My goal for the upcoming year is to undergo proper medical treatment for my hernia, a condition I have endured for many years, limiting my ability to engage in strenuous activities like farming. I am scheduled to have the surgery in May, and I'm hopeful that the funds accumulated through the transfers will cover the expenses. I hope that the surgery will restore my health, allowing me to resume my regular routines with joy. I deeply appreciate the support provided by this project and I cannot express enough gratitude for the kindness shown to me.

Currently, I do not have a job, so my family's main support comes from poultry and livestock farming. Previously,getting food was challenging,and I would sometimes go for two days without eating. Thankfully, my situation has improved thanks to GiveDirectly. With their assistance, I have been able to purchase goats, which I hope will bring in profits once they are ready to be sold. Despite losing many goats during a prolonged drought, I invested $53 to buy three more, keeping them as a safety net for emergency needs. Additionally, I allocated $34 to buy food for my family, as we were running low, and the remaining $5 went towards purchasing essential items like sugar, oil, and tea leaves. I am grateful for this opportunity to better my life, as without it, my situation would have been much worse.

Earlier this year, I received a diagnosis of a hernia, but unfortunately, I have not been able to access the necessary treatment. My primary focus now is to receive the required medical care, which entails undergoing surgery. To financially prepare for this, I have been setting aside a portion of my transfers, and I am optimistic that I will be able to undergo the surgery early next year. Recognizing the importance of my health as my wealth, obtaining treatment is crucial for a swift return to my normal activities. I express my gratitude to GiveDirectly, as they have been a valuable source of support for my family. I cannot thank them enough for their assistance during this challenging time.

The prolonged drought that plagued my village for many years significantly impacted my family, as our livelihood is dependent on farming for both sustenance and income. Living hand-to-mouth, the challenge of obtaining sufficient food became a constant struggle. Fortunately, the timely arrival of the transfers provided much-needed relief during this difficult period, and I am grateful that our circumstances have improved. With the onset of ongoing rains, we have successfully secured enough food to sustain us. Out of the received transfers, I allocated $68 to purchase two goats, which I plan to keep, providing a valuable asset for the future. Anticipating the project's conclusion, I see these goats as a resource to assist me when the need arises. Additionally, I utilized the remaining $34 to settle a school debt for my two children who are still in primary school. Receiving these transfers fills me with happiness and relief, as they give me the the freedom to make choices that positively impact my family's well-being.

I am hopeful that Give Directly will continue providing me with the much-needed cash transfers so that I can focus on treating my health condition. Over the past three years, this ailment has greatly impacted my ability to work and earn a stable income. Unfortunately, the financial constraints I face have made it difficult to access proper medical treatment. Therefore, my primary goal for the next few years is to allocate the cash transfers toward addressing my health issue and regaining my productivity. By receiving the necessary medical care and treatment, I aim to overcome this obstacle. 

The drought that has persisted for three years now has impaired food crop production in my region. Mostly, we survive by buying food and water, which is becoming expensive by the day because of a lack of money. My son, Rashid, shoulders the responsibility of providing for our family of seven by taking up casual jobs in house construction. Sadly, the money he earns is often insufficient to provide daily food for the entire family. When I received the transfer, our household was facing a shortage of maize flour. Consequently, I used the entire $34 to purchase food that lasted us for at least two weeks. Fortunately, since then, my son has been able to provide us with additional food, and we have not missed a meal up to this day.

Currently, my focus is bringing my health back to shape so that I can be able to return to work. However, I lack the necessary resources and finances to cover my treatment expenses. Every penny I get is majorly consumed by the household’s basic needs like food and school fees; nothing is left. Although these financial obligations weigh heavily on me, I trust to have the capacity to save some money from my upcoming transfers to fund my treatment procedures. 

The prolonged drought in my region has hindered farming over the past few years and dried out water ponds. We mostly live on buying food and water. Unfortunately, except for casual jobs in house construction (which rarely come by), there is nothing much I can do to raise funds to provide for my wife and two sons. Besides, I have been unwell for the past year, which has impaired my capacity to leave the house and work. This forced my eldest son to bear the burden of putting food on the table, which is challenging considering the scarcity of house construction tasks. Gladly, ever since I started receiving the cash transfers, they have played an essential role in providing for my family’s basic needs such as food and school fees for my son in primary school. I spent the cash I received in December entirely on food as the household had run out of maize flour. From the most recent transfer, I used $19 to clear a tuition debt, which had been brought forward from last year. I spent the remaining $15 on a goat, with an aim of rearing it. 

I was really excited to receive the transfers because it had actually been three days since my kids had not attended School. Immediately after withdrawing the transaction I went to ahead to pay to KES 1,500 for two of my children and lucky enough the next day they were on their way to resume class. Afterwards I was left with a balance of KES 1,500 which I ended up settling my debts with because I had actually taken a couple of items on loan when we barely had any food in the house.

In my opinion the organisation is really doing a great job because before knowing GiveDirectly starvation was the order of the day a d our children could stay home for days on end due to lack of finances. But since we started receiving the donations from the program our lives have taken a complete positive turn for the better because the challenges have not gone away completely but we are way better off than compared to before.

Actually a day before receiving the transfers from the organisation, two of my children had been kicked out of school due to the fact that they had debts in tuition fee that I was yet to clear because I had no money at that moment. Therefore when the money came in the next day I was honestly very happy because it meant that my children could finally go back to school. I took KES 2,000 and paid for them school fees and the next day they were on their merry way back to school. I was left with about KES 1,000 left on me and since nutrition was quite a challenge due to drought I used the funds to buy seven packets of maize flour.

The message informing me of the transfers arrived about ten in the night and I only noticed I had received money the following morning. I personally cannot read so when I saw the message I asked my son to help translate it and that is when I found out. I was obviously ecstatic about it because I did not expect it at all and I definitely needed the money.

The funds have helped me with catering for education for my children. In the past my children have always been unfortunate and get sent back home due to me failing to sort out the debt. But now I'm hopefully that this situation is about to change because I will ensure that they remain on school this time.

As soon as i received the transfers from this program I decided to save the money because at the time the kids were on holiday because school was closed and one of my biggest challenges ieventuallyncluded paying tuition fee, so I did not want to squander the money yet the kids would resume school soon. As predicted school opened this week and thankfully I had the KES 3,000 that was sent to me by GiveDirectly. I paid KES 1,000 for one of my children and plan on spending the rest of the money which is KES 2,000 to buy my two other children stationery and pay school fees as well so that they do not end up being sent home.