My goal in the coming year and beyond is to allocate a significant portion of my subsequent transfers to go for more medical checkups. This will help prevent my health from worsening further by catching any problems early. The money will also be used to purchase any medicines prescribed by the doctor. Additionally, I plan to use the funds to buy nutritious food, especially fresh and leafy vegetables and fruits, to help boost my immunity. I am very happy with the financial support, as it is helping me take care of my health.

Old age is fast catching up with me, and I can no longer work to put meals on the table for myself. I heavily depend on close relatives for financial support. This year, my health has seriously deteriorated, adding to the many challenges I already face. Recently, my condition worsened, and I was rushed to the hospital, where I was admitted for two days. I also had to pay for a private doctor to closely monitor my health and ensure it didn't worsen further. I am very appreciative of the financial support that allowed me to cover the hospital bills and the services of the doctor. I spent $68 on my medical expenses and used the remaining $34 to purchase food, ensuring that I could eat healthily. This has greatly contributed to my health improving over the past two weeks. I am truly grateful for the financial support, which has helped me attend to my health despite being unable to work and earn an income for myself.

In the coming year and beyond, my heartfelt focus is on nurturing my health above all else. Despite the challenges posed by my age and fragile state, I am determined to prioritize self-care, seeking the necessary medical attention and nourishment essential for my well-being. Every step, every transfer, will be dedicated to securing the resources needed to sustain and improve my health. My aspiration is not just survival, but to thrive with vitality and resilience, embracing each opportunity to nurture myself and reclaim a sense of strength and vitality.

I have been undergoing some medication for the past three years now. Since I do not have a source of income instead of relying on my grandson who does casual jobs to provide for his family of six and I, life has not been easy. Getting the cash transfers every month has been a great support not only to me but also to my grandson. For the last three recent transfers, out of the $102, I used $60 for medication since I am required to go for medical check-up every month. For the remaining $42, I gave it to my grandson to add with what he gets so that he buys food for us as a family. I am happy that no day passed without us having some meals. I appreciate the monthly transfers as they act as a pillar for my health condition as well as my survival.

In my upcoming transfers, I plan to save diligently with the goal of accumulating sufficient funds to purchase the necessary materials for constructing a new house. The prospect of a new home fills me with a sense of security, alleviating any concerns about safety. It's difficult to fully convey my gratitude for the invaluable financial support I have received, especially during this stage of life where I am unable to generate my own income and rely on my relatives for survival.

Just before the onset of last year's heavy rains, my house developed severe cracks. The subsequent heavy rains exacerbated the damage, bringing the house to the brink of collapse. I have been diligently saving the funds from my transfers with the intention of purchasing new building materials such as iron sheets, building poles, nails, and sisal twine in order to construct a new house before the current one gives way. Given my advanced age, I am no longer able to work and earn an income for myself, and thus rely heavily on my daughter-in-law for assistance with my daily needs. I am extremely grateful for the financial support I have received thus far, as it has been invaluable in helping me meet my requirements.

Investing my upcoming transfers in purchasing livestock, specifically goats, is an idea that greatly appeals to me. This investment holds significant potential for growth as the goats have the ability to multiply within a relatively short period, thereby increasing the value of my initial investment. What makes this investment particularly advantageous is that raising goats does not demand excessive physical exertion. Even an elderly person can successfully raise and care for them, provided they have access to sufficient food. Given these factors, investing in goats is a strategically sound decision for me. I am extremely grateful for the support I have received thus far and the positive impact it has had on my life.

In order to alleviate the physical strain on my aging body, I allocated $15 of my August transfers to hiring individuals who assisted me in weeding my two-acre maize farm. This intervention was necessary as I no longer possess the energy to tend to the farm myself. I am delighted to share that I recently had a bountiful harvest, providing me with an abundance of maize that will sustain me for a considerable period of time. With the remaining $19, I purchased essential food items to sustain myself. Since we had not yet harvested any crops, this money played a crucial role in ensuring that I could purchase maize flour, sugar beans, and tealeaves to fulfill my nutritional needs. The assistance provided by the transfers has greatly benefited me by ensuring my nourishment. As a result, I have significantly reduced my reliance on my son, whose income from selling charcoal is meager. Both he and I are content that I have lightened the burden of depending on him.

