, and this venture represents a significant step towards realizing that goal.

I am excited that my firstborn daughter,4, is finally beginning school.For a long time she has been envious of our neighbors going to school while she stayed behind. When I received last month's transfer, I spent KES 1600 to prepare her for school. This amount took care of a pair of shoes, uniform, 2 books and a school bag. With the remaining amount I purchased chicken to act as a store of wealth — my daughter will never lack finances for her school upkeep going forward.

My plans for this year is to accumulate material wealth like goats and more chicken. At any given time of emergencies, I would be in a better position to overcome by disposing any of my assets to cash. This already means a stable future for my family of 3.

I am so happy that we have received transfers form August after harvesting which meant that our energies could redirected to other things that were equally as pressing. A part of my roof was blown away during the last rain and this meant that that section of the house would leak and water would get into the house. I was able in August to by two sheets of Iron from my transfers at $20 which I combined with iron sheets bought earlier to replace the 4 sheets that were taken away by the wind. I also bought goats in July and September at $28 on each of these months, I also bought two chicken in July and August at $6 and $8 respectively. I took the harvested maize for milling at $5 in August and bought a few clothes for me and my child in September at $6.

I am now able to dream beyond the basic access to food that this cash transfers have been in the past months been used for in my household. I now have been able to buy animals, buy clothes and even buy iron sheets using my transfers. I now have a dream of owning a grocery stall which I believe I can achieve by ensuring I take care of my animals well and as they reproduce I can sell them to afford an amount to restock my dream stall.

I am a young woman with a young family. I would call myself jack of trades, I sometimes sell water, other times I sell firewood sometimes I am farming and all this to make ends meet. However of this activities Givedirectly has facilitated my farming. I am able to call myself a farmer because of the transfers received. I used my March supplies, $25 to hire a tractor to plough the land for tilling while in May I bought maize, beans and greengrams seeds for planting using $25 of the transfers. I also bought a kid goat at $20 and 2 hens at $6 in April. I spent $800 of my transfers in March, $4 in April and $6 in May on food.

I have wanted to farm animals for a while by my money making activities couldt fetch enough to facilitate this dream. I have now bough a goat and own about 3 chicken which I hope to build on. I want to use the transfers once I harvest and can provide food from my farm, to buy goats and chicken as an investment which I can build upon to act as an emergency fund but also as a business in the long run.

My house's roof was blown off in August of last year due to the high winds that were blowing at the time. That was the breaking point in my never-ending house problems. When it rained, the numerous holes in the very old irosheets allowed rainwater to enter the house. After my home suffered damage, I was compelled to live there temporarily. Since then, I've set aside $20 from my monthly transfers and purchased two sheets of iron sheeting to help me fix the house. I'm happy to report that my house has improved thanks to the new roof, which has put an end to the numerous problems I faced last year. I spent a whopping $24 on food for the family in addition to the iron sheets. I undertake manual labor for pay, such as bringing people drinking water and firewood. I receive a very meager amount that lasts me for a single day. My husband is a "boda boda" motorcycle taxi driver, but his income is insufficient to support our entire family. I'm glad the transfer's funds were able to significantly assist us at a time when we were struggling financially and unable to purchase food. I finally spent $34 on a goat and some chickens. I am thrilled because owning this livestock represents a significant financial investment for me. My wealth will increase significantly once they proliferate because their prices will rise over time.

This year, I want to open a small kiosk where I'll sell silver cyprinid and vegetables. Right now, I'm paid to get water and wood for other people. The most I can earn is $1, which is extremely little and cannot meet my family's needs. My husband is a "bodaboda," or motorcycle taxi. The high cost of fuel has had a significant negative impact on the business because it drives away potential customers who choose to take other forms of public transportation. Because of this, he is unable to meet the needs of the family and his overall income is impacted. I'm starting this business to give my family a backup source of income during these trying times financially.

Unfortunately, my house's roof was blown off three months ago by a strong wind. I attempted to repair the damage, but there is a gap that needs to be filled with an iron sheet. I put off fixing the problem because I did not have enough money to buy an iron sheet. However, as soon as I received my transfer, I spent $10 on an iron sheet to assist in resolving the issue. In addition, I spent $18 on a young goat and the final $2 on a hen. I am hoping to supplement my income by raising livestock. I have always made a living by cutting and selling firewood.

In my lifetime, I have taken pride in raising goats which have been very beneficial to me. Whenever I have financial needs, I can always sell them to raise some. With the transfer, I spent KES 1,500 on buying a goat to add to the four goats that I had then. I also spent KES 1000 on buying an iron sheet for renovating my house's roof. The wind had blown it and for months I had been spending in a house without a section of a roof. Lastly, I spent KES 500 on buying food because I did it have food then and I was not sure when I could get some.

Generally, GiveDirectly does well in promoting respect among the potential recipients enrolled in its program. The staffs never take advantage or abuse the recipients and this is a good practice in my opinion. In addition, the way GiveDirectly works is well-coordinated hence it has a seamless workflow in our villages. Lastly, it does well in sensitizing the community members before their enrolment in the program. I have never witnessed what GiveDirectly does not do well.

Drought has been the biggest hardship that am facing in my area.Currently with no rains experienced since last year we have been forced to outsource water which is costly and is quite a distance from my area.In a family of three members with a small child ,the demand of water is high and yet not affordable.On daily basis am forced to spend KES 200 on water which is a maximum of six jerricans of 20ltrs. I spent my cash transfer of KES 750 to buy six packets of 2kg maize flour and used KES 70 to buy vegetables atleast for that particular day only.I also used KES 200 to buy water and the rest KES 150 bought a hen as a start of my future investment.

The biggest difference in my daily life will be the upgrade of my living standard. My house has been so cold because one of the ironsheet was actually blown by a strong wind a while back.My husband has not been able to replace the ironsheet because his work as a motorcycle rider earns him between KES 800 and 1200 on a good day which is barely enough especially now that it's a dry season.His income has not been consistent hence its been a struggle to feed us let alone repairing our roof.I plan to use the fund to repair my roof because my small child has been suffering from the coldness experienced at night and also invest more on goat farming and chicken business in order to help my husband with some of the financial obligations like educating our son.

It was almost 10pm and I was already asleep when my sleep was interrupted with the loud message tone from my phone just before reaching out to my phone my husband woke me up and told me that he had received his cash.My heart beat fast as I was checking my message.The night turned out to be a beautiful night because we both had received the transfer and the excitement filled the air.