I aim to start rearing livestock like goats and chickens before the transfers end. Despite having some livestock before I started receiving cash aid, I haven't been able to increase their numbers due to financial constraints, including providing food and paying school fees for my three children. Besides, the money I raised from making charcoal barely allowed me to invest in more livestock. My goal is to expand my herd, particularly goats and cows, which I can sell in the future to generate school fees for my school-going children.

I rely on subsistence farming when it rains to ensure a consistent food supply for my family of five people, three of whom are my school-going children. Alongside farming, I sometimes produce charcoal to cover their school fees. However, it is often challenging to balance the little earnings between food and school fees. This is why I prioritize paying for their tuition whenever I receive cash transfers. Each month, I allocate $15 towards their education to reduce their debts and ensure their continued schooling. The remaining $19 typically goes towards fulfilling other household needs such as food and toiletries. These transfers have been instrumental in covering the basic needs of my family. As the breadwinner, I could never be more relieved and grateful.

My main objective is to embark on poultry farming, recognizing its high profitability and its potential to enhance my financial stability. In the upcoming year, my plan is to utilize the transfers I receive to invest in chickens and acquire the essential equipment for the venture. Reflecting on the accomplishments of this year, I am content, and I eagerly anticipate even greater successes in the coming year.

Currently unemployed, I engage in the sale of charcoal to sustain my family of nine. Unfortunately, the business has been severely impacted by an extended drought, making life challenging. However, a positive turn occurred when GiveDirectly extended their support to my village. This assistance has brought about a significant transformation in my life. I was able to construct a house and acquire a bed and mattress, luxuries that were previously beyond my means. Allocating $50 for medical treatment, I am relieved that my wife, who had fallen ill, received the necessary care and is now on the path to recovery. Additionally, $34 was dedicated to the purchase of a bed and mattress, replacing our previous arrangement of sleeping on the floor. The remaining funds were used to procure food following a disappointing harvest. The assurance of continuous transfers has not only granted me peace of mind but has also ignited a profound sense of hope for the future.

My primary focus now is on rearing livestock, as I see it as a potential financial asset for the future. Having 3 cows and 6 goats already, I am determined to expand this herd further to create more wealth. One of the advantages of keeping cattle is that I can sell their milk, providing a steady source of income. I am confident that future transfers will present me with an opportunity to invest in livestock and realize the potential it holds.

When I received the funds, I had to address my wife's health concerns. She has been suffering from chest complications, especially during the cold and rainy weather. However, the hospital bill amounted to around $50, which was quite overwhelming for me. Despite the financial strain, I managed to pay $15 towards the bill, hoping to ease the burden and continue her treatment. Am happy that her condition is improving with medication. I allocated the remaining $19 to pay school fees for my three children to prevent further interruptions in their studies. They had been frequently sent home due to outstanding fees, causing disruptions to their education. As the main income earner, my livelihood relies on making charcoal. However, the income from this work is insufficient to meet all our needs but the cash transfers have proved useful in supporting these basic needs. Am extremely grateful.

Honestly, my desire is to finish building my house, but financial constraints have barred me; this makes me sad. In the incoming years, I hope for the capacity to be able to construct a reinforcement concrete pillar around the walls of my house, to shield them from heavy rains. After this is done, I want to start rearing goats as a source of wealth. Though recently it has been challenging to budget cash for these wishes, given the pressing food and school fees needs, I pray to be able to allocate some funds towards their realization soon. 

If it were not for the cash transfers, am sure the hardships in my household would be uglier considering the low returns I make from charcoal burning. Given the physical demands of the activity, it can take me at least a month to produce enough charcoal, which mostly earns me around $20. Besides, there are no longer trees to cut down in my area due to overproduction of the product, which forces us to dig up tree stumps, hence consuming more time and energy. Additionally, with the low returns, I can hardly provide enough meals for my wife and three children, sometimes we sleep without eating due to a lack of food. For this reason, I found it crucial to spend $20 from the cash transfers on food. After that, I spent $14 to buy books for my son who had recently been admitted to junior secondary with limited learning resources, for I had lacked enough money. 

