We have experienced significant change in our community since GiveDirectly arrived in our village. Personally, I plan to invest a portion of my transfer into a profit-generating activity that will continue to provide benefits even after the transfers end. Therefore, I have decided to purchase goats and raise them as a future investment. As a parent of school-going children, I need to plan carefully. In addition to using the income from this investment to pay for school fees, it’s important to be prepared for any financial emergencies that may arise. Rather than relying on friends for help, I will have my own investment to depend on. I’m pleased to share that I have already bought eighteen goats, and I intend to acquire more until I have a substantial number. I believe that, over time, they will also reproduce and increase in number. Furthermore, I want to initiate a poultry project as well. Having both of these ventures will help support me during financially difficult times, as there is a ready market for both poultry and goats in our area. These are my plans for the coming year and beyond.

My spouse and I are small scale farmers, but we haven't had any harvests in the past two seasons. Currently, we're facing a severe drought, making it even harder to obtain food. With my latest transfer, I allocated $78 to purchase food. I bought a little extra to sustain us for a few days while we explore ways to generate income for our five children. These transfers have been incredibly helpful for my family, allowing us to access food more easily despite the difficult situation we are experiencing during this drought. With the remaining $24, I decided to buy a goat. Since our transfers will be ending soon, I thought starting goat rearing would be a good way to ensure future financial security.

As I said we have see great change in our area, my plan is to continue creating change in my home. I want to buy animals, I have sheep and chicken but I want goats and cows. This ones will allow me to get to the point where I can stand on my own feet even when the project comes to an end. I want to sell this animals and create a better future for my family by making food and education available.

If someone came to our village a year before Givedirectly and now they would get lost. Things have really changed. I have felt the change and seen it in my house. Our area deals with sever droughts but now we are not scared of droughts anymore. We have money to buy food when things get hard. I spent $66 to buy food for my home. I also bought sheep and paid school fees for my children at $24 and $8 respectively.

I would wish to see my flock grow so that I can sell to start my dream business of starting a shop, selling most household items, to achieve this goal, I bank on my livestock where when they multiply and mature I will be able to sell a good number of them so that I can get the capital to start my business.

GiveDirectly has enabled me to increase my flock from 11 to 20 goats which has been mainly through cash transfers. The cash I received from GiveDirectly in the last quarter, I used $64 to buy more livestock which included a kid,2chicken and a sheep with hopes that when they multiply they will be a reliable investment that I can depend on and also help me meet my emergency needs. Am a farmer rearing livestock for a living and now that GiveDifrectly is here it has become my source of monthly income In addition to buying livestock, $8 of the transfer went to paying school fees for my child who is a nursery school and the rest of the transfers was also used to buy food for my family and also meet their small needs.

In the upcoming year, my objective is to establish a small kiosk selling essential items in my village. I intend to save the forthcoming transfers to realize this goal. The prospect of owning my own business signifies more than just a personal achievement; it represents a source of income that will enable me to provide support for my family. I am content with the progress I have made this far and eagerly anticipate a brighter and more promising future ahead.

Both my wife and I are currently unemployed, and sustaining our lives in the village has posed significant challenges. Before the intervention of GiveDirectly, I worked as a casual laborer, but the prolonged drought brought about numerous hardships, making it difficult to access food and water. The assistance provided by GiveDirectly during this difficult period proved to be a turning point for us. We were finally able to purchase food and pay school fees for our two children. From the transfers received, I allocated $40 to invest in two goats, which will serve as a lasting investment even after the project concludes. Additionally, $38 was directed towards purchasing food as our supplies had run out. Another $10 was utilized to settle a pending school fees debt for one of my children. The remaining amount was invested in buying seeds, aiming to enhance our food security during the planting season amid the ongoing rains in our area. I feel a profound sense of happiness and relief, knowing that many of the challenges we faced have been effectively addressed.

My goal is to expand my business. I have done so much to try and ensure that I do not spend a large part of my transfers on food by tilling and planting these food crops that I hoe to consume with my family. I plan to use my transfers to get more animals which in turn means they will reproduce. this animals even as they grow in number I hope to eventually be able to sell some and reinvest in expanding my shop and add more items for sale.

