The prolonged drought has increased food insecurity and caused water scarcity, which prompts us to walk for miles to find a water pan. Therefore, when I obtain money, my priority is to procure food and water. I spent 4,400 KES from the three recent transfers to buy maize flour, sugar and pay a motorcyclist to deliver water for household consumption. Additionally, I used 2,000 KES to start a small relish business, intending to maintain a flow of cash for daily expenditures. Finally, I deducted 2,600 KES from the transfers to secure a goat, which I believe will reproduce, increase the herd and improve my means of livelihood.

Give Directly does well in everything. I am pleased with the criteria they used, which is giving us cash. This will help me because I have needs that will be solved by having money and not food. In that way Give Directly does very well.

I am a mother to three children. My husband currently does not have a job so do I. we depend heavily on farming. With the current situation where we are facing the worst drought in years, the situation is becoming unbearable. We are now depending on manual jobs such as fetching water for people so that we can earn a living. The water points are very far away, 60 to 100 km. I have to walk this distance every day to and fro in such of water to sell and by the end of the day, I earn as low as KSH 200. This amount is not enough to feed my family and take my children to school. When I received the transfer I spent it all on buying food for my family.

It was in the morning hours. My grandson who was at that time having my phone told me that I had received a message. I asked him to look at it. He then told me that I had received some money from GiveDirectly. Since we were struggling in terms of food. I decided to go buy food. I was very happy because at least we will have something to eat in the coming days.

The cash helped me so much. In terms of food, I did not have any means to provide for my family but now that I did receive the cash from GiveDirectly I am happy that my family has something to eat. My farm is no longer productive and with the other cash, I will be able to venture into something else that will be able to put food on the table.

At the beginning of the year, I had a job whose pay was enough to feed my family and tend to their needs. With the pandemic striking hard and restrictions by the government, I had to come back home. When I came back it was hard surviving and I decided to venture into farming. At first, I had hopes of having a bumper harvest. Later on, the rain stop and everything that I had planted on the farm went to waste. This left me and my family with nothing at all. The food I was having finished and that’s when struggles started. When I received the cash I decide to buy food for my family so that we do not starve.