Looking ahead, my goal is to expand our farming endeavors to achieve greater self-sufficiency and stability. With the support of forthcoming transfers, I aim to invest further in livestock and agricultural activities. This will not only enhance our livelihood but also provide a buffer against unexpected expenses, such as medical emergencies. The assistance we receive has been transformative, empowering us to overcome challenges and pursue a brighter future. I am deeply thankful for this opportunity and remain committed to utilizing it effectively to secure a better life for myself and my family.

To sustain my family, I primarily rely on subsistence farming, having transitioned from various odd jobs to ensure that we have enough food. The assistance from this project has been invaluable, allowing me to acquire goats and purchase essential clothing for myself and my wife. The support extends beyond our basic needs, enabling me to assist my children when necessary. From the transfers received, I allocated $25 to purchase a goat, $25 for two shirts and a pair of trousers for myself, and a dress for my wife who had none. Additionally, I used $18 to buy maize flour, ensuring that we had enough food for at least a month until the next transfer. With the remaining $34, I arranged transportation to Mtwapa to tend to my wife, who had fallen ill and required urgent medical attention. I am pleased to report that she has now fully recovered and is doing well. This assistance has truly changed my life for the better, and I am sincerely grateful for it.

Apart from contributing to household needs like food and school fees for my four grandchildren, my goal is to continue keeping livestock. I am grateful that the cash transfers have helped me become an active provider for the family, relieving the burden from my son's shoulders. If I were to spend the money on daily needs only, I would never get an opportunity to invest in something that can continue generating income even after the transfers end. This is why I am determined to keep rearing goats. I have already secured three goats through previous cash transfers, and I aim to continue increasing the herd.

After we had planted and harvested our crops, the cash transfers were not mostly constrained to food. So, I decided to allocate $25 to buy a goat. Thanks to the cash transfers I've received from day one, I now have three goats. I view these goats as assets that will help me meet my future needs, whether it's for food when I'm hungry or for medicine when someone in my family is sick. I also spent $5 on buying a shirt and trousers, and $4 on household expenses, particularly for toiletries. I engage in subsistence farming when it rains, and my son works as a casual laborer in house construction in town. He is the main provider for his four kids who stay with us back in the village. There was a time when he was struggling to cover the school fees for his children, so I supported him by paying $25 towards their tuition. This ensured they wouldn't risk missing school, and it allowed one of them to sit for his final primary school examination. Recently, another rainy season began, and I used $20 to plow my one-acre piece of land for planting. The remaining funds were used to purchase food supplies other than the maize that I harvested.

I want to achieve food security by the end of the year. I'm happy that we have had a lot of rainfall the last several months as it indicates our crops will grow well. Being able to provide food for my family means that I do not have to worry where our next meal comes from.

My main means of income is subsistence farming, but due to an extended drought, I was unable to adequately support my family. I established a little sardine business with $5, and I've been growing it ever since. Following that I spent $58 on food for my family and $20 on an investment in a young goat, whose offspring I would raise until they are mature and then sell for a profit. The last $15 I spent was for my grandchildren's school fees. I'm delighted that this project has made it possible for me to pay for my daily expenses.

I have been obsessed with what I can do to make life bearable for my family. Since I do not have any other source of income except the current underperforming business, I had set up a goal of spending a portion of my monthly transfers to acquire additional stock. With diversified stock, I shall realize increased sales translating to increased family income. As a result, catering to the family's education and acquiring food will not be as stressful as it had been for me in the past.

I have been running a business of selling ready food. However, it has been performing poorly, and I hardly raise $2 from it on a daily basis. With the recent transfer, I invested $5 in the said business to boost it. Even though I have not received much money from it, I have high hopes for its future improvement. It will ensure I have an income to offer my family of seven members dietary needs. In addition, I spent $24 on maize flour and other food items because we had no food due to the famine currently ravaging our county. I am so grateful that I have been stress-free for a whole week courtesy of the transfer.

We decide to combine our transfers with my spouse to purchase one bale of maize flour for $21. This is because we did not have enough food for the family of 5 grandchildren, my wife and I. In addition, I spent $14 to boost my business of selling dry fish around the village. At the moment, I am happy that the business is running well and able to make more profit. Furthermore, I spent $30 to purchase one goat in order to boost my goat farming. In addition, I spent $ 10 on transport to visit my grandchild who was admitted to a hospital in Mombasa town. Similarly, I used $5 to pay part of the medical bill. at the moment, he is feeling well. Lastly, I saved the remaining amount in our marry-go-round group that we formed with 10 of our neighbors.

When I received my transfers I immediately went ahead to purchase a goat because I have wanted to one for sometime now to add to my herd. This is because I an farmer and on most occasions livestock come in handy during times of financial difficulty since one could always sell and cater to that need. So I bought the goat at KES 1,000 because I hoping that it can help me financially after it breeds because I have five children who are still in school and always in need of stationery and tuition fee. I ended up using KES 1,000 from the balance by purchasing five packets of maize flour since there was hardly any food in thr house. As for the KES 200 that remained, I happened to own a small business where I sold sardines from home so I ended up using that money to get more sardines for sell.

GiveDirectly does well by giving us the unconditional transfers. The transfers have transformed many lives within the village. Many have built splendid houses, started business and even taken their children to school. I thank give directly as the impact is immense, and it warms my heart that our lives are being transformed for the better.

I have had quite a journey as I worked to take care of my family. I worked in Mombasa town as a mason building house. Hard times forced me to go back to my ancestral home, where my family was living after several attempts at securing a job became unsuccessful. Back at home, I started cutting and burning down trees and bushes to make charcoal for sale. Currently, there are no trees left to cut and also my age has also proved a challenge doing the work as it requires a lot of energy. When I received my transfer, I started a small business where I sell some Omena. The main reason for starting the business was to find something better where I would earn a living and stop cutting down the few trees left, as this has largely contributed to the drought situation in my village. I also bought a goat with the remaining amount of KSH 1800. I bought the goat as a start to creating wealth and also as a remembrance of GiveDirectly organization in uplifting my life.

Since I retired quite along time ago I do not work anywhere but just on my farm so that day I was home when I received the message. I was happy in all honesty because as a retiree making ends meet at times proves to quite straining so I was glad that for the mean time I would not have to worry about financial Providence for the family and I could also acquire some things I had in mind but had no money to allow me to like the goat.

Through this money started my own small business which helps me earn here and there and also keeps my wife occupied in the mean time. I also managed to increase the animals in my farm by acquiring another goat which will be quite useful for me in the long run.

Upon receiving the money I decided to buy a female goat so that I would increase the amount of animals I had in my homestead because I practised livestock farming and rearing plus rearing goats was quite helpful both domestically and economically. After they produce I could always get a market to sell in case I was in need of cash like for instance in payment of tuition and for sole purpose of nutrition for the family. The goat cost me KES 1,800. I took the remainder of the money and bought kilograms of sardines that I started a business with since they were highly marketable in the village as a meal for most people and ended up using the entire balance of KES 1,200.