My plans for the next coming year is to start investing in livestock farming. I'll be using my transfer to buy at least a goat every month. This will be an investment that I can always rely on in paying school fees for my children and in case of an emergency. Currently, I depend on subsistence farming and my daughter who does some casual work has been the one helping in paying school fees for her younger siblings. With my current financial condition, I depend solely on GiveDirectly to achieve this goal.

We've not been able to depend on farming in my region for some years now due to harsh climatic conditions. Currently, we're experiencing some rains and with the GiveDirectly transfer, I have decided to venture into farming this year. From the amount that I received, I used $ 20 to hire a tractor to help me with farm preparations. I am planning to plant some maize and beans that will take three and two months respectively before they're harvested. In addition, I used $ 48 to clear fee arears for my children. They had been given notice that they would be sent back home any time and this would have made them miss their examinations that were fast approaching. Using the remaining $ 34, I purchased food to last my family for some time. I settled on this since I did not have any other money to spend on food and my daughter who usually helps with the family bills did not have any money.

In the coming year, I'm focusing on expanding my livestock rearing, this will be by acquiring more goats and also enhance my poultry farming. At the same time, I'm ensuring my daughter's education is not interrupted by lack of school fees, as she relies solely on me for support. I am embarking on a journey of personal sacrifices. Every financial choice I make will be based on improving our tomorrow, all while upholding the cherished memories of those I've lost.

In May, I paid $20 for my 15-year-old daughter's special boarding school fees, which total $120 for the term, along with other necessary school expenses. Failing to meet these obligations would mean she'd have to leave school. Despite challenges, including the loss of my husband 15 years ago and subsequent losses of my children, I'm the sole provider for my family. To cover our basic needs, I bought maize flour for $10, using the remaining $4 for vegetables and sugar. In June, I paid another $20 for school fees, invested $4 in buying hens to resell, and set aside $10 for medical expenses. Thanks to GiveDirectly, I received medical treatment for a leg issue, restoring my mobility. In July, I spent $32 to buy a goat for breeding and resale, aiming to secure my daughter's education even after receiving the transfers. The remaining $2 went towards buying sugar. This investment holds potential for long-term stability.

My main goal is to start a livestock-rearing project. Owing to the fact that I currently do not have an income-generating activity, and getting money to feed and educate my children had been quite a challenge. I would want to venture into the project of rearing chicken and goats on large scale. I, therefore plan to save $20 of my monthly transfers and after two months, I buy at least two goats and a few chicks to keep the project going. I believe that the project would have a long-term impact on my family because I would still have it even if the transfers come to a halt.

I received the transfers at a time I was in dire need of money. I am a single parent of 3 and I had been struggling to make ends meet. I have had a lot of challenges in getting money to feed my children because I always relied on the farming jobs that I was always called upon to do and it had taken pretty quite a lot of time when I landed on one due to the prolonged drought. But GiveDirectly came to my rescue, the transfers that I received was of great help to me in terms of buying food for my children, I managed to buy 1 bundle of maize flour worth $22 and spent the remaining amount of $12 on paying school fees for one of my child who had school fees arrears. I was grateful and relieved of the stress I had.

In my family of five, I have a disabled child who is currently in first grade at a nearby elementary school. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for making it possible for me to pay his school fees with ease. Previously, I was reliant on charcoal production and sale, but since purchasing goats, I have been unable to move around in search of wood for charcoal production. Despite the fact that I am faced with the challenge of paying school fees for my son as well as food for my family of five, I hope to begin saving half of the transfer to use in purchasing more goats in the coming year. I hope to sale their offspring to pay for school in the future.

I developed chicken pox a week before getting my transfers. Initially, I was able to control my health condition by using a natural remedy that is easily obtained from nearby trees. Later, when things got worse, It became extremely uncomfortable and developed a mucous fever, which rendered me bedridden. Fortunately, I got my transfers, and I spent $8 on medicine after going to the hospital. In the wake of that, I bought 12 packets of 2 kilograms of maize flour. My only son, on whom I relied, was experiencing financial instability at the time, so he was unable to assist with the purchase of food or the payment of the medical bills while I was sick for more than a month and unable to work. We no longer harvest food from the farms due to the severe effects of the drought, so the food was crucial in ensuring we had enough to eat. In the end, I decided to invest in two hens. This presents a good opportunity to cash in by selling the hens whenever I run into financial difficulties in the near future because there are many unknowns regarding how I could make a living.

I was filled with so much ecstasy the minute I realized that the funds had been sent out especially because schools had just reopened and I was stuck on trying to send my daughter back to school. I therefore used KES 2,000 of the funds as tuition to send my girl to her special needs school and I used KES 500 as transportation l fee to and fro. As for the remaining KES 500 I used it to purchase some items for her which was part of her shopping which included stationery and other items she needed in school.

I believe that GiveDirectly performs an excellent job of providing unconditional cash transfers to its designated recipients. This method is the most effective because it allows beneficiaries to prioritize the utilization of their financial assistance to address their urgent needs. For example, everyone who receives GiveDirectly assistance can spend it on whatever they want. Personally, I used the transfer to pay for my children's school fees, build my saving, and buying groceries. However, I am yet to notice anything GiveDirectly as an NGO does not do well.

I am a widow who relies on peasant farming as my primary source of income. Since my husband's death, I've been the sole breadwinner for my three children, one of whom is disabled. For the previous two seasons, I have been unable to harvest due to the unpredictable weather pattern, since all of my crops have dried up as a result of severe drought. This has made life a little more difficult for me because I am unable to provide meals for my wonderful children. As a result, as soon as I received my transfer, I set aside KES 1,000 to buy food for my family of four. I am delighted that as a result of the transfer, we have not yet gone for a day without eating this month. I also spent KES 1,000 on buying chicken, which I plan to keep and sell later to boost my other sources of income. Finally, on the merry-go-round, I saved KES 1000. In December, I plan to buy a dairy cow with my savings. I will be able to get milk and sell some to help sustain my family as a result of this. I also bought maize flour, beans, and sugar with the remaining transfer KES 1,000. I did not have any food on that particular day and was merely planning to borrow some.

It was early in the morning and I was just at home since I did not have any casual job to attend to. As I was taking my rest, I had a notification message on my phone. I felt an urge to check it although within me, I was thinking that it could be one of the common message notification. However, in making an attempt to check it, I could not at first believe to see an Mpesa notification. I was so excited and hopeful because I knew that out of the transfer, I would be able to buy food and support my children with ease.

Before I received the transfer, I was so worried since I was always struggling to buy food as well as paying off my debts. Upon receiving my transfer, I settled all my debts. I also bought some food stuffs which can comfortably take my family of 3 for about one week. I am now at peace and can confidently do my purchases from the same shop I had previously bought items on credit. As a matter of fact, he is no longer harsh against me as it was before.

Due to hike in food prices and lack of casual jobs, I had been unable to support my family as I desired since I am a jobless widow. Throughout my life since the demise of my husband, I have been making and selling charcoal, a business that generates very minimal income. However, in order to ensure that life moves on, I am at times forced to buy food on credit. Immediately I received the transfer, I spent part of it to pay off debt of KES 500 while KES 1500 was used to buy additional food. I also used KES 1,000 to support the education of my 14 years old lame daughter.