As an elderly person, regular medical check-ups are crucial for me, but they come at a high cost. While my son helps by occasionally finding construction work, it is not reliable. He has his own family of six to support, which makes it challenging for him to assist me consistently. Thankfully, these transfers have become my lifeline. Given my ill health, I am grateful for the ability to receive treatment at home. My primary goal now is to maintain my health and use the transfers to cover my medical expenses, hoping for an improvement in my health condition.

I appreciate the consistent support from GiveDirectly, which has been instrumental in covering my medical expenses and providing food for my family. As an elderly person, obtaining the necessary medication has been my primary concern. At times, I have had to request doctors to provide treatment at home due to difficulty walking, and when hospital visits are unavoidable, I rely on a motorcycle for transportation. The recent transfers I received allowed me to allocate $30 towards my treatment, providing a sense of security, especially considering the minimal support I receive from my sons, who work in low-paying jobs and have their own families to support. Furthermore, the monthly transfers have eased the burden by covering our food expenses, especially after a poor harvest last season due to excessive rainfall. With nearly $70 spent on food supplies like maize flour and vegetables, I ensured my grandchildren, whom I live with, were well provided for. In addition to medical and food expenses, I allocated $20 towards improving my storage facility, which had been leaking during rainy weather. By purchasing building materials such as poles and iron sheets, I was able to renovate the store, providing a safe and dry space for my belongings. Now, I can safely store my belongings without worrying about rain damage, giving me peace of mind.

In the coming year, my primary objective is to secure medical attention for my son, who has been dealing with persistent leg issues for the past few months. These health challenges have significantly restricted his mobility and have made him unable to work. Presently, I find myself burdened with the responsibility of caring for his four children, and my financial resources are barely sufficient to meet all our needs. Facilitating his medical treatment would not only pave the way for his recovery but also empower him to resume work and provide for his children. Achieving this goal would bring a profound sense of relief to me. I express my gratitude to GiveDirectly for their invaluable support in these challenging times.

As an elderly woman, I no longer possess the strength to engage in work. Previously, I depended on my two adult children for financial support. Unfortunately, one of them passed away a few years ago, leaving behind four children under my care, and my other son is currently unwell and bedridden. The transfers I receive have become my sole lifeline, providing crucial support to sustain me, tend to my ailing son, and cover my grandchildren's school fees. Upon receiving the transfers, I allocated $24 to settle a debt I had incurred and used $10 to pay for school fees as my grandchildren had a pending debt that needed to be cleared. Additionally, I directed $34 towards urgent medical treatment, addressing my own health needs. The remaining $34 was used during the Christmas holidays to purchase food for my family. I am profoundly grateful to GiveDirectly for being my steadfast source of support, and I cannot imagine where I would be without their assistance.

Currently, my primary focus is on completing the construction of the storage space for the maize that I have recently harvested. Given the limited space in our house, I recognize that it won't suffice to store the maize, especially for the coming months. To achieve this goal, I plan to continue using the upcoming cash transfers to complete the construction of the storage space. I have already acquired the necessary building poles, and the next step is to procure iron sheets for the roof. At present, the cash transfers are the sole source of income that I can rely on to support this endeavor, as my son's computer repair business is not consistent enough for such an investment.

I'm delighted to share that this planting season yielded a bountiful maize harvest from my three-acre farm, enough to sustain my grandchildren and me for the remainder of this year and into the next. However, our main challenge now is adequate storage space. Our family house, primarily used for sleeping, is too small to accommodate the maize harvest. To address this issue, I have decided to construct a dedicated storage structure. Unfortunately, my son's income from his casual job in computer repairs is not reliable enough to fund this construction project. This is why I chose to allocate the entire cash transfer, which amounted to $34 from last month, towards the purchase of building poles for the structure.

Apart from buying food, I cannot think of a pressing goal that I wish to accomplish in the coming years. Hunger is a major concern in my household, which can only be alleviated by my contributing towards the purchase of food. If only the rains would persist so that I could grow and harvest food from my farm, I could spend my cash transfers on other things like starting a business. However, right now my focus is more on buying food for my five grandchildren.

I am very grateful. May God bless whoever led and directed Give Directly to my village. For years, the drought deprived us of the opportunity to grow food crops and harvest water, which brought severe hunger to my household. The situation worsened when my son (who was the sole provider) passed away last year, leaving behind five school-going children. Gladly, the monthly cash transfers alleviated the hardships in my family. Mostly, when I receive the money, I spend every penny on food and water alone. Am also happy that my younger son took on the responsibility of paying school fees for his late brother's children. This allows me to provide them with food through cash transfers since I do not have any other source of income. I am happy that we have never missed a meal ever since the year began.

My goal in the next year is to build a new brick-walled and tin-roofed four-room house to accommodate my three co-wives and me. Our current shelter is in poor condition as the mud walls are almost collapsing and the tin roof is rusted and perforated, which lets in water whenever it rains. In the short range, the goal is to assemble the building materials first and then hire a mason later to bring the project to completion. Having already bought 10 pieces of iron sheets, my plan is to use each monthly transfer to buy at least two pieces. I will be very happy if the construction project succeeds in a year’s time.

I had been through some difficult times since my husband passed on. Because of my inability to provide for my family, I could go hungry on occasion. I occasionally make charcoal, even though it is difficult to work at a low wage. However, once I started receiving GiveDirectly transfers, I noticed a significant improvement in my way of life. I am grateful to GiveDirectly. I spent my recent transfer of $3,000 on purchasing a she-goat. Because livestock assets are valuable in our community, I thought it was a wise investment. The remaining $4 helped me to buy food that took me two days to prepare.

After realising that I had received the transfers I immediately decided to focus on nutrition. Therefore I ended up using KES 2,000 by purchasing a bag of maize flour which contained a dozen packets which was meant to last me sometime. Afterwards I used the remaining KES 1,000 by using KES 500 on groceries and beans and the balance I contributed to a fundraiser for a wedding.

Hunger is the most serious problem afflicting humanity in our region. Give Directly does an excellent job of providing cash to people in need of food. We are extremely grateful for the transfers, which have significantly reduced our hunger cases. As far as I am aware, the Give Directly method of operation is without faults.

My son, who was the primary provider for the family, passed away almost two weeks ago. He left behind a wife and five children who rely on no one for financial support. Life has not been easy for us. Since his departure, our household has frequently run out of food, necessitating additional support from my helper. Working as a junior secretariat in the chief's office, he often assists us when we are in need of food and other needs. Because the household does not have a consistent source of income, I decided to start one by purchasing a goat through the transfer. When it reproduces, we make money by selling it while caring for the offspring.

I was busy doing my daily chores when I actually received the fund, but since I could not read my trustee went ahead and explained to me that the transfers that GiveDirectly had promised were finally out and I was genuinely super excited. Especially considering that there was barely any food in the house and I absolutely had no money on me.

For me it would mostly lean on matters aligned with nutrition and this because drought definitely affected us negatively especially considering that most of us are subsistence farmers. At times I would go to bed on an empty stomach. I relied on my son to assist me financially and he just recently passed away and I was left heartbroken. Therefore I ma glad for knowing this organization and getting financial aid from it.

After receiving the money I decided to cater for nutrition as my first priority because famine had really taken a toll on us back in the village due to lack or rains and persistent drought. Therefore immediately I received the money I went ahead and bought a bag of maize flour that contained a dozen packets for KES 1,500 and used KES 100 to buy sugar. This would definitely last me a while and enable me to be less worried when my next meal would be. I was left with a balance of KES 1,400 which I planned on using gradually as time when by and when need arises.