In the next one year and beyond, I would want to invest any amount of money that I get on things that will enable me make ends meet in my family. My wife and I are ageing a lot and we can no longer do any odd casual jobs or menial jobs. It is for this reason that we are looking at ways of investing the money that we receive from anyone on things that will give returns and feed us as a family. I also have three grandchildren that look up to me to meet their daily needs. I am so glad that I was part of the people that received the cash from GiveDirectly and for what it has done for me and my family as well.

GiveDirectly does well by giving cash and doing so unconditionally. People like us who do not have the energy to do odd casual jobs were able to relax and have a good time during this period that we received the cash. The money came at a time that we were almost hopeless and we thank God that we got to have hope again. With this cash, we felt our lives as old people was given the dignity that it deserves.

I recived my last transfer when I had alreafy used all the secomd transfer to build a bigger and better house for my family. For a long time, my wife and I had lived in a small house that was divided into two rooms. The rooms were so small and we could not get the much needed comfort from it. Having received the third transfer, I decided to buy firniture fo be used in the newly built house. I bought a mattress, a bed and some clothes for my wife and myself. I also got to cement the floor ofy house with the last transfer. We now have two houses and had plenty of food throughout the period that we received the cash. Because of our age, we can hardly manage any odd casual jobs like the yojng people do. This has meant that we rely heavily on suppprt from our children who are in a position to make ends meet. GiveDirectly came in with a lot pf relief on us and our children.

We once had access to water that we would use to irrigate our crops. Unfortunately, the water was changed to benefit those who were planting Kenyan seed corn. My current goal is to rent a small plot of land where I will mostly produce food crops for my family. Since I am getting older and can no longer perform tedious work like menial tasks, this will have a positive impact on my life.

I come from an arid area where we depend on subsistence farming. At times, we plant crops that end up drying out due to a lack of rainfall. GiveDirectly coming to our region and deciding to give us aid in terms of cash is the best thing that an organization can do. I do not see anything that did not go well, and I would just wish that they continued with the good work.

I spent a significant amount of my transfer money on upgrading my residence. I chose this since we have been residing in a one-room house, and occasionally, our grandchildren do come to visit. Our tradition forbids us from sharing a room with them, which frequently results in me feeling uneasy. Due to a lack of resources, I had not been able to build a larger house, so I am grateful that GiveDirectly has made this possible. In addition, I paid KES 8,000 to purchase two goats for breeding and KES 4250 to purchase food that would sustain my family for a few weeks. The goats are an investment in me that will benefit me in the future.

We felt so happy the moment we received money from GiveDirectly. We are an ageing couple who can hardly engage in any odd casual jobs like young people can do. There were a lot of things that we had longed to do but we did not have enough money to accomplish them. I work as a watchman for a local school but there is very little money that I get from doing this job. We also had a challenge with our livestock which were attacked by a strange disease that killed most of them.

The biggest difference in my life comes from the things that I was able to accomplish with the cash. Looking at the house that I was able to improve by replacing doors that were already eaten up by termites makes me so happy. These are things that had always preoccupied my mind and were stressing me especially when I knew that I may not get enough cash to be able to accomplish all of them. This has greatly reduced my stress levels and I am just a happy man that I have finally accomplished them.

When I received my most recent transfer of $180, I used $60 to buy maize for consumption within my family. There was literally nothing to eat at the time since the income that we relied on from the government had been paused. We did not have the ability to do any meaningful farming considering our advanced age and lack of enough money to hire labour force to help us out. The remaining amount was used to buy a bed and a mattress since we did not have any. We were also left with some money that we used to replace doors in our house that were already destroyed by termites. We feel happy that these transfers have come in handy and helped us cope with life at a time that things were tough for us.