Following the short rains, I planted maize on my farm, anticipating a bountiful harvest. When we have a surplus of food, I plan to use the transfer funds to revive my business of selling washing powder. This business was closed three months ago when I utilized the capital to pay school fees for my five children. To get back on track, I now need at least $100. Reviving the business will be instrumental, as the profits generated will assist me in meeting the school fees for the children and also putting food on the table.

Given my husband's advanced age, he cannot engage in strenuous activities to provide for the family, making the responsibility fall on me. I work on people's farms to put food on the table and pay school fees for my five school-going children. When I receive the cash transfers, my immediate priorities are settling my children's fees and ensuring there is enough food. The impact of the cash transfers is evident in improved school attendance for my children, and we rarely face food shortages. The funds provide me with the flexibility to seek casual labor to continue supporting my children, and I am thankful for the positive changes brought about by the cash transfers. One of my children, Kawelu, recently completed his form four examinations, leaving a tuition balance of at least $200. To address this, I used $20 from the recent cash transfer to reduce the debt. The remaining $14 was allocated to buying food for my family, as our household had run out of provisions. The produce from the long rains had depleted months ago, compelling us to purchase food.

In the coming year and beyond I would like to have expanded my business to offer a broader range of items, eventually transforming it into a larger kiosk. Currently, the offerings are limited to selling sardines and washing powder. While this venture has been successful in generating profits to support the needs of my family, I recognize the potential for greater income if I were to expand the shop's stock. With this growth, I hope it can support the education of my seven children. Also, I intend to increase my goat herd, including the two goats I acquired through previous transfers, both of which are now expectant. Currently, I possess 18 goats in total, and I envision this livestock becoming an essential asset for the financial stability of my household.

After receiving the funds, my priority was to settle pending tuition balances for my children, which amounted to $10. Schools were about to close, and there were outstanding debts that needed to be cleared before they could sit for their end-term examinations. Additionally, at the time, my maize crops were still maturing for harvest, and ensuring a steady food supply was challenging. Hence, I allocated $10 to purchase food, guaranteeing that my family had sufficient meals until the harvest. I further allocated $5 to acquire two chickens. The remaining portion of the funds was used to boost my sardine-selling business. The business's income had previously been instrumental in supporting my children's school fees. Therefore, I chose to increase my inventory to ensure its continued success. This business serves as our primary income source since my husband, due to his advanced age, cannot engage in labor-intensive work. I am happy that it is progressing well now.

I have plans to expand my business into a bigger enterprise that will serve at least three more villages by the end of this year. To achieve this goal, I am currently searching for a larger business premise to sell my products from. Expanding my business means I will have more customers and, in turn, more income. This will make me financially stable and able to meet my family's needs. I am thankful for the financial boost from the organization that has helped me improve my life and escape poverty.

In the village, I operate a small-scale business that sells detergents, liquid soap, and vegetables. I cannot express enough how grateful I am for the financial assistance provided by the organization that enabled me to start this business. Before I received this help, my husband used to raise livestock and was the sole breadwinner. His monthly income of $30 was not enough to cover our family's needs, which led to my children being sent away from school due to unpaid fees. However, my business has enabled me to provide for my family's basic needs, and I am thankful for that. With the $40 I received from the April transfers, I was able to pay school fees for my eldest son in secondary school and five other children in primary school, all from the earnings of my business. I also bought more chemicals to make soap because the demand for my soap has been increasing. This increase in demand will significantly boost my sales and earnings. In addition to paying school fees and buying soap-making supplies, I also purchased twelve packets of 2kg maize flour, which was enough to feed my family for two and a half weeks. Unlike before, we can now afford two meals a day, and I am happy about that. Finally, I bought a goat for $20, which I consider an investment for the future. In the next six months, the goat will reproduce, doubling my investment and increasing my wealth. In case of an emergency, I can sell the goats to attend to my needs.

Given how well my soap business is doing, I would dearly love to grow it. This means I'll need to locate a good, larger store to market my goods from. In addition to selling soap, I'd like to sell other food items like maize flour, wheat flour, exercise books, cooking oil, etc. This will boost my profit margin, which will enable me to easily meet the needs of my family. I am grateful to the organization for the financial support, which has significantly aided me in turning my ideas into a profit-making venture. I'm hoping that by expanding my store, I'll be able to draw even more customers, which will enable me to achieve financial stability.

I received $139 in March. This is after I missed out on a number of transfers after enrolling in the previous year. My oldest son, who is in secondary school, needed $50 to cover his tuition. He owed the school a significant sum of money, so he was frequently sent home to pick up school fees. For my other six children, who attend primary school, I also paid an additional $60. My six primary-school-aged children have no outstanding fees, which means they can continue their education uninterrupted. I then spent $5 on two hens, which is an investment because they will soon multiply and I will be able to sell them for a profit. When I got my first transfer, I set up a small business selling liquid soap in the local area. I've been using the profit to provide for my family's needs as the business has been doing well. I used the $20 I had left over to buy more soap-making supplies to meet demand as the soap's needs increased. I'm relieved that I can now support my family, especially in light of the fact that my husband is unemployed and dependent on a meager income from raising cattle, which is insufficient to meet the needs of the entire family.

