I am grateful to GiveDirectly for the financial support, as it has allowed me to take care of my family without facing financial stress. Looking ahead, I aim to secure my family's future by expanding our herd of goats. While I currently have two goats, my goal is to increase their number. By doing so, I can create a reliable source of income and food for my family when the financial support ends. With careful planning, I plan to focus on my goat rearing project as a means of future financial stability. Goat rearing is a promising venture due to their rapid reproduction, with some goats giving birth to twins, effectively doubling their financial value. Additionally, there is a ready market for goats, alleviating concerns about finding buyers. As I have children in school, I must consider the period beyond the initial five years, as we were informed that the financial support will cease at that time. I am determined not to return to the situation I was in before receiving assistance from GiveDirectly. I understand that investing these funds wisely will ensure that my children have enough to eat and can continue their education. I envision a future where our goat herd flourishes, providing us with not only milk and meat but also the opportunity to sell some goats to meet other essential needs.

I am grateful to Give Directly for their financial support, which has enabled me to provide for my three children and meet their basic needs. Before receiving assistance from Give Directly, life was very challenging as we lacked a source of income to buy food and pay school fees for our children. Now, I have even started a poultry farming venture in addition to my goat project, ensuring that I have a source of income once the financial support from Give Directly comes to an end. With the recent transfer, I used $2 to pay fees for my youngest child who is still in pre-primary school. I also saved $60 in our merry-go-round savings group. I plan to use the savings to purchase more goats and contribute to paying the school fees for my other children. Lastly, with the remaining $10, I decided to buy another goat to further develop my goat project. GiveDirectly's support has significantly eased my financial burden and added value to my life.

In the coming years, I hope to transform my family's future by buying more goats. Currently, I have two goats, but my dream is to expand our herd. With more goats, I can provide a stable source of income and food for my family. In the past, we've struggled to make ends meet, but I believe that with GiveDirectly's support, we can change that. This gift will enable us to invest in more goats, ensuring that my children have enough to eat and can stay in school. I envision a future where our herd thrives, offering us not only milk and meat but also the possibility of selling some goats to cover other essential needs.

As a mother of two children, I work hard to provide for my family by burning charcoal for sale, while my husband takes on casual jobs. Life has been challenging since we did not get a good harvest. With the recent three transfers totaling $102, I invested $24 in a goat, adding it to the one we already had. This investment is crucial as it will help us in the future, providing milk for the children and potentially more goats as they breed. Our immediate needs, however, took priority as well. With the poor harvest, we needed to buy food, so I spent $40 to ensure my family had enough to eat. Education is very important to us, so I paid $28 in school fees for my firstborn child, who is in nursery school. This will help secure a better future for our family. Additionally, one of my children has a medical condition that requires monthly check-ups. Although the medication is free, the hospital is far away, and I needed to spend $7 on transport to get there and back. It is crucial to keep up with these appointments to ensure my child's health improves. With the remaining $4, I bought detergents, which are necessary to keep our home clean and prevent illness.

This year, my main objective is to focus on investing in livestock, particularly goats. Goats are low-maintenance and can easily be sold to finance various expenses like school fees, food, and other daily necessities. Moreover, I plan to use them as a financial cushion for unexpected emergencies. I aim to use funds from my upcoming transfers to purchase these goats, providing my family with additional income to address any future needs. I am deeply thankful for the opportunities provided by this program, as they have played a significant role in improving my life.

I engage in various activities such as selling charcoal and removing tree stumps to provide for my family of five. The prolonged drought made accessing food difficult for us, but thankfully, circumstances have improved. Now, I can buy food comfortably, save money in a local savings club, and have also ventured into livestock and poultry farming. I have a son who experiences seizures, so I had to allocate funds for his medical needs. I used $12 for his transportation to and from Kilifi Hospital for his monthly clinics. Additionally, I managed to set aside $30 in our local savings club for unforeseen emergencies. I also used $30 to settle my son's school fees, enabling him to return to school after being sent home due to an outstanding debt. The remainder of the funds was spent on purchasing essential items like maize flour, oil, vegetables, and soap for my family, which were running low. I am immensely grateful for the assistance provided through this program, as it has brought about significant positive changes in our lives.

My ultimate goal is to attain financial freedom, a state where I have the freedom to acquire and afford whatever my heart desires, and this is what I believe will bring me genuine happiness. I am deeply appreciative of GiveDirectly for granting me the power of choice, enabling me to make independent decisions regarding the use of the transfers. I am committed to channeling my future transfers into investments that will bring me closer to this goal. Undoubtedly, GiveDirectly has positively transformed my life for the better.

