Give Directly, by giving us money, assists in eliminating hunger in our households. Even if we are not working, receiving these regular transfers boosts our confidence in the ability to provide for our families. I would suggest that the organization extend the kind of aid that they provide us to our neighboring villages so that they can benefit in the same way that we do.

Because of my advanced age, I am no longer actively involved in providing for the needs of my family. As a result, I rely on my son, who rides a motorcycle for a living. To avoid being a burden to him, I decided to use the transfer to buy food worth KES 700 because the household had run out. In addition, the sky has recently become cloudy, indicating the impending arrival of rain. So I paid a laborer KES 400 for their assistance in weeding my farm in preparation for planting. I saved the remainder to assist in times of need.

I was sitting under a shade engulfed in thoughts on my next course of action after spending the KES 50 I had left. The sound of my phone ringing interrupted me while I was deep in thoughts and fumbling with my fingers. I quickly checked it and to my utter surprise, I found I had received my first transfer from GiveDirectly. For a moment, I froze while my mouth was wide open and later started shouting at the top of my voice while I called my daughter. We both broke into dance as we celebrated and enjoyed ourselves.

With nothing to eat, I have helplessly watched my daughter bear the consequences of hunger. I have accumulated debts because of buying food on credit. The situation is now very different after receiving the unconditional transfer. I have plenty of food in the house and we no longer sleep hungry. Being able to buy the food is the biggest difference that the transfer has made in my life.

When the drought struck our village two years ago, I lost my only source of income, which is farming. I suffered heavy losses after my crops dried up. Since then I have struggled to provide meals for my family (1 daughter and me). I was dealt another blow after I lost my husband, who was helping me out by providing for my needs (food, clothing, and medication). I currently depend on my son, who works as a casual laborer in Mombasa. He does not earn much (500 per day) and does not work daily. It has not been smooth sailing since I usually lack food, ending up sleeping hungry on most days of the week (3 out of 7 days without food). It is for this reason that I spent all my money from my transfer on buying 7 packets of maize flour, I kg of sugar, and detergent for washing my clothes. Buying the food was enough assurance that I will have plenty to eat for the next three weeks.