The best part of receiving Givedirectly transfers has been because its been a lifeline for us. We have experience drought for such a long time and we had become fully reliant on buying food. Without Givedirectly transfers we would not have had an access to food as much as we do now. I always spend a portion of my transfers on food, in April I spent $14 while in May I spent $9 and in June I spent $20. With the rains now being here we are trying to maximise by planting crop, I have planted maize and some legumes and greens and I used $10 on the seeds and paid a transport of $2 to go get them. I also got a Kid goat and a lamb in April and May. The lamb was going for $20 and the goat for $25.

I aim to get additional animals using GD transfers. I have some 10 goats and 15 cows. I have seen that animals are a good investment especially when you are in a financial problem. I want to add further to my flock by buying more goats and chickens. This will remind me of the financial support GD gave and act as an emergency investment for any future needs. Animals reproduce easily, that means that one goat today can be three goats tomorrow. If I am in a financial corner and need of an amount selling a goat gives me $3 which is a lot of money and can help a great deal.

I am a father of 4 with two children at school and two yet to join the school. I have a shop I run to make ends meet. I used to make a good amount from the business, about $8 to $10 per month. This has dwindled over time. The drought has been the biggest contributor to the financial struggles I am undergoing with the business. GD transfers have lightened my burden by helping me meet basic financial needs at home. I have spent my transfers on food $24 in February, $10 in January, and $24 in March. I have also been able to pay school fees of $10 for my two children using my GD transfers. I also was able to buy some chickens and goats using my January and February transfers, I spent $20 in January getting a kid and $10 in February for 2 chickens.

I spent a bigger portion of my most recent transfers on buying adequate food for my family. I have been depending on subsistence farming which ensured that my family never lacked food. Due to the lack of rain for quite some time now, we have not been able to farm. I am also operating a small shop which has been my only source of income as well. However, I had to rely on the transfers since I couldn't fully meet the household needs like food using the proceeds from the shop. The transfer helped me to buy bales of flour for the four months which ensured that I have enough food in my household. Apart from food, I also acquired two goats at Ksh. 4400 which I am currently rearing. I believe livestock keeping is also a good source of income, and I am happy that I added to my animals and are now 18 in number. These are my living assets which I can readily rely on in case of a financial emergency, and also a saving for the future of my children's education.

In comparison to how GiveDirectly and other NGOs in our area work, I hold an opinion that, it ensures that the staffs visit every household during the enrollment period. This helps in eliminating the chances of including none deserving people in the program. In addition, there is no influence even from the community members on who should be enrolled in the program. GiveDirectly, therefore, makes an independent decision based on its selection criteria on who qualifies to receive the cash transfer. It never depends on the opinions of the village elders. I would propose that GiveDirectly consider conducting research by directly visiting the benefiting individuals to evaluate the impact of the program on our lives.

I am a farmer and I take delight in keeping livestock. From the practice of raising livestock such as goats, I have always been able to comfortably buy food for my family. In addition, I least struggle in raising school fees for my children. So when I received the transfer, I opted to spend KES 2,000 on buying an additional goat. Previously I had 16 goats but I am so glad that the number has now increased by 1. Keeping goats not only helps me in meeting my family's needs but also makes me enjoy a high social status in my village. The remaining part of my transfer went into purchasing foodstuff for the family.

I was at the shop waiting patiently to receive customers. My phone rang loudly, and I checked to see the contents of the message. I was very surprised to know that I had received my first transfer. It filled my heart with joy as I grinned from ear to ear.

Investing in an alternative source of income is the biggest difference that the money has made in my life. Once the hens multiply in numbers, I will sell them and use the money to buy goats and attend to my needs. This will help me provide for my family's needs with no struggles.

I own a small shop by the roadside selling food items such as maize flour, sugar, salt, and tea leaves. In recent months, I have experienced a reduced number of customers visiting my shop because of the hike in prices of the food items. This has affected my job and I do not have enough stock in my shop to sell to my customers. It thrilled me upon receiving my first transfer. I spent KES 800 on buying two hens that will serve as an alternative source of income now that my kiosk business is not doing very well. Besides buying the hens, I spent the remaining KES 350 on buying food for my family. Having few customers means little profit and hence I could not buy food for my family.