My goal in the coming months and years is to become a livestock farmer. I have started this journey with my Merry-Go-Round group by saving a portion of my GiveDirectly cash transfers to purchase more goats and guinea fowl. Currently, I have a small number of these animals and am excited to see them multiply and increase in value over time. I am eagerly awaiting my turn to receive the cash and buy more livestock. This effort will not stop here; I plan to continue saving in the merry-go-round group to further grow my herd, which I believe will be beneficial, especially in supporting my children. As I age, I will no longer be able to work, so this is a crucial step for my future.

Being in a polygamous marriage has been quite tough, especially as the first wife. My husband is now of advanced age and is no longer able to work due to health complications, which have diminished his proficiency. I have been trying to support the family by burning and selling charcoal, but with my own advanced age and increasing responsibilities, including paying school fees and daily meals, it has been challenging. The transfers I have received have been lifelines for us. I was able to pay $20 in school fees for my three children who are in the upper grades, so they are no longer sent home due to arrears. Additionally, I saved $22 in the merry-go-round group intending to use it to buy more goats in the future, especially when the program ends. I later bought a goat for $24, adding it to my existing herd. I am hopeful that they will multiply and provide a financial safety net if needed. Finally, this year there were no rains, only prolonged scorching sun. I had to use $20 from the transfers to buy a large amount of food to sustain us for a while.

I have always dreamt of becoming a livestock farmer. To turn this ambition into reality, I have been using a portion of my GiveDirectly cash transfers to purchase goats and a guinea fowl. I am excited to see these animals multiply and increase in value over time. Looking ahead, I plan to allocate a part of my upcoming transfers to acquire more livestock. My hope is that these animals will continue to grow in number and value. In the future, I intend to sell them when in need, providing a valuable safety net for my family. In addition to my livestock farming aspirations, I also own a small kiosk where I sell various goods. I have been saving in a merry-go-round savings group, eagerly awaiting my turn to receive the pooled funds. Once I have access to these savings, I will use them to expand my kiosk business. Even after this initial expansion, I intend to keep saving in the merry-go-round group. This will allow me to further grow my business and increase its revenue. The income generated from my expanded kiosk will help me better provide for my children's needs. I am thrilled with the progress I have made and the direction my business is taking.

As a mother of three school going children, I previously struggled to make ends meet. However, with the help of GiveDirectly's unconditional cash transfers, my family's situation has improved significantly. I am now able to better provide for my children's basic needs, including meals and education. To ensure my children's continued education, I allocated $21 of the transfers towards paying their school fees. This investment in their future fills me with happiness and pride. Additionally, I have always had an ambition to become a livestock farmer. To pursue this goal, I used $50 to purchase a goat and a guinea fowl with hopes that these animals will multiply and increase in number and value over time. In the future, I plan to sell them when in need, providing a valuable safety net for my family. To further support my family, I run a small kiosk selling household consumables, including sardines. I allocated $3 from the transfers to buy more sardines and boost my business. I am also part of a merry-go-round savings group, to which I contributed $21 and I eagerly await my turn to receive the pooled funds, which I intend to use to expand my business and increase revenue. Finally, I spent the remaining $7 to purchase food for my family, ensuring they would not go hungry.

In the upcoming months, my aim is to venture into livestock investment, focusing on both goats and hens. Previously, I utilized my transfers to expand the inventory of my kiosk business, which has been thriving. Seeking to broaden my revenue sources, I am turning to livestock rearing, confident that the eventual multiplication of these animals will yield substantial income. The financial assistance from the transfers has greatly bolstered my prospects, and I am sincerely grateful for it.

Nine members, including myself, established a savings group with the primary objective of pooling funds from our transfers to undertake various development initiatives. Each member contributes $11 monthly, and the accumulated sum is allocated to a single member to utilize as they see fit. I contributed $22, representing my two-month contribution to the group. My intention is to utilize the future disbursements to acquire livestock, specifically goats and hens, which I consider a prudent investment for the future. Currently, I possess 8 hens and 6 goats, and my aim is to expand this livestock portfolio through further purchases. Recently, I acquired a goat and two hens for a total of $34. Additionally, I used a portion of the funds to purchase new clothes for my children, ensuring they are well-dressed for upcoming festivities. I am immensely grateful for the financial assistance from the transfers, which undoubtedly contributes to my journey toward financial stability in the future.

My objective is to expand my shop business, specializing in the sale of sardines, sugar, and vegetables, by increasing my inventory and acquiring more goats. Although my shop's growth has been gradual, it has kept me occupied and yielded profits that have improved my family's financial well-being. My strategy involves reinvesting my transfers to purchase additional stock, enabling me to enhance sales and generate higher returns. Achieving substantial profits will provide me with the financial security to meet my needs comfortably. Furthermore, I intend to invest in acquiring more goats, as they are a valuable investment. I currently own four, and my goal is to raise them so that, if necessary, I can readily sell them to address any financial requirements that may arise.

