My husband and I acquired a solar panel on credit, which requires us to make monthly repayments to keep it active. We have been diligently using a portion of our transfers to ensure we stay on top of this debt and do not default. My plan for the coming year is to continue making these repayments until we are completely free of the obligation. I am not entirely sure how much is left, as my husband is in charge of the details, but I am confident that we are close to clearing the remaining balance. Once we have paid off the solar panel, I intend to allocate part of our transfers to purchase goats. I have high hopes for this investment; I envision the goats multiplying and increasing in value, ultimately providing an invaluable asset for my family. This will not only support my children’s education but also serve as a safety net for our family, especially when this program comes to an end. I feel a sense of determination and optimism as I look forward to building a brighter future for us all.

My husband is disabled, which makes it difficult for him to engage in menial work, leaving me as the sole provider for our family. To support my family, I run a small business where I buy vegetables from the market and sell them in our village and so, I invested $20 from my recent transfers to boost my business. This additional capital has allowed me to increase my stock and, in turn, earn a bit more profit. Even though the profits may be modest, they bring me immense satisfaction as they enable me to take care of my family and keep us going. We also have a solar panel that we acquired on credit, which requires monthly repayments. To ensure that we do not lose access to this vital source of power, I used $11 from the transfers to cover the payment. Having reliable lighting in our home is a great relief, especially for my children as they study in the evenings. Additionally, I have two children in school, and I spent $22 of my transfers to pay their school fees. To further support their learning journey, I also set aside $10 to buy their school supplies when the new school year begins. Also, my kitchen was in dire need of repairs, especially the roofing, which had deteriorated over time. I spent $15 to purchase roofing materials and pay for the labor needed to fix it. I am so happy now that my cooking space is in good condition, making meal preparation much more manageable. Finally, with the remaining $24 of my transfers, I purchased food for my family. The drought we are facing has made food scarce, and ensuring that my family has enough to eat is a priority I cannot overlook. Providing them with nourishment brings me peace of mind and comfort during these challenging times. I am deeply grateful for the support from GiveDirectly. My heart is filled with gratitude and determination to continue building a better life for us all.

Having previously experienced severe financial challenges and been unable to take care of my family, I now see this financial support as an opportunity to invest wisely and secure my financial freedom. My goal for the coming year and beyond is to invest in livestock. Purchasing livestock is a reliable and sustainable way to make long-lasting investments. Once the financial aid comes to an end, I will have something tangible to fall back on. To achieve this goal, I plan to save my subsequent transfers and use a portion of them to purchase livestock. I am very appreciative of the financial transfers I have received so far.

I am the sole breadwinner for my family of five. My daughter is physically disabled, and my husband is ill and unable to work. Before being enrolled in the program, I earned a living by selling charcoal, but the earnings were too little to support my family. Upon receiving my transfers, I decided to start a small business selling vegetables and fruits in the village. The business is slowly picking up, and I am grateful for the progress. I spent $19 to boost my business by purchasing additional stock. I spent $25 on school fees, uniforms, and stationery for my two grandchildren, who are under my care because their mother, my daughter, is physically disabled and unable to work. I am glad that, through the financial support, they are in school and continuing with their studies. Lastly, I spent $41 to purchase food for the family. We did not harvest anything during the short rain season due to climatic changes, leaving us vulnerable and susceptible to hunger. I am very happy and appreciative of the financial support that is transforming my life for the better.

I aim to start rearing goats in the coming year and beyond. However, I have not been able to buy any as of now due to financial constraints for my two grandchildren and food. As the main provider for the family, I have not had the chance to save for buying livestock. Despite this, I still believe that I can save, even if it means forgoing other needs. This is because once the transfers end, this livestock will allow me to raise funds for the needs of my family, serving as a source of future income.

I am typically the sole provider for my family, which includes my husband, daughter, and two grandchildren. My daughter is physically disabled and, as such, is limited from working to raise funds to support her two children. My husband is also advancing in age and unable to work. Therefore, I have been primarily responsible for caring for the two school-going children. However, I do not have a stable source of income and usually rely on casual jobs like working on people’s farms. Therefore, the cash transfers have been instrumental, particularly in paying for their fees. Recently, one of them joined junior high school and needed new materials. I spent $34 on his school uniforms, shoes, bag, and books. Additionally, I spent $17 on tuition for both of them. I am pleased that they remained undisturbed in school throughout the term. Furthermore, I allocated $28 to repair a wall of my house, which had been damaged by heavy rainfall towards the end of last year. The remaining amount went towards purchasing food to ensure that we never went hungry.

My desire has always been to own livestock. However, financial constraints, particularly related to school fees, have been a barrier. As my daughter depends on me to support her two kids due to her physical challenge, I have been spending most of the cash transfers on their school needs and food. One of the children is set to join junior high school next year and I wish to focus on saving funds for her admission requirements. After that, I wish to be able to start buying livestock like goats and chickens. I believe that owning livestock will build me enough wealth in the future that will prove useful in supporting the needs of my family once the cash transfers cease.