I currently do not have a new goal besides having the transfers cover my medical expenses and the frequent check-ups that I have to attend. I am battling hypertension at my old age, and the transfers have been my only hope. Paying for my medication has been easy with the transfers, unlike when I had to rely on my grandson to raise money and was still not able to adequately cater for this, and still had no balanced diet as had been recommended by the doctor.

I spent my recent transfers mainly on buying food and medication. I have been battling hypertension in old age, and my medication has depleted my resources. I sold my livestock to cover the medical expenses, but it wasn't enough. My grandson had given up on my medication, which was also draining him financially since he also has a family to look after and his casual jobs couldn't cover the household needs and my medical expenses. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for the monthly transfers because I have been treated well, on time, and given the necessary medication. Also, getting a balanced diet as prescribed by my doctor has been easy, and I am no longer relying on my grandson anymore. He can now provide adequately for the family since I am assured of being treated.

I was hoping that this year I could use the money to invest in some goats and poultry as well, because with the money I receive, they are affordable as compared to cows. I choose to buy the animals because, personally, I can barely work due to my age, so in case I am stuck financially, they will give me some leverage. I also intend on using the money as well, because throughout the years my kids have been taking care of me, but I'm glad that ever since I got into the program, I can now look after myself without relying on my kids. Apart from that, I am also going to use a part of the transfers to buy myself a couple of clothes because most of the ones I have are worn out and torn .

I am a subsistence and livestock farmer. Following the start of the drought, I lost my only source of income. I am currently dependent on my granddaughter, a shopkeeper. Because of the meager income she receives each month, she has been finding it difficult to provide for me. I saved all my December transfers. To help her take care of these requirements, I'll use the funds to till the ground and get it ready for planting in the wet season. I will plant crops now that the farm is ready in the hopes that the rains will fall so I can have a plentiful harvest when harvest time comes. If there is plenty of food, my granddaughter won't have to work as hard to care for me.

I have always wanted to invest more in buying a couple of farm animals so that it could help me in the future in relation to finances. That is why after receiving the transfers I went ahead and spent KES 2,000 on buying a goat. I was left with about KES 1,000 and with this I decided to spend on nourishment by purchasing five packets of maize flour because at the time there was barely any food in the house.

I am happy that Give Directly is offering us the unconditional transfer as a way of helping the needy in society. The funds are very essential in uplifting the lives of the poor in society. I would recommend that the organization increase their staff members so that all the villagers are enrolled and reduce cases of other people missing out.

Two weeks before receiving the transfer, were the most challenging I have ever faced. I spent most of the days (4 days every week) sleeping on an empty stomach, surviving on water and some wild fruits. I work as a casual laborer selling charcoal. The demand for charcoal within the village is currently low and I spend over two weeks before I sell a single bag of charcoal. Due to a lack of a stable income source, I am forced to reduce the number of meals from three to one per day. Therefore, when I received my transfer of KES 3000, I spent it on buying 12 packets of maize flour, 2kg of sugar, 2kg of beans, and washing detergent for my clothes.

I woke up on the transfer morning shaking from hunger since I had not taken any meal the previous day. Nothing can surpass the happiness I felt when I learned about the arrival of the cash. I was at peace with the fact that my family would finally have food after starving for a whole day and night.

The situation at home has improved since I received the transfer. Purchasing food was the best choice I made. Unlike before when we lacked meals for three consecutive days, since the transfer we never skipped any. I am always grateful to Give Directly for changing the story in my family.

Life has not been easy since I lost my son. He was the chief provider at home who worked day and night to cater to our basic needs like food. At my age, 79 years, it is hard to raise a substantive amount of income to meet the family's necessities. With five children counting on me for provision, I engage in the making and selling of sisal ropes to generate money. However, the business is unreliable due to constantly lacking customers to buy the product. As a result, some days I make nothing, which means no food for the children and me. This is the reason I decided to spend the entire transfer amount, KES 1,200, on food.