Before GiveDirectly came to our area, I had a small grocery business that provided some income to support my family. Unfortunately, the business collapsed, leaving us without a steady source of income. Now, I want to invest part of my transfer into reviving the business. Life has become very difficult. My spouse works as a motorbike taxi operator, but the little income he earns isn’t enough to sustain us, and he often has to work late into the night to make ends meet. Thanks to the transfers we receive from GiveDirectly, things have improved. These cash transfers have allowed us to start rebuilding and creating a more stable income source. Reviving my grocery business will help us cover essential expenses, including school fees for our children, easing the financial strain on my spouse. In addition to that, we are saving part of our income to buy my husband his own motorcycle, which will give us two reliable sources of income. Currently, he rents the motorbike he uses, which leaves him with very little earnings after paying the rental fees. Owning a motorcycle will significantly improve our financial situation and help us build a more secure future for our family.

When I received my most recent transfer, I spent $68 to buy food for my family. We are currently facing a drought, and access to both food and water has become very difficult. Most of the little income we earn is spent on these essentials. Our livelihood depends largely on farming, but due to the prolonged dry weather, it has become almost impossible. Casual jobs are also scarce. That's why I am deeply grateful to GiveDirectly for their financial support. Without it, we would have continued going to bed hungry, as we did before. With the remaining $34, I paid my child's outstanding school fees, as she had been sent home for the balance. I wanted to ensure she didn't miss any more lessons, so I immediately sent her back to school.

My husband loosing his Job set us behind as a family. Receiving cash transfers allowed us to bounce back and set up something to supplement our income. I am planning to invest this business and allow it to grow much further which will enable me save towards getting my own husband his own Motorcycle which will allow us to have two sources of income which will build our family further.

My husband has been working as a motorcycle taxi rider. the work soon came to an end when the owner of the motorcycle took it and he was forced to get other menial jobs to earn some income. This has made food scarce in our house. Most of the cash I had went into buying food. I spent $43 to buy food for my home. I have also restart my business selling vegetables to provide cash for my home at $25. I was also able to buy a goat at $34 . Having the transfers provided a lifeline for my family.

I ventured into a grocery business, only to face disappointment as people failed to honor their commitments, leaving me with unpaid debts. Determined to turn things around, I've decided to shift gears, save my transfers and use them to pursue a charcoal trading business in a different location, where I won't extend credit to customers. I'm optimistic that this new venture will thrive, allowing me to provide for my family and find fulfillment in my work. This fresh start represents not just a business opportunity, but a chance to rebuild and create a brighter future for my family.

The transfers arrived at a critical moment when my child fell ill and required hospitalization. I am deeply grateful to GiveDirectly for their timely assistance, as I utilized $34 of the transfer to cover my child's medical expenses. Thanks to their support, my child has now recovered and is once again full of joy and energy. Following this challenging time, I allocated $41 to purchase food for my family, providing a much needed sustenance during a period of financial difficulty. My husband's struggles with his bodaboda business was not fruitful as business was very low, making things more difficult at home. Furthermore, I directed $27 towards paying my child's school fees, ensuring that their education remains uninterrupted despite our hardships. The assistance provided by GiveDirectly has been a lifeline for my family during our time of need.

I have a grocery stall that I set up using Givediorectly transfers. My husband is a motorcycle rider. We make a decent living though not sufficient to take care of the roof that needed replacement. The house needed ten of the roof replaced and only 4 are replace that means we have 6 more to buy which will need approximately $60 to buy. My plan is to slowly buy this roofing sheets over a period of time and then repairing the roof entirely. I also have plans of starting a chicken business and I hope to use this transfers to also achieve this goal.

The house I live in has been around for a long while that the roof now has holes in it and leaks. I had been thinking about replacing the roof but buying iron sheets is quite expensive. In October I used $30 of the amount I received to buy three iron sheets to replace part of the leaking roof. I spent the remaining $4 on food. In November I got a goat at $3 and used the remaining $4 on food. December had its misfortunes, my child fell ill and I spent the entire transfer as well as additional money to have them be treated.

I never used to have a source of income before Givedirectly but now I own a vegetable stall in our local place. I started the business using $15 of my transfers and I have been adding to it over a period of time. This has ensured that I can supplement my husband's income who is a Motorcycle rider and earns about $15 weekly. I now am at a point of making $20 monthly as profits. I aim to increase this by investing more on the business. However now I am trying to repair my roof so that I can redirect this funds to expansion of the business once the roof is all done. Through the earnings I hope to educate my children when they join school.

