In the coming year and beyond, my primary goal is to build a proper home for my family. I have been diligently saving $15 monthly through a local group to gather enough funds to make this dream a reality. The house we currently live in is in such poor condition that it hardly feels worthy of being called a home. I want to provide my family with a place where we can feel safe and comfortable. I believe that with continued saving and determination, I will eventually be able to construct a house we can be proud of.

I am a father of three, working hard through casual jobs to provide for my family. My three recent transfers, amounting to $102, were a great help in addressing some pressing needs. My priority was the health of my child, who has been unwell for a while and requires regular checkups. Each visit to the doctor costs $10, and over the last three months, I spent $30 on these medical expenses to ensure my child continues to receive the necessary care and medication. Health is everything, and seeing my child get better is worth every penny. In addition to medical needs, I am committed to building a better financial future for my family. Over the last three months, I saved $45 in a local savings group, setting aside $15 monthly. This growing savings will help us during emergencies or give us a chance to invest in something meaningful later on. I also used $15 to pay school fees for my child in primary school, as education is crucial for a better future. With the remaining $12, I bought food to keep us nourished and healthy. These transfers have been a blessing, helping me meet my family’s immediate needs while planning for the future.

My goal for this year is to build a larger and safer house for my family. Currently, we live in an old house that does not adequately meet our needs. Once my son recovers, I plan to use the transfers to buy building materials and pay for labor costs for construction. Improving our living space will ensure the safety and security of my family, giving me peace of mind. I am grateful for this opportunity to enhance our living conditions, and I am determined to make the most of it for the well-being of my family. This chance to create a better home environment means a lot to us, promising a brighter future and greater comfort for everyone under our roof.

I work as a casual laborer, relying on seasonal construction jobs, while my wife sells charcoal to support our family of five. It was a constant struggle to provide for my family with no steady income. However, I am happy that things have changed for the better. Now, I can afford medication for my son, who suffers from seizures. Additionally, I am able to pay school fees for my other children and provide them with food and clothes. From the transfers, I allocated $20 to pay off school fees, clearing a debt that was overdue. I then used $82 for transportation and medical expenses for my son, who requires monthly medication for his condition. This assistance has been a lifeline for me and my family, and I am deeply grateful for the support we have received. It has relieved a significant burden and given us hope for a brighter future ahead.

My goal for this year is to build a larger and safer house for my family. Our current house is old and in poor condition. Using the transfers, I plan to purchase building materials and cover labor costs for construction. Having a better living space will ensure the safety and security of my family, providing me with peace of mind. This opportunity to improve our living conditions fills me with gratitude, and I am determined to make the most of it for the well-being of my family.

For many years, I have struggled with casual jobs, but now I run a business selling traditional toothbrushes in Mariakani town and I am happy to report that it is doing well. Previously, life was challenging because I did not have a stable source of income, but since receiving these transfers, our situation has significantly improved. I can now afford to pay for my child's school fees comfortably without worry. My other son suffered from epilepsy when he was younger and developed complications that hindered his ability to walk. I allocated $62 towards his treatment, including medication and physiotherapy sessions, as well as covering transport costs to and from the hospital in Kilifi. Additionally, I used $16 to pay school fees for my first child and $24 for food and clothing for our Christmas celebrations. These transfers have renewed my hope, and I am immensely grateful for the assistance provided.

My primary challenge now is the medication for my son’s, Safari, epileptic condition. This is where most of my cash transfers go. My long-term plan has always been to build a new house because the current condition is very poor. The mud on the walls is disintegrating from the ongoing rains, leaving the house with holes, and it has started caving in. It is not the best living situation. I aim to construct a completely new house with an iron sheet roof and mud walls, but in a structure that is not vulnerable to rain. After achieving this, I will start planning to develop myself, particularly in terms of rearing livestock. I sincerely hope that my son will get better in the future so that I can allocate some of the cash transfers to buying livestock.

