I used to be a shopkeeper but I lost my business. I now depend on casual labour and my small farming to make an income. I do not make much in terms of income as some days I can make up to less than $10. My goal has been to improve my house seeing that since the rains began my mud walled house has been slowly washed down and now it is leaking into the house. This makes the house so cold and in a sense unlivable. My monthly $24 savings is aimed at buying stones which I plan to use to build a new house for my family.

I have been saving a good portion of my transfers over the last three months. I save $24 monthly and spend $10 on immediate needs in my home. I spent the $10 in September to get a few clothes seeing that the state of most of my clothes is that most are worn out. I bought them at $4. I spent $2 on buying medicine for my sick child, I spent $2 on vegetables and the remaining $2 on buying breakfast items for the children as they went to school. In October the remaining $10 went into buying sugar at $2, I spent the remaining $8 buying vegetables and pastries for the children for breakfast. In November I am planning on using the $10 in getting chicken from the local market this coming friday.

My primary objective is to extend a section of my house and build additional rooms. Our current residence is insufficient for all of us, and it would bring me tremendous joy to see that we are all comfortable. I'll utilize my tentative transfers for this because I no longer need to buy food as we had a bountiful harvest.

I used to work as a driver in the transportation industry, but I was involved in a horrible accident that left me wounded and unable to work. My wife abandoned me, leaving me as the only caregiver for our three children. I do odd jobs to supplement my income and provide for my family. I spent $60 on food because we didn't have any due to poor crops caused by a prolonged drought. With three children to take care of, it has not been easy to provide for their education. I am thankful that I was able to pay $50 from the remaining transfers to settle their school expenses, which had gone into arrears.We currently have enough food thanks to the recent rains, and I intend to save the remainder of the transfers. I'm delighted my life has improved.

Despite experiencing setbacks, I remain resolute in my pursuit to reopen my small shop. My child's medical expenses necessitated the closure of the business, but I refuse to let this be the end. I have developed a plan, conducted market research, and explored various funding options to ensure I can achieve my goal. I am determined to stay focused by setting achievable milestones, staying organized, and seeking support from those around me. Although the journey will not be easy, I know that I have the strength and resilience to see it through to the end. By reopening my shop, I am not only providing for my family but also demonstrating my unwavering determination to succeed.

I am currently facing some financial difficulties, and I am really doing my best to provide for my family. I have raised my two children alone because their mother left me and went back to her parents home in 2014, and I was forced to play the role of both the father and the mother. The moment I receive my transfers, I usually budget $23 for food for the whole month so that at least my children will not lack anything to eat for the whole month.Although I know the amount I allocate for food is quite low, I try to make it work for the three of us. I intentionally set aside $5 for emergencies because one does not know what the future holds and I need to always be prepared. My two children are in primary school, and I am responsible for taking care of them and paying their school fees. The remaining amount of $6 I spent in paying their fees that really made them so happy.

Personally I often have a routine on how I use transfers and the spending of the funds are mostly aligned with what is necessary for my family at the moment. At the moment my biggest priority is to ensure that I settle debts in tuition fees for my son who just recently resumed school. Afterwards I also plan on using a part of the transfers to cater for nourishment for my family especially considering that drought is upon us. Lastly I will spend any money left on purchasing a couple of hens since so far the funds have so far helped me acquire four hens.

My wife and I separated barelt eight years ago. She left, claiming I was poor and I could not be a supportive husband. I have been staying with my 12-year-old son, Said. I do construction work to make a living, which is always difficult given the current economic situation. So, when I received the transfer, I spent $10 on food that we used during the Christmas festive season. I saved the rest with the intention to use it in conjunction with others to construct a new house. I have been living in a small mud-walled and grass-thatched house. I am hoping to build a bigger house of 20 iron sheets.

I used 4500 KES of my transfers to purchase 24 kg of corn flour. Previously, we could go without a proper meal for about 4 days. As a family, we are glad because we can afford a decent meal since we started receiving the transfers. I also used 2000 KES to pay school fees for my two children who are in primary school, They had been sent back home for the arrears 2 days prior to the transfers. I do not take the support for granted because had I not received it then my children would probably have missed most of their lessons. I work at the construction sites making 500 KES daily but there are times I go for weeks before coming across any. This made it challenging to sustain my family's needs, but I am glad GiveDirectly came through. The remaining 1500 KES I spent on my clothes and the children's too to replace the old worn-out clothes we have been putting on.

Farming has been our main economic activity but for the past two years, life has been tough because of the prolonged drought. Food has become scarce and expensive. Having a meal per day became our norm until Give Directly came to our rescue. In my opinion, letting people decide on how to spend their cash was the best move made by the organization. They have saved many lives and it is good some people have spent their transfers on business too.

I bought 12 kilograms of cornflour for my family at KES 1000. It is the most scarce commodity currently due to the famine we are facing. There are times we can walk for more than 5 kilometers in search of cornflour and that is why I had to prioritize it. KES 2000 I saved still contemplating whether to purchase a goat or chicken but this will be determined by their market price. They are both good investments and my projection is to sell some of them in the future to raise money to pay for my family's bills.

It was at around 9am in the morning and I was just relaxing at home. Prior to that I had gone to look for casual job but I never succeeded since there were very few building projects going on within our nearby center. When I checked my messages, I was glad to learn that my transfer had been sent. I felt so good because from the transfer, I knew that I would be able to buy food for the family. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly.

After missing a casual job for three consecutive days, I was really worried on how I would be able to provide food for my family members. I did not have even little savings and all my possible sources of income were not bearing fruits. However, when I received the transfer, I got relieved. I was able to buy food hence as a family, we have been very hopeful. As a result, I have been able to aggressively look for readily available opportunity in order to support the family.

A number of the household items that I had been using were extremely old (window curtains and utensils). Immediately I received my transfers, I used part of it to buy both second hand curtains and new utensils. Previously, I did not have some money to buy new ones because I have not been having a reliable source of income. From the transfer, I also bought 5 packets of maize flour. As a result, my family has been able to have food to feed on for the next 5 days. I am grateful for the financial aid from GiveDirectly.