In the coming months, I plan to use the remaining transfers to pay the required labor fees to finalize the construction of the house. Once the house is fully completed, my next goal is to start a kiosk business. Establishing this business will diversify my income sources and provide me with additional financial stability to support my family. I am already a member of a savings group and intend to save more once the house is complete, so I can accumulate enough capital to launch the business next year. I am deeply appreciative of the support from GiveDirectly, which has empowered me to make significant strides towards my goals, especially rebuilding my home and planning for a more secure financial future.

A few months ago, my house collapsed after a very heavy windstorm swept through our village, leaving me and my family homeless. As a temporary solution, I quickly put together a makeshift structure to shelter us from the harsh weather conditions we faced, especially during the night. The collapse of my house was a significant setback, and I knew I had to act fast to rebuild a proper home for my family. Given that my job as a house construction worker does not provide a stable or sufficient income, the financial support I received through the GiveDirectly transfers became crucial in helping me start the process of rebuilding. I used $60 from the transfers to purchase building poles, which were essential for starting the construction of a new house. I recently began building a three-room house, and I have partially constructed the roof. Although I still need to complete a small portion of the roof, I’m pleased that I’ve made substantial progress. For now, my family and I have moved into one of the completed rooms as I work to finish the rest of the house. Additionally, I allocated $42 to pay school fees for my three children. This ensured they could remain in school and continue their education without interruptions, which brings me immense satisfaction and joy. Seeing them attend school every day and focus on their studies motivates me to keep pushing forward despite the challenges. I am incredibly grateful for the financial support, which has been instrumental in helping me rebuild my home and ensure my children's education continues smoothly.

Once I have completed the construction of our new three-bedroom house, I plan to utilize the remaining transfers from GiveDirectly to further secure my family's future. My primary focus will be on ensuring my children's education remains uninterrupted by consistently paying their school fees. Additionally, I intend to start a small shop business where I will sell household consumables. This entrepreneurial venture will provide me with a sustainable financial net, allowing me to reliably take care of my family's needs in the long run. By investing in both my children's education and my own small business, I am laying the foundation for a more prosperous and secure future. The transfers from GiveDirectly have been instrumental in enabling me to take these crucial steps towards achieving my goals.

After my home was swept away by strong winds, I have been living in a makeshift structure. However, my dream has always been to build a proper three-bedroom house for my family. To this end, I spent $38 of my transfers on building materials, and I am thrilled with the progress I am making in constructing our new home. Ensuring my children's education remains uninterrupted is also a top priority. I allocated $45 to pay their school fees, allowing them to continue their studies without disruption. Finally, with the ongoing hunger crisis and our food stores depleted, I used the remaining $19 to purchase food for my family, ensuring they do not go hungry during this difficult time. The transfers I have received have been instrumental in enabling me to take these crucial steps towards rebuilding my family's home, securing their education, and providing for their basic needs. This support has been a lifeline, allowing me to work towards a more stable and prosperous future for my loved ones.

Currently, my family and I live in a makeshift house that is not sufficient or safe to live in. My top objective for this year is to construct a proper house for us. To achieve this goal, I plan to diligently save the transfers I receive until I accumulate a substantial amount to purchase the necessary materials. A better living space not only ensures our well-being but also allows us the dignity of hosting guests in our home. This assistance has been instrumental in enabling me to strive towards improving our living conditions and providing a better environment for my loved ones. I am deeply grateful for the support I have received this far.

Working as a casual laborer at construction sites has been my means of providing for my family of six. Previously, I relied on selling charcoal for income, but the ban on this trade significantly strained our financial situation. However, the arrival of GiveDirectly brought about a positive change, ensuring a steady additional income for us. I am particularly grateful for this support as it enabled me to undergo successful hernia surgery at Mariakani Hospital, facilitating my swift recovery and return to normal activities. With $34, I bought food and other necessities for the Christmas and New Year festivities, ensuring our family could celebrate joyously. Additionally, I used another $34 to enroll my son at Viragoni Secondary School, providing him with the necessary uniforms and books. The remaining $34 was allocated to pay school fees for my younger children in primary school. I am immensely grateful for how this project has not only impacted my life but also brought positive change to my entire community.

I am hopeful that our upcoming harvest will be bountiful, as this will pave the way for me to pursue my ambition of venturing into cattle farming. My plan is to accomplish this objective by selling my goats and using the proceeds to acquire cows, which I will raise and subsequently sell when they reach maturity. This livestock venture promises to significantly improve my income, providing much-needed stability amidst the unpredictable nature of casual labor jobs. I find great satisfaction in the progress I've achieved thus far.

I have been working as a casual laborer on construction sites, but I have experienced inconsistent work opportunities these past few years. This has posed a significant challenge in supporting my family of five, especially with school-going children who rely on me for their education and daily upkeep. However, I am grateful that GiveDirectly has brought a significant change into our lives. So far, I have directed $50 towards settling pending school fees debts that were essential for my children to complete their education. The remaining $62 was allocated to the purchase of food and other household essentials, a necessity as we faced the repercussions of a disappointing harvest season. GiveDirectly has truly been a blessing to my family, uplifting our living standards in remarkable ways.

