My primary goal is to expand the businesses I currently operate: selling vegetables and small fish. By next year, I plan to kickstart this goal, and I am confident that I will make it a reality. I intend to achieve this dream by using my saved profits and a portion of the monthly transfers I receive. Although the business has been unstable for a while due to financial constraints, I remain hopeful that things will improve once I secure enough capital to expand. I believe the profits I will earn from an expanded business will be enough to support my family comfortably. This includes paying school fees for the two children still in school, ensuring their education continues uninterrupted.

My husband passed away 15 years ago, leaving me with four children to care for. It has been a tough journey, as I relied solely on selling vegetables and small fish in my village to make ends meet. Life was particularly challenging because I had no support from my in-laws or any other family members. When my husband died, all our children were very young, and I was seven months pregnant with our last born. Despite the struggles, I am grateful that my children are now teenagers. However, food insecurity has been an ongoing challenge for us. The persistent drought in our region has made farming unproductive, leaving us with little to no harvest. There have been days when we had to go to bed hungry, which has been heartbreaking, especially for me as a mother, watching my children endure the pain of hunger. To address this, I used $94 from the transfers to buy enough food to sustain my family for a while. Since stocking up our kitchen, it has been rare for us to go to bed on empty stomachs, and for that, we are truly thankful. Additionally, I used $8 to purchase two chickens, which I am now keeping as assets. These chickens will provide a safety net in case of any future emergencies.

My goal for this year is to restart my business selling vegetables and omena. It has been unstable for a while due to financial constraints, but I am hopeful that things will get better. Having a business that provides a steady source of income will significantly boost my family's finances. I plan to use my transfers to revive this venture in the near future. I am deeply grateful for the support my family has received so far. Restarting this business will not only improve our financial situation but also provide stability and security. I look forward to a brighter future and the opportunities it will bring for my family.

I engage in casual jobs to sustain myself and my four children after my husband passed away many years ago. We experienced many difficulties before, as we had no money to buy food, and I could not afford to educate my kids. Since GiveDirectly came into our lives, we have witnessed positive changes. We can now eat well, and my kids can comfortably go to school. I have also invested in goats, and I am happy to say that our situation has improved. From the transfers I received, I paid $25 in school fees to clear a debt. Then, I bought food, oil, and soap worth $53, as we had run out of these essentials. The remaining amount was spent on purchasing a goat, which I will keep and sell later if a pressing need arises. Being a recipient fills me with immense happiness, and my family and I are deeply grateful for the support.

I've decided to keep a few sheep and goats as an investment for future financial needs, such as school fees. Initially, I was running a business selling vegetables and omena, but unfortunately, I fell ill and had to use the business funds for medication. However, in the upcoming year and beyond, I aspire to restart that business by using my monthly transfer to invest in it. Having a business not only provides a source of daily income but also contributes significantly to supporting the family financially. Therefore, revitalizing this venture is my goal for the coming year and beyond. In the pursuit of restarting my business, I'm determined to overcome the setbacks I faced due to illness. With careful planning and dedication, I aim to rebuild the business and ensure its success. Having a steady source of income from the business will not only alleviate financial pressures but also provide stability for my family. As I look forward to the future, I am committed to turning this aspiration into a reality, securing a better financial standing for my family in the years to come

Life has become challenging since my spouse passed away, leaving me solely responsible for our family. With four children attending school, managing their fees has been particularly tough. I'm immensely grateful to Give Directly for their financial assistance, which has lightened this burden. The income from my farming endeavors now goes further, aiding us in meeting our family's needs. Over the past few months, we've faced food shortages due to prolonged drought. Therefore, I allocated $88 from my recent transfer to purchase food for our family's consumption. Additionally, I set aside $9 to buy two chickens for rearing and $5 for a new uniform for my son, as his old one no longer fits. Every dollar is precious in these times of scarcity, and we're doing our best to ensure our survival

I run a small stall selling homemade soap, sardines, tomatoes and vegetables. I depend on this business to take of my family as I am the sole provider for my home. My business does not make enough yet to feed and school my children. I depend on my transfers for school fees. My aim is to ensure all my children get an education to give then a chance to compete in the world. I also plan to expand on the business that is taking care f my family's needs which will help increase what I make from the business.

I am a single mother of four. All my children are school going with one in secondary three in primary school. Paying there school fees is usually a priority for me. I bought uniform in November for them at $10 and bought them shoes at $8. I also saved $14 of my December transfers to be used in January for school fees. I am also working on increasing the number of animals I own, I bought a goat at $30 October and 3 chicken at $6 in November.. I spent the rest of the money on food, In October $4, in November $10 and $20 in December.

As I said I have three school going children and one child who is done with school and is now at home. My plan is ensure they finish school and are fed. My business does not earn much and that means I will be to huge extent reliant on Givedirectly transfers to meet this needs. I hope to also buy a few animals to help me build savings for tough days to come since I believe the programs will come to an end as we had been informed.

