In the coming year and beyond, I want to invest more in livestock to secure my family’s future. Currently, I have three goats, but my goal is to grow that number significantly. To achieve this, I have committed to saving $10 every month from my GiveDirectly transfers. With this steady and disciplined approach, I am confident that I can expand my livestock and create a reliable source of income and food for my family. This investment will not only improve our current livelihood but also provide us with long-term stability and opportunities.

I am a widow with five children, and together, we rely on charcoal burning to meet our daily needs. When I received the last three transfers, I saw an opportunity to secure a better future for my family. The first thing I did was invest $20 in a small goat. This goat is more than just an animal; it is a step toward building a sustainable source of income for us. I also used $20 to buy four chickens, knowing that poultry farming will provide eggs for us to eat and sell, adding to our earnings. These investments are small, but they hold great promise for the future. After securing these investments, I saved $30 in a local savings group. This will give me access to financial support when I need it, whether it’s for school fees, emergencies, or expanding my small farming efforts. Finally, I spent $32 on food to ensure my children had enough to eat. Taking care of their immediate needs is as important as planning for tomorrow.

Once this financial aid comes to an end in the future, I want to be in a position where I will have financial security and can totally rely on myself. To achieve this, I want to keep on saving my transfers from GiveDirectly in our local savings group, and once they mature, I will use the money to buy more goats. I am hopeful that these goats will multiply and increase in number and value so that in the future, when I am faced with pressing issues in our family, I may be able to sell them and help my family out. I am glad about this envisioned future that I have, and I am hopeful that I will be able to achieve it so that I may have the financial independence that I have always longed for.

These transfers came in at a time when we needed them the most, as they arrived when I was at the hospital with my daughter-in-law, who was unwell. She had stomach complications and had undergone surgery to rectify the issue. I therefore used $68 to clear the hospital bill, and I am happy that we were discharged, and she is now progressing well, although not fully healed yet. Additionally, I have been saving in our local savings group for livestock farming, and therefore, I saved $10 of my recent transfers so that when it matures, I may be able to use the money to buy goats, hoping they multiply and increase in number and value, and sell them in the future when in need. Still on livestock, I spent another $10 to buy chicken, hoping that they too will multiply and increase in number and value, and I can sell them to buy more goats. Also, to ensure that we did not go hungry, I spent $10 to buy food for my family to stay healthy. Finally, I spent the remaining $4 to buy soap for cleaning ourselves and maintaining hygiene and neatness.

In the upcoming months, my aim is to buy a mattress. Having a mattress will ensure I can sleep peacefully and comfortably. Additionally, I'd like to invest in purchasing more livestock. Right now, I have three goats, and I want to increase their number. These animals will be valuable for generating income, even after the financial aid ends in five years. I'm grateful for the financial support; it has significantly improved my life and made me better off.

I depend mainly on farming and doing odd casual jobs, like making and selling charcoal, to earn a living. When the weather is hot, I hardly sell any charcoal, so I use the money I earn from other jobs to buy food. Last month, I spent $44 on food, which included sugar, maize flour, wheat flour, and tea leaves. My family had plenty to eat, and we never went to bed hungry. I joined a savings group with six members. Each of us contributes $10 every month. The money is given to one member to use for projects to improve their life. In February, I received $60, and with some extra money I got from my other jobs, I bought a bed for $46. I saved the rest of the money so I can buy a mattress in the next few months. My old bed was made of sisal, but it was hard to repair because sisal is scarce. So, I decided to buy a wooden bed instead. I also bought some new clothes for my stepdaughter so she could look neat. I spent $8 on buying two hens, which I think is a great investment because they will multiply, and I can sell them later for a good profit. I'm thankful for the financial support I've received from my other jobs so far.

My immediate focus is on securing a more comfortable sleeping space. I aim to switch to a decent wooden bed and a mattress, which would require at least $100. My current bed is made of sisal ropes and while I have survived sleeping on it for many years, it can be very uncomfortable to sleep on. Knowing that I cannot raise this amount at once, I have been contributing $20 each month to a merry-go-round club to receive a lump sum amount later that will allow me to buy the furniture.

From the recent transfers, I used $10 to buy two chickens and $25 to purchase a goat. My intention is for them to reproduce so that after the cash transfers end, I can have a source of funds for my needs. Due to the heavy continuous rains, my house was on the verge of collapsing. I allocated $15 to buy building poles to repair the part of the walls that were collapsing. Additionally, I repaid a debt of $5 to my neighbor, as I had borrowed money from her to go to the hospital when I was sick. From previous transfers, I contributed $20 to my merry-go-round club. My goal in participating in the group is to accumulate enough money to buy a new bed and mattress. Currently, I sleep on a sisal-twined bed, which is uncomfortable, and I wake up fatigued every day. The remaining $27 was used to buy food. My son, who relies on charcoal making, is the sole provider for his family of three children and me. I am grateful that I can now confidently contribute to buying food and relieving him of the burden.

For some time now, I've been sleeping on a sisal twine bed, which has been causing discomfort and resulting in back pains. To improve my overall comfort and sleep quality, my objective is to invest in a new mattress and a wooden bed. Additionally, my current house is showing signs of wear and tear, with a few indications that it might collapse in the near future. Therefore, I am determined to save up and purchase building materials to construct a new house before the current one becomes uninhabitable.

