Given my paralysis in one leg, I am unable to engage in strenuous activities to generate an income. Therefore, livestock rearing remains my primary means of livelihood. My ultimate goal is to revive my livestock trading business, which was adversely affected by the drought. This drought led to the loss of vegetation and the death of some cattle and goats that I owned at that time. I aim to restart this venture as it represents my best opportunity for income generation. To achieve this, I have started by purchasing chickens, with plans to gradually expand to include goats and cows.

For some time now, one of my legs has been paralyzed due to an injury I incurred a while ago. This condition requires constant medication to manage pain and prevent further complications. Unfortunately, my disability makes it challenging to work and earn an income to support my household and cover my medical expenses. With the added burden, most of the funds I receive are used to purchase food rather than cover my medical bills. Often, I accumulate debts at the hospital, which I promise to repay once I receive my cash transfers. I am grateful that my doctors have been understanding. In this regard, I used $15 from the cash transfers to fully settle the pending balance that had accumulated over the last two months. Additionally, I invested $32 to purchase 8 chickens, marking the restart of my chicken-rearing project. I had temporarily paused this project due to a drought that made it difficult to afford chicken feeds. As chicken rearing is the only work I can manage right now due to my health condition, I am excited to get it going again. Moreover, heavy rainfall in my village over the past few months caused one of the walls of my house to collapse. To address this issue, I spent $18 on buying building poles and compensating labor for the repair work. The remaining funds were used to purchase food during a period when we had not yet harvested.

I hope to start a poultry project that will generate some income in the coming year and beyond. I've been unable to walk for the past eight years due to an illness that left me physically disabled. I was working as a driver for a company when I was laid off and had to relocate to the village due to illness. Since then, I've been on medication and relying solely on my wife, who has had to work in odd jobs like burning and selling charcoal, and she has since become the breadwinner because I no longer do any physical labor. We have four young children under our care, as well as two grandsons, whose mother is also mentally ill. Despite my condition, my greatest ambition is to one day have a poultry project that will at least generate some income and that I will be able to manage effectively on my own. I intend to purchase chickens and allow them to reproduce, which will keep me occupied rather than waiting for my wife to provide and seeing her overwhelmed by so many household needs. I can easily sell the chickens to help her meet her basic needs, such as food, as well as pay school fees for the grandchildren, who are in primary school.

My most recent transfers were spent on medication and food, as well as the purchase of chickens for rearing. I was referred for eye check up, and I was able to cover a portion of the costs. Without the transfer, it might have been difficult to raise enough money for the medication. I am also relieved that I have been able to purchase foodstuffs such as a bale of maize flour for $24 every month, ensuring that we do not go hungry. Providing food has been my most difficult challenge in the household because I was previously the breadwinner, working as a driver, but an illness left me physically handicapped and unable to walk. I now rely on my wife to provide. She does casual jobs such as burning and selling charcoal, which pay very little. She can only sell once a week because it is exhausting, and she only makes $3. Knowing that I will be receiving some money every month has given me a reprieve. Despite our financial difficulties, our family is able to eat well. I'm also thinking about starting a poultry project to supplement our income, I thus bought 8 chickens. Despite my inability to walk, I will be able to manage this project, and I hope to purchase many more chickens, allow them to reproduce, and sell them. I will be in a position to assist my wife with some of the expenses, such as fees for our grandsons.

I have been hailing since 2017, a situation that has led to one of my legs having dysfunction. I am always unable to walk long distances. Instead, I am always more at home. My goal is to invest more in livestock with subsequent transfers. It will give me ease to engage in the livestock-selling business. Although I cannot do casual jobs, through the livestock business, I will be able to earn a small income. That is a promising business that can aid me in achieving success as I work hard to provide for my family of five. My additional goal is to build a new house. The current one has been in existence for the past 15 years.

I have been ill for the past seven years. I lost my job as a result of this circumstance, and for the past years, I have been stuck at home without a job. I have been reliant on my wife for support. Unfortunately, she does not work and relies on her craft business to support the family. Immediately after receiving the recent transfer, I spent $16 on my medication. Even though I can not always do any hard work, I am happy that the transfer improved my health condition. I used the remaining $18 to buy food for my five-person family. I am appreciative to GiveDirectly for the prompt financial assistance.

I am a disabled man that cannot walk and only stays at home. Givedirectly, is doing a great job helping people like us. Them coming to the remote areas and finding me is such a blessing

My name is Jackson Karisa Tumo, I live in Mudzimure village in Kilifi. I am married to one wife who is the breadwinner of the family. Two years ago I got sick and my arm and leg were amputated since then my wife has been taking care of my family. I have five children, four are married and one is still at home fully dependent on us. My wife has a charcoal business whereby she prepares it every week and takes it to the market. On a good day, she makes $2. This money together with the one I receive from Givedirectly helps my family to buy food and water.

I was inside my house listening to the 7 pm news via my small radio. My phone rang and, upon checking, I realized I had received my first transfer. I could not believe it and called my wife, who confirmed that it was indeed true. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks as my heart melted with joy. I was thrilled, and I immediately murmured a short thanksgiving prayer to thank the lord for the miracle.

The transfers made a vast difference in my life that day because I had eaten nothing for close to three days. My two grandchildren looked pale and malnourished because of a lack of food. I am grateful that the transfer helped in salvaging the hunger crisis we were in.

I left my job eight years working for a miller’s company in Mombasa after I developed a health complication with my leg. Often my leg swells and oozes pus on the swollen parts. I exhausted all my savings and sold all the livestock I had to seek medical attention, but I haven’t successfully treated my leg. After I lost my job, my wife became the sole breadwinner of the family, working casual jobs selling charcoal. Selling the charcoal is not all rosy, and we often put up with several days of sleeping on empty stomachs. Therefore, when I received my first transfer, I spent it all on buying food for the family. We hardly had any food in the house. We survived by eating wild fruits and insects such as grasshoppers.