I am a widow with 4 children, three of which are school going. I am the sole provider of my home. I sell local fish which do no make much of an income since the purchases are dependent on whether the villagers feel the need to purchase food. Givedirectly has been my helping hand in providing for my children. I spent $20 in July, $20 in September to pay school fees for the three school going children. I have also used portions of this transfer on food, In July I spent $14 and the same amount in September. In August I got a goat at $30 and a chicken at $4.

As I said earlier I am a single mother with four children and the burden of taking care of them can sometimes be overwhelming. I am not employed and only sell small fish as a way of making ends meet. I do not make much from this since the business is really small. I wish I had a sustainable business which I could use as a source of income. I do not have a definite business yet to which I would wish to venture but my hope is with subsequent transfer I will be able to set up shop and also buy a couple more animals as an investment.

I am a mother of four children and I am a single parent. I lost my husband some time ago and was left as the sole breadwinner of my family. I thank Givedirectly for the transfers they provided as they allowed me to take care of school fees and food for my family. I spent $15 in March and April on school fees and in May I got two new uniforms for two of my children at $20. I also used $15 in March and April for food while I used $10 in May since most of the funds went into taking care of uniforms for my children. I was also able to buy chicken with the remaining $4 in March and April at $2 each. In May I bought some soap and body oil for the children to ensure they went to school well kept.

My hope is that my four school-age children, who all depend on me, have the best education possible. They shouldn't remain at home while others are in class or doing homework, in my opinion. So going ahead, my objective is to make sure their tuition is paid on time. In addition, I intend to start raising sheep as an investment with the intention of selling some of the offspring in the future to produce cash for our household needs as well as the children's future school expenses.

I recently received a transfer, and at the time, my four elementary-aged children were returning to school for the start of a new school year. I therefore spent $40 at school for the coming year's costs. I spent $20 on four chickens that I am raising with the intention of selling some of them in the future in order to increase my household's income. In addition, I spent an additional $42 on food that would last us for a while. Since my spouse passed away three years ago, I have been taking care of our four children's needs. We could not survive on the $30 a month I make as a waitress, therefore I consider myself fortunate to be a part of the program.

In my four-child household, I am the only source of income. Five years ago, my spouse died after a brief illness. I have a modest business in the village where I sell "Omena," which enables me to provide for my family (paying school fees, buying food and clothing). The business is now experiencing a downturn, which is mostly due to the challenging business situation. I am unable to pay all of my expenses on time with the meager income from my tiny business. My three children, who are in classes eight, six, and four, respectively, were sent home as a result of unpaid school fees. Therefore, when I received my transfer, I used half of the KES 1500 transfer to partially settle the KES 2000 debt they owed the school. They were allowed to return after spending three days at home after I paid the fee. We hardly had any food left in the house, so in addition to paying my children's overdue school fees, I also used the remaining money to buy food.

GiveDirectly, in my opinion, does a good job of sharing key and very important information with all of its potential recipients during the sensitization period. The information is critical for each of us to make informed decisions free of coercion. Furthermore, it provides financial assistance that is one-of-a-kind and is intended to promote development and alleviate extreme poverty in our community. Our children will be able to attend school, we will be able to afford food, and we will be able to start new businesses, which we could not do before.

Because my family has been in constant need due to a lack of a reliable source of income, I spent KES 500 from my transfer on food. To ensure food supply continuity, I also decided to invest KES 1,500 in a business that sells fast-moving food items. I am glad that as a result of it, I have been able to raise at least KES 100 per day, which helps to support my family in obtaining daily meals. Because my three children had been notified about school fees and I had some arrears, I chose to spend KES 1,000 to pay off the school fees arrears that I had. I am grateful that the transfers helped me to a great extent, thus relieving me money related stress.

I was at home at around 3 pm during the day. It was a slow day, and I got home early and was disappointed somehow. My phone notified me of a message and, reluctantly, I asked my daughter to check the message. With excitement and happiness written on her face, she informed me of the GiveDirectly funds. My spirit was lifted and we went together to withdraw the cash and spend the money on food. It was a blessing because I had nothing to eat with my family on that day.

The difference in my daily life since I received these funds is having food for my family because most of the days we sleep hungry or forced to buy food on credit. My challenge is the charcoal burning business is quite tedious and competitive in my area, which affects my flow of income. I am planning to start a small business of selling sardines with KES 500 and educating my children with the monthly support program.

I am a widow and my biggest challenge is raising my four children alone. I work as a charcoal burner in order to provide for my children. My earnings are as little as KES 4OO for a bag of charcoal, which takes nearly a month for me to sell one bag. Therefore, I spent KES 400 to buy two chickens and used KES 770 to buy food for my family, which would last a week. I bought the two chickens because if I keep them for some weeks and they mature, I will sell them for double the price I bought them.