My house has had a leaking roof that makes it unbearable during the rains which have been a blessing to us in terms of food but a curse since our house is leaking on most parts. I needed 12 sheets of iron to replace this roof. In July I got three iron sheets at $30 and 2 iron sheets in August at $20. I also used part of the cash to buy goat in September at $25. Food which is also a key necessity in my house was purchased using this transfers I bought sugar in July at $4, $14 in August and $9 in september.

I want to buy goats, I have a number of chicken and goats which I rear but I want to buy more goats. Goats are much more resilient that even chicken. I want my goats to procreate and multiply so I can sell and get money to educate my children. I have two children who soon will be going to school and I feel the need to be prepared for when they begin school. I also want to put up a grocery shop where I will sell vegetables and get an income as now we depend fully on my husband who is a motorcycle rider.

I had a sick child admitted in hospital. My child had fallen and broken an arm and had been admitted and that is when I received the money. I spent $25 of my March transfers on treatment, I then got food to use at home when we left the hospital. In April I got a bed. I have not had a bed and my Ribs were killing me, I bought a bed at $35 with an additional $1 from my husband's earnings. In may I bought three sheets of iron that we used to repair the roof. Our roof has been leaking and making the home wet whenever it rained, I spent $30 to get the three sheets of iron. I also got sugar that my children can use for breakfast.

In the upcoming years, I want to open a retail store to raise our family's revenue. My spouse, who provides the majority of our family's income, rides a motorcycle for a living. At the end of the day, the commission he receives from it is insufficient to support our needs and the requirements of our two children. I intend to invest the transfers I will be getting in the upcoming months in goat rearing in order to earn the necessary funds to establish the business. I've already purchased ten of them with the prior transfers, and I still intend to buy fifteen more.They reproduce every year, and I anticipate having enough by the following year so that when I sell them, I will have enough money to start the business. He will not have to suffer on his own once the business is up and going since we will work together to support our family.

I am a stay-at-home wife who spends her time caring for the children. My husband works as a motorcycle taxi driver. It is our sole source of income. The money he raises is always insufficient and is only used to buy food. In contrast, we have never been able to invest in livestock keeping as a family. I used the transfer money to buy a goat for $20. We value goats because they reproduce quickly and will help me pay for my two children's school fees, Mariam, who is three years old, and Mohamad, who is one year old. I also spent $10 on food and the rest on water because we are experiencing a serious drought and water is in short supply.

Immediately after I had received my transfer, I spent $25 on buying a goat. I only had four goats then. I had been longing to raise more goats. In my imagination, this is a simple way to invest the transfer from GiveDirectly. Raising goats will help me to raise school fees for my two children; a boy and a girl. They are still young, and I have opted to save through livestock. Because I did not have any food then, I opted to use $5 to buy food because my family had missed food for a day. I am much pleased with GiveDirectly's transfers. I feel life is now better and bearable for us. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly.

GiveDirectly does well in giving direct cash transfers to its recipients. This not only helps in curbing corruption-related cases but also helps the beneficiaries to obtain food and pay school fees for their children. Many from the community where GiveDirectly works can meet their immediate needs. There are positive life changes. For instance, courtesy of GiveDirectly I have begun raising livestock. In my opinion, I have not seen what GiveDirectly does not do well.

Although I have not yet spent my transfer, I am planning to spend my transfer on buying a goat. At the moment, I do not have any goats although I have desired to raise some. I could not start raising goats before because I am a housewife. I fully depend on my husband who does motorcycle riding as his source of livelihood. The household income is too low because he uses someone's motorcycle. Through livestock rearing, I shall be able to comfortably support my children. The rest of the transfer helped me to obtain food for the family.

It was around 10pm at night,when my baby woke me up crying. As I reached over my phone to use it to light up the room so that I can breastfeed her ,I noticed the unread message which was the mpesa message from GiveDirectly. I was happy that night and I looked forward to the next day atleast to buy food with the money because that evening our household ran out of food and my husband was not present to change the situation.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that with my husband working as motorcycle rider it has been challenging to have food on the table.I am not able to work because am still breastfeeding and my children are very young.The funds have created a big impact when it comes to food insecurity. My goal is to use the funds to balance all my needs on monthly basis.Currently I have a plan of building a new house because my old house is smaller (one roomed) and the roof has been leaking I would like to have atleast a two roomed house and keep some livestock. On monthly basis I plan to invest on building materials,food and livestock untill am ready to start my building which I will mainly focus on once am financially stable.

My initial goal of starting chicken rearing business pushed me to spend KES 500 to buy two chicken and at the time the transfers came in ,my child was unwell and I used KES 200 for transport and her medication. The situation back home in terms of food forced me to spend the rest of KES 470 on food which would last atleast for a week for a family of four members.