Given the erratic weather patterns and persistent drought plaguing our region, my objective is to acquire an irrigation water pump. This investment will facilitate the irrigation of my crops, particularly during the arid spells of the dry season. Acquiring the water pump promises to liberate my farming activities from the constraints imposed by climatic unpredictability. I am genuinely grateful for the financial assistance provided by Give Directly, recognizing its pivotal role in realizing some of my aspirations.

Investing $28 in acquiring a goat represents a strategic move for the future, given its potential to yield returns through breeding. This decision offers a form of insurance against unpredictable climatic conditions; in the event of a drought, selling the goats could provide essential funds to address any urgent needs. Additionally, at the onset of the year, I allocated $15 towards covering the school fees for my five children, each attending different educational institutions. This investment ensures their uninterrupted access to education. To bolster my business, I dedicated $10 to acquiring additional silver cyprinid, supplementing my dwindling stock. I'm pleased to note the positive trajectory of my business, as evidenced by its growing customer base. Allocating $15 towards food purchases ensured an ample supply for my family's needs. The financial assistance provided through transfers has been instrumental in addressing my family's essential requirements, for which I'm profoundly grateful.

My most significant aspiration is to acquire a water pump that will facilitate the irrigation of my crops. I currently reside near a river where I cultivate vegetables for sale. Oftentimes, I have to manually transport water, a laborious and time-consuming task. To achieve this goal, I've devised a plan to set aside a minimum of $10 from my monthly earnings, earmarking it for the purchase of the water pump and irrigation pipes. This investment will allow me to utilize a larger agricultural area, subsequently increasing my sales. I aspire to expand my crop variety by cultivating more vegetables and other crops along the riverbank and setting up an efficient irrigation system using the pipes. The water pump is priced at $30, and I am confident that with consistent dedication to saving a portion of my monthly income, I will be able to acquire it and streamline the irrigation process.

I've encountered various challenges when it comes to covering the expenses of my six children, all of whom are currently enrolled in school. Considering the modest income I earn from my occasional jobs, my children would be facing frequent interruptions in their education if it weren't for the support we receive. I'm grateful that, despite my financial hardships, my children continue to attend school without disruptions. For the recent transfers, I managed to pay $45 to settle the outstanding school fees on time. Additionally, I operate a small shop where I sell sardines and various food items. I invested nearly $70 to replenish the stock in this shop. Although it hasn't fully taken off, I'm pleased to see at least a $5 profit, which supplements my earnings from the casual jobs and helps cover some household expenses. I'm hopeful that I can expand the shop further and diversify my products to increase profits. I also purchased a chicken for $5 and added it to my existing poultry. I used the remaining transfer to buy essential food items, ensuring that my family was adequately nourished.

As someone who is skilled in crop farming, my goal by the end of the year is to buy a water pump that will enable me to practice my skills more effectively. Unfortunately, poverty and harsh weather conditions have prevented me from doing so in the past. I have had to purchase water at very high prices to irrigate the vegetables I grow near my home, which has made it difficult to make a profit. With a water pump, I will be able to grow vegetables on a larger scale and lower the cost of production, which will increase my profit margins. This investment will not only help me financially, but it will also enable me to use my skills to their full potential and contribute to my community's food security. I am hopeful that this purchase will be a stepping stone towards a more sustainable future for me and my family.

Receiving cash transfers from Give Directly has been a privilege that I am grateful for. My family of seven, including my wife and six children, has been struggling to make ends meet. As the sole breadwinner, I often take low-paying jobs in construction sites, work on other people's farms, and farm when the weather permits. Despite my hard work, I barely earn enough to provide for my family's needs. Thanks to the cash transfers, my family's situation has improved significantly since the beginning of last year. With the money I received in April, I purchased food worth $16, including eight packets of 2kg maize flour, a kg of maize and sugar, tealeaves, and vegetables. We now have at least two meals a day, which is a huge improvement from only having one meal a day. In addition to buying food, I also fulfilled a long-time dream of mine by purchasing a small goat for $18. In our culture, owning livestock is a sign of wealth, but I never had the money to buy any. Now, I am proud to be a goat owner and optimistic that it will multiply soon, increasing my wealth significantly.

I never thought I would get financial assistance in my life like the one I am getting from GiveDirectly. I have been doing casual construction jobs which pay little compared to the many household needs. The transfer has greatly helped me to pay fees for my six children and buy food. My objective is to continue paying fees on time for my six children and ensure that their studies are not interrupted. This will give me an opportunity to spend my small earnings from casual jobs to buy adequate food for the family. I am also planning to buy a water pump that costs Ksh.20000 in the coming years. I will be saving at least Ksh.500 for this purpose. I normally do some irrigation when there is enough rainfall, and I have to carry water from the water pan which is tiresome. Having a water pump will ease the job, and maximise my 1/8 piece of land by planting vegetables for sale.

Though the transfer seems little to many people, it has greatly benefited my family. Before I was enrolled in the program, I was always financially constrained, and raising school fees for my children was the hardest thing I could imagine. My avenues for income were not promising since there has been no harvesting season for the past two years due to crop failure necessitated by unpredictable rainfall in our area. I am a farmer though I do not get much from my farming practice. For the past three months, I have been using my subsequent transfer on school fees for my five school-going children. It has also been helping me to get part of the family food. Transfers havevalleviated me from the burden of supporting my 10-member family.

I am thankful for the support. Whenever I get a call from Givedirectly I feel blessed and hopeful.

I own a shop, selling sardines. I have had this business for over a year. I buy the stock at $10 and from that, I get a profit of $4. Sometimes I am called to do other jobs such as masonry getting a pay of $6 a day. I have eleven children, five are in school, three are yet to go to college, one has a family and the last two are toddlers. Taking care of all of them has been a challenge due to unemployment. I did not go to school so the only jobs I get are casual which do not pay well. In the last transfer, I received, I used $10 for food at home, $5 on school fees, $10 to stock up my business, and bought chicken for $5. Receiving this money has enabled me to pay bills with ease.

Actually the previous day there were rumors already going wrong that the money had already been sent out and I was almost feeling disappointed because I personally had not received the funds, but luckily the following day they came in at about four in the afternoon and I imagine to havee been the happiest person on earth that day because I had almost lost hope that I that I would ever receive the money.

Although I did not receive quite a huge amount the little that I received did something essential for me and that was purchasing the hen because it gave me hope in what I was planning for myself and for my family for the but the future which was financial prosperity and it was the beginning of my investment.

My children had just resumed school a couple of days before the transfers came in, and I had a debt that I needed to pay so I ended up using the money that I had received and paid KES 300 for their examination fee. I also ended up using KES 550 on two packets of maize flour and groceries since we barely had any food in the house. Lastly I used the remaining KES 350 and bought a hen because I planned on investing in poultry farming.