Over the next year and in the years ahead, I have several goals. Initially, my primary focus is to finalize the construction of our new residence. Looking further ahead, my aspiration is to initiate a business venture that can provide support during our elderly years. I wish to obtain a maize milling machine, plant it in the village to serve a vast neighborhood that normally walks a distance to find one. While I currently lack a well-defined financial strategy, I am hopeful and praying that things will fall into place. If all goes according to plan, we are aiming to prepare the land for planting from January onward, following a previous year of complete crop failure with the hope of reaping a better harvest that would boost our savings towards buying the machine.

I appreciate GiveDirectly's approach of providing unconditional free cash transfers, allowing individuals within households to independently plan how to use the funds. The opportunity to make choices about spending has been invaluable, and the equitable amounts deposited directly into our accounts have made a significant impact in addressing our diverse challenges. From my perspective, the process has been seamless, and I don't see any areas that require improvement. However, my hope is that this kind of support could extend to every individual in the wider community, benefiting others just as it has benefited us.

From 1994 onward, my family of five and I resided in a single house, necessitating constant repairs due to termite-inflicted damages on the walls and the wooden frames in the roof. This had proven costly, and thanks to the cash program, we got the hope of addressing these issues, despite the ensuing financial strain from numerous challenges. Upon receiving the third and final GiveDirectly transfer, I allocated a substantial portion to procuring construction materials, facilitating the ongoing construction of a new house. Notably, I acquired two metric tons of gravel at a cost of $22 for foundation elevation, along with forty iron sheets for $300. Additional expenses, including a $103 fee for transport and labor during loading and unloading, were incurred during the transportation from the shopping center to my doorstep. Previous attempts to build a new house had been hindered by the financial demands, particularly due to my four children's schooling expenses, which involved three in primary and one in secondary school. Given our unreliable income sources of subsistence farming and occasional casual labor, finances have always posed challenges. Furthermore, I obtained a $25 cupboard, which I intend to use for storing utensils, aiming to prevent their breakage as they were previously crowded on a small available table.

In the next one year and beyond I hope to accomplish a lot with the help of GiveDirectly transfers and other savings that I may make thereof. On top of my priority list is to start up a poshomill business where I need to buy the poshomill and install it at a nearby centre. It is a business gao in which I have seen and which I am more than ready and willing to invest towards achieving it. The machine Costs $1300 and I know very well that I will be abe to get this money before the year ends.⁴ to buy and install a posho mill. Years are passing by and I am sure I may not be able to do the th9jgs that I used to do before. I hope to accumulate enough money amounting to Kes 135000. My plan is to save enough through the different merry go round groups and which I hope to get. Right now I am so much preoccupied with paying school fees and once I am done I will be able to do much more

In my opinion GiveDirectly does very well by giving cash and freedom to choose what to do with the money. I had never owned a business in my entire life and this a lone makes me so happy and appreciative of GiveDirectly. Looking at what different people have been able to accomplish makes me and many others so happy. This was very thoughtful of GiveDirectly. I only feel that they should be more 3xhaustive in their enrolments to make sure that none is excluded.

The second transfer is $450 came at a time that I had two of my children joining junior secondary school and secondary school at the same time. I therefore used at least $200 to pay their school fees in full and settled them in school. Had we not received this transfer then we would have been forced to go borrowing some money from a table banking group in which I am part of and later pay back the same in instalments. I then used another $120 to buy food and clothes for my family. We have been facing a serious prolonged drought over the recent past which has rendered our farms quite unproductive. Receiving this money and using it to buy food was such a great relief for me and my six children who look up to me to meet the basic household needs and other wants for them. It was also an opportunity for me to start up a business and we came together with my sister who also received a transfer and started a small business at a nearby center. We right now have a small business to run where we operate a shop and an Mpesa shop as well. Here we make up to $60 per month as profit which we are so much proud of. It is something I have never done in my life and which has even motivated me to dream more and achieve more.

I received a message from GiveDirectly around 4:00 p.m. that I later realized was a confirmation of the first transfer. I was walking home from my farm, where I was tending to the crops. When I got home, I told my spouse and family members, who were delighted. We agreed on a budget and withdrew the entire amount the next day from a nearby shopping center.

The most noticeable difference in my daily life is the availability of food, which has been a struggle in recent months due to the devastating droughts that have dried up our lands. I have three children who are still in primary school, and missing or skipping a meal is difficult for them because they have never understood what it takes to look for money and provide for them on a daily basis. It was still better in the past when we could rely on charcoal production, but the government's ban dashed our hopes and forced us to rely on our farms only when there is enough rainfall and well-wishers.

The severe drought in our region has paralyzed most agricultural activities to the point where we must buy food from the market, in contrast to the last time we could harvest from our parcels of land. Most households in our village prioritize purchasing food with the first transfer, and we were no exception because we were struggling to provide for our children. I spent $110 immediately after receiving the money on two sacks of maize, which I later transported home for $5 from the shopping center. I have a family of nine, and we are currently down to 20Kg maize, which I am afraid will be depleted within the next week. Despite the fact that mangoes have been a source of income, the oversupply in the surrounding market has lowered prices to the point where we no longer have any buyers. I also purchased three bags of cement for $7 each, which will be used to lay the foundation for the construction of a pit latrine. I've already dug the pit, but the construction part remains, which I hope to finish with the subsequent transfer. In addition, we spent the remaining funds on Christmas celebrations, where we purchased a goat worth $45 and new pairs of clothes for my children, who were overjoyed.