In the next one year, I would want to have my own business, I want to start a greengrocery business believing that the income would be of help in terms of catering for my family’s needs. I also want to start livestock rearing project and when the program comes to an end, I shall have done something constructive with the transfers to keep me going.

I have children both in primary and high school, and some of the had been sent home for school fees. I had no money because my husband and I had no reliable source of income, recently, I also started a small business whose income is still low and could not support all the needs of the family. By good luck, GiveDireclty sent me the transfers that were of great help, and I managed to pay school fees with the entire amount that I received of KES. 3470 and I was so grateful.

With the current business I have been doing, which earns me at least $3 per day and I hope I will be able to work a little harder to be able to get enough to keep adding the stock in my business.I currently sell soap and fish but due to the current adverse drought, a lot of people are unable to afford even to buy fish. I expect to save extra income from my daily proceeds in the coming year with the goal of acquiring more goats. This will not only reduce the cost that I will daily be incurring and also provide an additional source of income because I will be selling the goats to my immediate neighbors when they give birth and multiply.

I am a mother of eight children who happens to be the breadwinner of the family. My husband is very old and can barely do anything to support our family. The only thing I ask God every day is for me to have good health and strength to work hard so that I can earn enough money to keep my children and family moving. The only thing I want right now is for all of my children to graduate from high school and achieve their dreams. The moment I received my transfers, I took $15 and paid for three of my children's school fees that cost me $5 for each child. For them to be fit, I bought them food using $5 that they happily ate for two days without difficulties. The remaining amount of $60 I was able to go buy three goats that made me feel good and proud of myself.

My goals have been to run a business, grow animals, and pay my children's education expenses. Due to our meager income, I have been finding it difficult to work on these tasks. As I continue to receive such transfers, my main goal is to divert a portion of my transfers to fee payment. I shall also be using a portion to buy goats for livestock keeping since most of my children are in primary school, and by the time they will join secondary school, the program shall have come to a close. Lastly, I would want to have a diversified source of income hence my plan to invest in the business.

I think that GiveDirectly does well in alleviating poverty among poverty-stricken communities. It ensures that all enrolled in the program always receive their transfers regularly. Additionally, it consistently follows up on recipients so nobody can receive a transfer on someone else's behalf. In contrast to other programs that are always plagued by graft cases, the agents are competent and always prepared to offer advice regarding Mpesa security. I have not yet noticed anything that GiveDirectly does not do well.

I have a son in form three who was sent home for fee collections. Immediately after I received the transfer, I spent $20 on his fees. His fee arrears then was $150, and I am glad he can advance with his studies. In addition, I spent $5 on two hens. I have been longing to expand my poultry farming because they are always helpful to me. The remainder of the transfer went into food since we had none due to the current famine witnessed in our area. I am glad that as a result of that, I was able to meet the nutritional needs of my family of ten members.

I had just returned from the field where I cut wood and made charcoal for sale. I made the decision to take a nap to regain energy and later cook porridge with the small amount of maize flour that was still in the house because I was extremely hungry and exhausted. I got a text message on my phone just as I was about to nod off. When I read the message and realized I had gotten my first transfer, I could not believe what my eyes were seeing. I jumped out of bed right away and called my son, who I informed of the good news. I grinned from ear to ear because I was so happy. The lengthy wait was now over.

My life has been significantly impacted by the hen purchase. Every morning I get up with the belief that one day I will sell the enormous number of hens that will have multiplied over the next few months and make some money. This gives me hope that my kids will finish school since I will be able to cover their tuition. I'm appreciative that the transfer's proceeds will allow me to make investments and improve my situation.

I own a small vegetable kiosk business. My entire family of seven relies solely on this business for income. My husband lost his job in the town, and he has since had no luck finding another one. $2 a day, the meager amount I make from the business, is insufficient to meet all of the family's needs, including feeding and clothing my four children, one of whom is in secondary school and the other three are in primary school, and paying their school fees. For my family and I, getting my first transfer of $12 was a huge financial boost. I was having trouble making ends meet because I could only afford to buy my family one meal a day. I used half of the $12 to purchase three packets of maize flour after receiving the transfer. We had enough food to last us the next three days, which I am grateful for. I spent $6 on three hens in the end. Since the hens will soon lay eggs and multiply, I see this as a future investment that will more than double my initial investment. I'll choose to sell a portion and use the proceeds to meet some of the family's needs.