I make a living as a casual worker by selling charcoal and burning wood. My wife, who has been helping me, is presently unwell and dealing with pneumonia. Being the sole provider for my wife and three children, life in the village is becoming increasingly difficult without a stable source of income. Due to a dearth of consumers who favor using less expensive fuel sources, charcoal sales are hampered by a lack of demand. I want to launch a livestock sales business this year. The profit margins for this business are extremely high. With this business, I am confident that I will have enough money to take care of all the family needs that I am currently unable to meet.

I have been making a $15 payment to the school each month since we first started getting the transfers to help offset the remaining tuition my kids owed the school.  They regularly stayed back at home due to their significant arrears, which had a negative impact on their academic performance because they were more likely to miss class. I have not yet paid off all the arrears, but I'm happy that I have paid off a bigger portion thanks to the support. My kids now attend all of their lessons, and I have seen a difference in their performance since I commenced receiving Give Directly transfers. The remaining $15 I've been adding to the meager money I make from selling charcoal to buy for our monthly meal and other household costs like laundry detergent, school supplies, and clothing. I burn charcoal for sale, but the little proceeds did not cover all of our expenses, so we are grateful for the assistance. 

The past three transfers came in while my three children owed the school a huge fee balance of KES 7500 that led them to be sent back home every time. For the last three months, I have been paying KES 1500 in school monthly to reduce the balance. Even though they were recently sent back for the remaining KES 3000, I am glad it is not much as compared to the previous case. The other KES 1500 I have dedicated to foodstuffs so that they do not miss most meals as they go to school. I burn and sell charcoal and the whole process takes a whole week to raise KES 400. This can barely afford two days' meals. My family is thankful for the support from GiveDirectly.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly does so well in alleviating poverty among the least fortunate communities. It considers enrolling and giving financial aid to the most unfortunate members of the community in its program. This has translated to the betterment of the least privileged communities lifestyle. For instance, those who could not afford even a bed like me, can nowadays dream of acquiring one. Although all GiveDirectly does is good, I only think that it could consider making its program more sustainable among the communities where it works by offering long term support to the recipients.

In my community, there are very few casual job opportunities available. As a result, I have always relied on charcoal making as my only avenue for income generation. However, getting the market for charcoal is pretty hard thus I experience an unsteady flow of income. Immediately I received my transfer, I opted to spend it on buying food. Due to the rise in food prices and prolonged drought, every household tends to prioritize buying food whenever it gets some income. Since I have a family of 5, the food I bought could take my family for about 3 weeks. With this aid, I shall be able to channel my income in renovating my house.

It was in the morning hours and I was getting ready to go to my workplace and sell charcoal. We slept hungry the previous night, and I knew I had to do something before the situation worsens for my family members. Immediately I stepped out of the door, my phone rang loudly and I immediately checked, thinking it was a client calling. Upon checking the phone, I saw the text message showing that I had received my first transfer. I really became happy because I was struggling financially and just needed even the smallest amount I could get to feed my family. I headed straight to the Mpesa shop, withdrew the money, and came back home.

There is a difference in my life and that of my family. I was very thoughtful days before receiving the money and I did not have peace of mind. When I received the money, I felt peace inside my heart. This has even made me to ignite the happiest memories with my family members as I now laugh and I am cheerful unlike before.

I heavily depend on making charcoal to earn a living. The long process involved in making the charcoal make the earnings very little to cater to my family's needs. The work is very demanding and very tiresome, hence I don’t work daily. In a month, I can sell seven bags of charcoal at KSH 300 per bag. It is very hard to plan and save the money as I spend it on buying food. When I received my transfer, it was an enormous boost for me to attend to my needs. I spent KSH to buy food for the family. I did not have any money to buy food for the family as I had sold no charcoal the previous day. Having bought, I spent the rest of money in buying school stationery for my children. I bought books, pencils, rubbers and files. The children were about to sit for their end of term papers and the files were going to be used to store their exam papers. They had written on all their books and they needed new books to write own.