Looking ahead, my ambition is to establish a livestock venture, focusing particularly on goats that I can later sell to generate a profit. With the completion of my house construction, my plan is to save the subsequent transfers to accomplish this goal. Establishing my own source of income holds the promise of reducing my dependence on my son, thereby providing him with some financial relief. I eagerly anticipate a positive and fulfilling year ahead, and I am delighted to be part of this transformative change.

For many years, I've faced challenges with my legs, hindering my ability to work and earn a living. As a widower, I rely solely on my son to meet all my needs. Financial constraints were a constant in my life until the coming of this project, marking a significant improvement in my circumstances. Previously confined to sleeping outdoors, I am now pleased to have built a four-roomed house, all made possible through the support of these transfers. This newfound sense of security and stability is something I attribute to GiveDirectly. From the transfers received, I allocated $68 to clear a debt with the builders who carried out the construction work, and the remaining funds were used to purchase food for Christmas festivities with my family. I express my heartfelt gratitude to GiveDirectly for giving me the opportunity to finally own my home.

Now that we have harvested maize, and I am confident that it will provide enough food for my family in the coming months, my focus has shifted towards investing the cash transfers in livestock, particularly goats. I am grateful to have acquired four goats through previous transfers, although I believe I could have had more if not for financial constraints, such as the need for food. My goal is to accumulate wealth by raising livestock and having the option to sell these animals in times of need to provide for my family. This would include assisting with the tuition fees of my four grandchildren. I am eager to do so to alleviate the burden on my son, who earns income through casual labor at the coffee factory, which is insufficient to cover all his children's basic needs.

Upon receiving the cash transfer, I immediately addressed the pressing issue of insufficient food that my household was facing. At that time, our food supply was running low, and my son, who is the primary breadwinner, had not yet sent money home to assist with acquiring more food. He works as a casual laborer in a coffee production company, and the majority of his income goes towards his four children's education, leaving only a small portion for food. In light of this, I decided to use the cash transfer to purchase food that would sustain our family until our maize crops were ready for harvesting. I am happy that during those weeks, we did not experience any food shortages, thanks to Give Directly.

For the last three years, I had to cease my farming operations due to the insufficient rainfall, which left me with a lot of free time at home, feeling bored and unproductive. However, I invested my initial funds in purchasing livestock such as goats, which are well-suited to withstand the adverse climatic conditions in our area. I am hopeful that I can leverage this opportunity to generate additional income by buying and selling these animals at profitable rates in the market.

Exciting news! The rains have finally arrived, after a long wait. Due to the scarcity of rainfall in the past three years, I have been unable to plant on my farm. However, this season offers hope that I can resume my work and generate income. I rely on my son, who works as a casual laborer in Nairobi's construction sites, but he faces the challenge of low wages that can't cater to both of us. Upon receiving my April transfers, I saved $25 to prepare my land for planting. This involves digging up hard soil, spreading manure, and weeding out weeds. I'm thrilled and optimistic about a bumper harvest with abundant rainfall. Alongside setting aside money for planting, I spent $9 of the remaining amount to purchase food, which brings me peace, knowing I won't go to bed hungry.

In the next year, I would like to have grown my herd of three goats to 15. This will provide me enough wealth to sell and generate school fees for my two grandchildren who are currently in grades seven and six. Their parents, who operate a small food point in the village, struggle to raise sufficient school fees for the children. It would relieve me to have the capacity to support them to that level. Besides, education is the best solution the children will have to end the hardships in the household.

I am completely dependent on my son, a town-based casual worker, due to my advanced age. I practice farming on my 1/8-acre plot of land at the back of the house during the rainy season. The land is large, but I can no longer till the entire thing because I am weak. I can no longer grow any crops due to the ongoing drought, so I must completely rely on my son's financial support to purchase food. A two-kilogram bag of maize flour costs $2, up from less than $1 last year, indicating the high cost of the commodities. I am forced to sleep on an empty stomach, purchase food from the store on credit, or borrow money from kind family members when my son fails to send me money. So when I got my transfer, I used it all to stock up on food. I purchased sugar, salt, green gram, tea leaves, and twelve 2 kg packets of maize flour. I had enough food to last me for more than three weeks. My son, who provides for me, was delighted and relieved of the need to send me money every day.

Due to my advanced age, I cannot take on strenuous activities to provide for the family. Therefore, I rely on my son, who works as a water hawker in Mombasa, to fund my basic needs, particularly food. I have always wished to relieve the responsibility burden he bares by occasionally supporting the family as well. The best way through which this seems possible to me is through livestock rearing. By the time I received the cash transfer, I owned a goat that I previously bought using money given by Give Directly. I decided to obtain another goat worth KES 2,000 with the recent funds to increase the herd. Since hunger is terrifically prevalent in my household, given the prolonged drought and poverty, going without food is no news. My family had starved for an entire day when I received the cash transfer. That is why I used the remaining transfer on food that lasted us at least a week. .

GiveDirectly in my opinion is one of the best organisations I have ever encountered and this comes with consideration of the unconditional cash transfers they donate. There has been great, clear and deliberate change in our lives. We were living in quite poor conditions and constant starvation but through this program that had completely changed.

When I received the transfers from the organisation, I decided that I would use most part of it to buy a goat. This is because I wanted to grow my farm by having more farm animals. I would have opted for a cow but they were quite expensive compared to goat. On the other hand the goats were much easier to sell as well. I planned to rear and ensure that the goat produces so that incase of any financial emergency I could sell the goats and get the money. The goat cost me KES 2,500 and I used the remaining balance of KES 500 to purchase a kilogram of sugar and three kilograms of beans.

I was in my house resting and hoping that my son who works in town will send me money to buy food as I had eaten nothing since the previous day. My daughter-in-law, who was having my phone, rushed into the house, calling my name. She informed me I had received my first transfer from GiveDirectly. Immediately, I woke up and knelt down, and thanked the Lord for the gift. Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks as hugged my daughter-in-law. After the brief session of displaying happiness, I requested her to go withdraw the funds and buy food.

Before receiving the money, I would spend several days (minimum of 3 days in a week) sleeping hungry with nothing to eat. I resorted to buying food on credit and sometimes the shopkeeper would refuse to sell me the food until I clear the debt I owed. I am happy that after receiving the transfer I bought food in bulk and I have added some weight because of good eating habits thanks to the transfers. Buying the food is the biggest difference that the transfer has made in my life. 

My life since becoming a widow has not been all rosy. I have faced a lot of challenges in providing basic needs for myself. These challenges result from not having a job. I currently depend on my son, who works as a casual laborer on a construction site in Mombasa. Due to the unpredictable nature of his job, he does not work daily, limiting his income. When this happens, I am affected because I am left with no option but to either skip meals or sleep hungry until he can secure a job. When I received my first transfer, I spent it all on purchasing food and water for my own home use. Water is a scarce commodity in our area because of the drought. As a result, I have to buy the water from vendors at very high prices.