Given that my old house was destroyed by the recent heavy rains, my main objective is to secure a new house for my family. The urgency of this need has made it a top priority for me. Despite having a lofty goal, the constant struggle with hunger prevents me from allocating funds towards anything else. In the meantime, I built a temporary shelter using the iron sheets I had available before I fell sick and stopped working four months ago. With the ongoing planting season, there is hope for a successful harvest, which will enable me to use part of the cash transfers along with the small assistance from my daughter to build a more suitable and permanent shelter. My goal is to have a two-room house with mud walls and an iron sheet roof. While I would have preferred a house with concrete block walls, my financial reach does not allow for it at the moment.

In February of this year, I fell ill and had to undergo surgery, which prevented me from working in the house construction industry where I usually find casual labor. At the moment, I am unable to do much, but there is hope that in the next three months, I may be cleared and able to resume such tasks. Currently, my main source of income to meet our basic needs is the cash transfers. Although my daughter, employed as a shopkeeper, occasionally helps us, her income is not enough to cover all our expenses. With the recent cash transfer, I decided to allocate the first $24 to provide meals for my family. Thanks to the transfers, we were able to alleviate hunger and have food at least once per day. I then used the remaining $10 to contribute toward my three children's education costs. Unfortunately, the amount I paid was not sufficient to cover the outstanding fees, and one of my children has been sent home today.

We have not experienced rain for nearly five years. All plants and wells have dried up, making it difficult to even procure food.The money we get we usually think of getting food to sustain ourselves. The only thing I pray for is that it rains so that I will be able to save enough money and start my own business. The fact that it is not raining, is limiting my saving policy and hence delaying my business plan. I want to open a big shop where I will be selling flour, drinks and even clothes to deal with a variety of products and ensure I make enough profit to support my family and keep it moving.

Due to my current situation, my wife currently provides for our family financially. I had surgery because of a hernia ailment I had that weakened my joints and made me sleep almost the whole day. The only thing that gives me hope is the monthly transfers that I normally receive and the fact that God is always there to provide for all my needs. The moment I received my transfers, I decided to buy food for my family using $12 and water at $3 in order to relieve my wife of some burden. The remaining amount of $19 I took and paid my children's school fees. It really made my children happy and proud to be in school and study just like their mates are.

I am currently bedridden due to Hernia. My wife who has a grocery shop is currently the breadwinner of the family. Before I succumbed to the illness I was working at a masonry getting a pay of $6 a day. I have five children, four are in school and one is married. It has been hard for me to work because of the pain. Paying school fees has been a problem so we had an arrangement with the school head teacher to be providing timber for the school which would be reduced from my daughters' fees. Receiving this money has made it easy for me to buy food for my family without straining my wife.

Drought has impacted us in the most terrible way, especially considering that most of us were farmers and relied on the harvest essentially to ensure nourishment for ourselves and our families. That is why when I finally realised the donation had been sent out, I ended using KES 2,000 by purchasing ten packets of maize flour since we barely had any food and the kids needed a meal. Then I ended using the balance of KES 1,000 that remained and paid school fees for my two children because it had been a week since they had attended class.

GiveDirectly is doing well by providing this funds because personally it has not been easy for me to provide for my family.I am unemployed and suffering from hernia and high blood pressure.My health issues are making it even difficult to secure a job.I am very happy that I was enrolled in this program because with the monthly transfers am able to meet domebof my basic needs

I am a small scale farmer who rely on farming and lately it been a dry season which left all the farmer with no harvest.I spent KES 2000 of my transfer to pay my daughter's school trip and and used the remaining KES 1000 to buy food for the rest of the family at home.My biggest challenge has been food because I rely so much on the maize farm I have.

This is a great project. Even though the money is not much, it has helped in boosting my finances. When I received it, I was working at the construction site. My shift had just begun and since I needed the day's wage too, I continued with my work. Once I was done, I collected my pay then I headed home to share with my wife the great news. Since we never had any food in the house at that time, she went out to buy some for the family. That was the day we had a decent meal as a family. I felt blessed.

Providing a meal for my family is my main priority. After this is to renovate my antiquated house. To accomplish this, I plan on joining a Chama, borrow a loan of KES50000 that I will repay using the funds I will be receiving from give directly. So currently, I have not seen much difference other than the food provision for my family. However, I believe in the near future, there will be a notable difference in my life.

I have four school-going children. A form three, a class eight, a class six, and a class four. Their total school fee arrears were KES12600. Often, they would be sent home due to it so I am forced to take them back so I could convince the headteacher to allow them to continue with their classes. The most earnings I can get from my work as a handyman at a construction site is KES1000 weekly. On my bad weeks, my wife would help out with the earnings she gets from her scarf selling business where a scarf earns her a profit of KES50. Since I had no food in the house, when I received the funds from give directly, I used KES1000 for food purchases and the remaining KES200 to reduce my children's school fee arrears.