The responsibility of caring for my child, who suffers from seizures, has placed a significant financial burden on my family. As a subsistence farmer, I struggled to afford the necessary treatment and medication for my child, which made his condition worse. The assistance provided by GiveDirectly has been a blessing, enabling us to address his medical needs and also invest in our livelihood. Out of the transfers we received, $34 was allocated to cover his treatment and medication, and I'm pleased to report that his health has improved. Additionally, I used another $34 to boost our investments by purchasing two goats, which I intend to raise and later sell, creating a sustainable investment for the future. The remainder of the funds was wisely spent on replenishing essential household items that we had run out of. I am genuinely thankful for the invaluable support extended to us by this organization.

To generate money, I'm hoping to establish a poultry business with a focus on chickens. This will guarantee that my family is well provided for and it will give me peace of mind.

I have no job or means of income, and my family relies on me for their daily necessities. I decided to buy two hens for $5 using the funds I received. They will provide me with some revenue once they reproduce. Due to a scarcity of food, I spent $40 on groceries for my family and saved $30 in a Sacco. I then paid $10 on school fees for my second-grader. The remainder of the funds were spent on medical expenditures for my lastborn child, who was hospitalized after having a seizure. I am very grateful that I was able to bear the medical cost thanks to your monthly transfers.

I wish to have started rearing chickens by the end of this year. Since I lack a source of income, and given that am a housewife, livestock keeping is the surest way I could raise funds to support my children’s needs. Besides, having this alternative income stream would relieve my husband of the pressure that he undergoes to provide for us.  

The little my husband makes from selling chewings sticks in Mariakani is hardly enough for regular meals. Not to entirely depend on and to support him provide for our three children, I mostly spend the cash transfers on food; unless there is a pressing financial obligation. Whereas I spent the entire cash on food in December and January, I channeled $4 and $14 from the recent transfer toward school fees and medical expenses respectively. Am happy that my son is cleared to study for the entire academic term without being interrupted to collect tuition money. Also, my second-born son, who is mostly ill, has enough medication to take him throughout the month. Above all, am happy that hunger is rarely an issue in my household, courtesy of Give Directly. 

Give Directly does a good job of giving me monthly transfers that mainly help provide food and keep my child in school. Furthermore, the organization contacts me regularly to check on my well-being and to establish my experience with cash transfers. Everything the organization does is for the good of the beneficiaries, and I couldn't be more grateful. There is nothing wrong with it.

When I got the transfer, my second-grade son Charo had missed two days of school owing to a $3 outstanding school fee debt.  I was still waiting for the middleman I send to sell my charcoal to bring me payment at the time. It takes him up to four weeks to pay me, and even then, the most he will bring is $7. Aside from that, my husband had made nothing from his chewing stick business. This is why I prioritized paying off the tuition fee, and my child gladly returned to school. In addition, because my three children had not been eating regularly for the previous week due to the household running out of maize flour, I spent the remaining funds on food. My heart is content now that Charo is studying peacefully and without interruptions, and the family has enough food to survive the rest of the week.

Around 9 p.m., I had already gotten to bed ready to sleep when I switched on my phone which had been charging all day. Suddenly, it beeped with a message alert. To quench my curiosity, I checked to see the message's contents. There are no words to express the feeling of happiness that swept over me when I confirmed Give Directly had sent my first transfer. After a long wait, the money would finally help lessen the household's hardships; hunger is the greatest.

My household ran out of food a week before the cash transfer, which made my children and I sleep hungry at least thrice. Buying food was the priority when Give Directly sent the money. I am happy because we have never skipped a meal or slept hungry since I received the cash to date.

Being the breadwinner for my family of six people, my husband sells chewing sticks in Mariakani for a living. These chewing sticks are mostly used as toothbrushes, especially in mosques. The little he makes from this business is sometimes not enough to fully meet every household need, like food. As a result, hunger is mostly a concern in the household. Before the transfer day, my family had slept hungry at least thrice during that week due to a lack of money for food. I channeled around KES 900 towards the purchase of food that lasted us to date. Aside from that, my son, Charo, who is currently in grade one, had missed an entire week of classes because of an overdue school fee balance. I used the remaining KES 300 to clear this amount and he merrily resumed his studies.