I rely on casual labor, such as cutting and selling chewing sticks or working on people's farms, to provide for my family, which includes three children, one of whom is in school. Taking care of my six-year-old son, Safari, who suffers from epilepsy, has been consistently challenging. The situation requires constant medication, which can be expensive due to the transportation costs to and from the hospital. My top priority is refilling his medication every time I receive the cash transfers as he cannot survive without them. I usually contribute $24 towards the fare to the hospital to collect the medication. I am relieved that my child has never missed medication since I started receiving the cash transfers. The remaining $10 is allocated to buying building poles for constructing a new house, as the walls of my current house are collapsing due to the ongoing heavy rains. Honestly, the cash transfers have been most helpful in addressing my child's condition. Before the transfers, I had to sell my goats and deplete the herd to cover his medication costs.

My family is still growing and the house that I currently live in is not in a good state. Whenever it rained, we are always rained on, a situation that makes my children contact certain diseases. My goal is to have a better house and I plan to save part of my monthly transfers that would help me achieve that goal. I would start by buying a few materials and I know that by the end of the year, I shall have commenced the construction.

The transfers that I have been receiving from GiveDirectly had been so helpful to my family. I have a sickling child who always requires a doctor’s checkup every month, but due to having no reliable source of income, it had always been a struggle owing to the fact that I am always required to part with some amount of money every time I take him for a visit. I have been so grateful for the financial support and with my recent transfers, I am planning to spend $19 on this month’s medication and I also managed to buy food worth $10.70 and paid school fees amounting to $5 for one of my children.

My biggest concerns are my sickly child and my current house that is falling apart. I had bought some Iron sheets that I used to repair the room to my kitchen but the house is still unsuitable for living. I would like to construct a new house for my family suing this transfers this year after taking care of my transport to hospital for my sick son. I want to have a bigger and more livable house. I want to also repair the kitchen so its more usable and so that my family can live in better conditions.

I have a sickly child who has epilepsy and hearing issues, as much as his treatment is free it takes a lot of money in fare to access it. I was able to use $12 of my December transfers in taking the child to hospital to seek treatment. Seeing that December was also a month of festivities we used the rest of the money to buy maize flour, wheat flour and sugar which we used in making food for the holidays. In January my other child was joining school and so I used $6 to purchase uniform, I paid the school fees debt I had with the school and added a bit more for that term which was $10. I also used the remaining amount on the purchased of food which is very important to us and is so highly priced. I also bought a goat for myself using my last month, February transfers at $30.

The support program has enabled my family to handle the challenge of having an epileptic child. The funds have been supportive because most of the time; I cannot afford his clinic visits and medication. I wish to GiveDirectly and would have a department to assist with more medical funds.

I am a hawker who sells local toothbrushes (sourced from twigs). I have three children. One of my children is eight years old. He is epileptic and has problems with his speech. My wife is a charcoal burner and this medical condition has drained all our earnings. I recently sold all my goats to cater to the countless visits to the hospital for his medication. As soon as I received my cash transfer, all the $30 was spent to cater for our transport to and from the hospital, which was $12, and the rest catered for medical tests and medication. The support program has assisted me in ensuring the well-being of my son.

As soon as I realized that the funds had actually been sent out I was over the moon from all the excitement especially because we had a huge challenge when it came to nutrition back in my house I also because it was completely unexpected.

Nutrition has been quite a recurring challenge in my house and that is why I was really grateful as soon as I received the transaction because as subsistence farmers we abundantly relied in the harvest to feed our families but unfortunately that has declined due to the severe change in climate.

After receiving the funds from the Organization I decided that I was going to deal with the most challenging issue in my house which at that moment had been nutrition due to the high cost of living and severe drought. Therefore I ended up using KES 1,000 and bought five packets of maize flour so that my family and I could have a meal. Later on I had a balance of KES 200 which I ended up using on purchasing laundry detergent and body oil.