Relying on my son, who works as a casual laborer selling charcoal, has become essential for our livelihood. With the size of our family, he faces tremendous challenges in making ends meet for all of us due to the meager income he earns from his job. Providing for the family has become a significant struggle for him. To alleviate some of his burdens, I decided to utilize $14 from my July transfers to purchase food for our household. This should sustain us until he can earn enough to buy our next meal once the supplies deplete. Additionally, I invested $10 in purchasing two hens, as I have aspirations of venturing into livestock farming and eventually establishing a livestock-selling business. This would create a steady income stream to meet our essential needs. The remaining $10 has been saved and will play a crucial role in achieving my goal of expanding the herd by acquiring more livestock in the future.

All my life, I have been sleeping on a sisal-twined bed. Honestly, the experience is not one to die for at all, as I wake up every morning feeling fatigued. To be graced with a financial assistance program that helps settle my daily needs is similarly an ideal chance to upgrade my lifestyle. Right now, I want to have a change in my sleeping space. I would be happy if I obtained a decent wooden bed with a fitting mattress to enjoy comfortable night rests. After this is granted, I wish to continue with my practice of acquiring more goats as an investment. 

My co-wife and I have been peacefully coexisting ever since our husband passed away. Since most of our children are grown up and can fend for themselves, we only have to provide for our needs, which is mostly food. However, securing the food is a hardship we have battled for a long time since we lack a reliable source of income. To contribute to the needs, I sometimes burn charcoal, which barely earns enough for regular meals. In fact, we had gone to bed hungry the night before the cash transfers, which prompted me to spend $9 on food. At least, it served us for the following four days. I also bought a goat with the remaining $25. As much as my household was in a desperate hunt for food, I believed it was crucial that I secured the goat as well. This is because owning this animal will double my wealth when it reproduces. It is then that I can sell it to make more money for food. If I focused on eating alone, I would not go far in terms of growth and development. 

Being a part of this program truly seems like an honor, and I applaud the organization for the outstanding work and generosity we have already experienced, which have improved the quality of our everyday life. My objective for this year is to make sure that, like last year, I use the funds to purchase a few farm animals. I'm excited to have more animals now that I've used the money to buy three goats and four hens. This is a wise investment for my future because it will serve as both a memento of the help I received after the project is finished and a source of funding should I ever need it. I also intend to purchase a mattress and a bed as I have been sleeping on a typical sisal bed for more than two years, which can be rather uncomfortable. Last but not least, the money will be useful for financing my grandsons' tuition since my daughter is a single parent who barely makes enough to take care of their basic necessities.

As a widow, I am the immediate person on whom my family relies to provide for their needs. To cover these necessities, my primary source of income is charcoal burning. Since many people in my region over-rely on the practice for survival, there aren't many trees left to cut down. Only tree stumps are accessible, which are difficult to dig and split to make charcoal. Because of the physical demands of the activity, producing the end product might take up to three weeks. Even after waiting so long, the most I can make is $5, which is barely enough to feed my family of eight for two days (my daughter, sister-in-law, and her 5 children). As a result, hunger is a huge concern in the household. We had starved for two days before the transfer, and I spent $6 on food and $1 on clean water. I spent $25 on a goat, and I'm delighted I now have three goats as a result of the transfer. I desire to let them multiply and grow the herd so that when I sell them, they can cover my needs in the future. Finally, I paid $2 for medicine because I had been sick with Malaria for the entire week. Though I am not fully recovered, my condition is improving thanks to the transfer.

Give Directly works well in assisting us in putting food on the table through transfers. With hunger being our most pressing problem, the organization plays a critical role in eradicating it, for which I am grateful. From my perspective, there is nothing wrong with how Give Directly functions. 

As the family's breadwinner, I rely on charcoal to make ends meet. Due to the low market demand, I only make KES 1200 per month, which barely covers the family's basic needs such as food. When things get tough, I'm forced to take maize flour on credit from the store, promising to repay later. So, when I received the transfer, I spent KES 500 on food and water. I spent the KES 2,500 on a goat. The plan is to let it multiply and then sell the offspring to fund my basic needs.

That morning, I had reached rock bottom in terms of raising money for food.   I was absolutely delighted to receive my transfer because I had woken up with nothing in my pocket. In fact, I had slept hungry the previous night. The money gave me hope that my family would have something to eat that day. 

Since Give Directly enrolled me to the cash aid program, my goal was to purchase chickens using the first transfer. Accomplishing this mission is the greatest difference in my life right. The cash transfer kickstarted my journey of rearing chicken and I could not be happier. My main intention is to sell them when they reproduce to make money that will help meet my needs.

When my husband passed away, he left the mantle of looking after the family to me.  Life has been difficult because I do not have a steady source of income or a job that will allow me provide for my children. The only thing I rely on to make money is burning charcoal and selling it. Also, because of the low demand, it may take a month to sell two sacks of charcoal, which only generates KES 600. This income is extremely unreliable in meeting the needs of my family. In fact, the day before the transfers, my family had run out of food. So, I spent the transfer primarily on food and sanitary necessities worth KES 700. I used the remaining funds to buy two hens in the hopes that they will reproduce and expand the flock. Selling the chickens will generate funds to assist me in meeting my financial obligations.