I decided to construct a kitchen after cooking outside for an extended period. My main motivation was to create a comfortable cooking space that would shield me from rain and adverse weather conditions. Given the limited space within my house, outdoor cooking was a necessity. Upon receiving my recent financial transfer, I allocated $40 to purchase the necessary building materials, such as poles, and successfully completed the construction of my kitchen. I also set aside $20 to cover labor costs. I am delighted with the outcome, as I now have a well-equipped cooking area that also serves as storage for my belongings. Additionally, I've managed to save a minimum of $10 every month through our Merry Go Round savings group. This was a significant achievement, as in the past, the proceeds from selling charcoal primarily went towards meeting our daily food needs, leaving no room for savings. Thanks to the monthly transfers I receive, I have accumulated $10 each month with the goal of acquiring goats, which are valuable assets. Currently, I am the proud owner of four goats. A further $20 was dedicated to covering my children's school fees, ensuring their uninterrupted access to education and comfort in school. With the remaining funds, I invested in purchasing essential food items and other household necessities that were lacking in my home.

I have been running a shop that has not been doing well because I could not keep it stocked. Despite not doing well, it has occasionally assisted me in providing for my family. Other than this shop, I have no other source of income. Thus, one of my goals for the coming year and beyond is to use the transfers to buy more stock to ensure that my shop runs smoothly and profitably. This will be possible because I am currently actively engaged in farming, which I believe will solve my household's food shortage once I have a good harvest. As a result, I will be able to redirect the money I was spending on food toward restocking my shop. I also plan to purchase a new bed and mattress because the ones I am currently sleeping on are worn out. They are no longer providing comfortable sleep, so my top priority is to replace them.

I used my most recent transfers to buy goats, pay school fees for my two children, and buy food for my family. I have been saving a portion of the transfer in order to purchase goats. After months of saving, I was able to purchase two goats for $52 using recent transfers. My expectation is that they will reproduce and multiply and that I will educate my children and help them achieve their educational goals through them. I also spent $30 in the last few months on school fees for my two high school students. Paying for them on time has allowed them to stay in class and not miss any classes, giving me plenty of time to prepare for their next payment. The transfer also assisted me in purchasing food, ensuring that my household had enough food and that my family could now afford to eat three meals per day.

Lack of money has made it challenging for me to accomplish anything beyond my family’s basic needs. My wish is to own livestock like goats and chickens, that I can sell in the future to cover the school fees of my children. I would be happy if I owned at least three goats at the end of this year. I believe when these animals reproduce and grow the herd, they will allow me to support my household’s essentials even after the cash transfers cease. 

My husband’s job of selling chewing and cooking sticks hardly feeds our family of four people every day. Though I also make charcoal to supplement his earnings, the little we make is still unreliable to cover the household’s needs. This is why I mostly use my cash transfers on settling essentials like food and school fees, and when possible, secure livestock. From the most recent cash, I utilized $13 to reduce the school fee debt for my children, which had remained unpaid from the previous academic term. This ensured that my children stayed in class and were never sent home. Next, I obtained two hens using $10, to let them breed so that I can sell them in the future to meet my family’s needs. I bought food through the remaining $10 as the household had run out of maize flour the previous days. For January, I spent $19 on school fees and the rest of the food, whereas I used $16 on my children’s Christmas attires and the remaining $19 on food for the December transfer. Honestly, the cash transfers relieved a significant amount of pressure off my shoulders and I could never be more grateful. 

I appreciate GiveDirectly's thoughtful action in supporting society's underprivileged people. I am appreciative of the transfers because they allowed me to better meet the needs of my family. In these trying economic times, I implore the organization to keep making the same effort to aid the vulnerable in the community.

I own a small business that sells food items like sugar, tea leaves, and maize flour. My husband sells wooden spoons and handmade toothbrushes made from tree twigs in Mariakani town. Our businesses are struggling, making it challenging to meet the needs of our immediate families (paying school fees, buying food and Medication). When I got my transfer, I paid off $12 in unpaid school fees for my two kids. After spending a week at home and skipping school, this made it easier for them to return to class. In addition to paying school fees, I spent $10 on food for my family. We lived on one meal for two days prior to the transfer because we lacked the funds to purchase food. I also purchased two hens as a long-term investment in addition to food. The number of hens will increase in a few months, increasing my initial investment. I'll sell some of them and use the proceeds to take care of the most urgent needs.

I was relaxing at home at around 4 p.m. when I received a message on my phone confirming the receipt of my first transfer from Give Directly. To say I was overjoyed would be an understatement. This money took some pressure off my shoulders because I would finally pay my children’s school fees and buy food for them.

The greatest difference in my life after receiving the cash transfer is the ability to single-handedly provide for my family without having to request money from my husband. Through the transfer, I was able to provide food for my household and pay school fees for my two primary school children. I have never been more relieved.

When I received the transfer, my household had run out of food the two previous days. My husband's effort to look for money for food through his hustle of selling chewing sticks as toothbrushes had proved futile up until that day. That is why I used KES 570 from the transfer to purchase maize flour and sugar. At least we have had enough meals for the past week up to date. Also, my two primary school children had overdue school fee balances amounting to KES 2,400. Therefore, I spent the remaining KES 600 from the transfer to slice of this balance as a precautionary measure against having them pulled out of class to collect the amounts in the future.