Whenever I receive cash transfers, I usually plan to allocate funds for the school fees of my two grandchildren. Their mother, my daughter, is physically challenged and unable to work to provide for their needs. As one of them is set to join junior high next year, requiring new uniforms, I had to set aside $15 for that purpose. Additionally, I settled a fee balance of $25 at their school, ensuring they progressed well with no disruptions. Being the sole provider, I used to engage in charcoal making but shifted my focus to farming when the rains started. However, the recent planting did not yield much, leading to concerns about food in my household. To address this, I used $29 from the recent transfers to acquire food. This ensured that my family hardly went without eating. I also spent $11 to plow my farm in preparations for planting as the short rains season had begun. There was also a time when I invested $20 in purchasing four hens for rearing. Unfortunately, they all perished from coccidiosis, but I am still determined to start again.

In the coming year and beyond, I plan to purchase livestock such as goats and poultry, raise them, and sell them to meet my financial needs. I am currently farming maize, and I believe I will have enough harvest to ensure food security in my household. Once the food problem is resolved, I will be able to use the transfer on other projects. I have wanted livestock for a long time, but I could not afford to buy any because of financial constraints. Owning livestock, such as goats, is a good and viable project for me that can assist me when I face a financial challenge.

I am relieved that my two grandsons are now comfortably enrolled in school as a result of the recent transfers. Previously, I had difficulty paying for them on time, so they were frequently sent home due to lack of fees. Their mother is in my care as well because she is disabled and mentally ill and is unable to care for them. Also, my husband was the sole breadwinner until he became ill six years ago. As a result, he is unable to work and is entirely dependent on me. My financial situation has deteriorated over time as a result of my reliance solely on subsistence farming. Also, as a source of income, I occasionally burn and sell charcoal, but it does not pay well. My meager earnings could only last a few days. On other days, my family and I could go without food. Receiving the transfer was a huge relief for me because it allowed me to adequately provide for my family in addition to paying fees for my grandsons. I purchased enough food, such as maize flour, to ensure that my household has enough food.

With all the difficulties I face in life, I pray that one day I might be able to overcome them. I have five children and one of them is disabled; the rest are really struggling to make ends meet for themselves and their families. I currently do not have a stable job and the only thing I desire most is to operate my own business. I want to start selling vegetables to my locals so that I get profit and ensure that all my grandchildren are in school and complete their studies with good grades and on timely bases. I also want to be stable financially so that I stop boring money from my neighbors when I lack something to eat.

My husband is seldom able to provide for our family due to his severe illness. Over the past six years, he has been ill and I have been taking care of him and my daughter who is disabled. I also take care of all of her children's needs and that makes me the breadwinner of my family. I simply pray to God for good health and the ability to go look for a good job to sustain my family. Life has been difficult and I thank God that my husband and I are GiveDirectly's beneficiary. The moment I receive my transfers, I immediately think of paying my grandchildren school fees because their mother is unable to do so. She has two children one in grade six and the other in grade three. I paid their tuition fees at $15 together with the fun day they had at school which did cost me $3 and bought them exercise books at $6 to be writing down all the important notes. The remaining amount of $10 I bought food that sustained them for two weeks as they work hard and study in school.

Givedirectly has helped the villagers have plans for the future. A lot of group saving has been happening which enables one to start a business.

I am the breadwinner of my family ever since my husband succumbed to leprosy in 2020. He used to wash cars for a living getting $5 a day, which would help to buy food for the family. Before he got sick, I had a charcoal business that was doing well, I would pay school fees for my children. When my husband got ill I stopped working and unfortunately, all my children dropped out of school. I have five children, four daughters and a son, three of my daughters are married and my son is working in the nearby town. He sends money to me but not as often as I would wish. I live with my last born daughter who is physically disabled, she was once married but she dissolved her marriage and came back home with two of her daughters. My husband and I depend on this money. I spent the current transfer to buy food at $15 and paid for my granddaughters' school fees which cost $15.

I was at home at around 9.00 a.m. cleaning my compound when I heard a message alert. I gave my husband the phone to confirm the content of the text because I do not know how to read. I felt so happy when he confirmed that I had received some money from GiveDirectly.

Paying school fees and buying food for the family are my biggest differences. My grandkid had stayed at home for three days due to a lack of money for school fees and, therefore, settling part of the arrears using GiveDirectly’s transfer enabled her to report back and continue with her studies. Besides, my family was relieved from hunger through the foods I bought using the remaining portion of the transfer. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for the financial support.

I am a mother of two and live with my husband and one grandchild. I used to burn and sell charcoal for survival though the business stalled due to the increased cost of living. My spouse whom we used to depend on as the family’s sole breadwinner has been ill for six months forcing us to turn to his brothers and relatives for survival. Life has not been easy since the day he fell sick. We have been finding it difficult to afford proper daily meals and could sometimes even sleep hungry due to a lack of food. Using my GiveDirectly transfers, I paid KES 500 school fees for my grandchild who had been at home for three days due to a lack of school fees. I also bought food for KES 700 to cushion us against the hunger that we experienced for three days.