I've been blessed with a great harvest this year, and we have plenty of food stored up. Now, my main goal is to save money carefully in the microfinance institution. I want to get a loan from there so I can finally build a strong and cozy home for myself. The money I've received from the transfers has really helped me move closer to this dream, and I'm incredibly thankful for that.

Before joining the cash program, I struggled as a casual laborer, grappling with meager earnings that made self-improvement challenging. The devastating drought that afflicted our village three years prior added to our misery, leaving me to endure daily hunger and survive on just one meal. However, since enrolling in the program, I've found a sense of relief. With access to funds, I've been able to secure food for my self, spending $34 of my transfers to ensure I never go hungry. Additionally, I've wisely saved $68 in a microfinance institution, where the money accrues interest and offers the option of loans if needed. This savings initiative aligns with my primary goal: securing a loan to construct a spacious, two-room permanent house. The current state of my dwelling, dilapidated and precarious, fuels my urgency for this project, driven by the need for safety and security. The financial support provided by the transfers fills me with hope, and I remain optimistic about realizing my dream of a new home with their continued assistance.

My goal by the end of the cash transfers is to accomplish something substantial. Primarily, I aim to repair my house, or if finances permit, to build a new one, given the recent collapse of one wall due to ongoing rains. Beyond that, I aspire to find a new partner. It has been over a year since my wife left, and being alone has been challenging, juggling responsibilities like cooking for myself and engaging in casual labor for charcoal making. Having a new partner would alleviate the loneliness and bring companionship back into my life.

I've been saving through a local savings club in my community, accumulating $24 over the past three months. I plan to obtain a loan from the group to facilitate the repair of my house. While I initially considered building a new house entirely, the feasibility of that depends on the amount I can accumulate in the next three months. Additionally, my household required more food, as the supplies from the previous planting season had run out. Therefore, I used $36 from the cash transfers to ensure that I did not experience hunger. As I solely rely on charcoal making to provide for myself, especially since my wife left with the children, the cash transfers have played a crucial role in preventing hunger. I'm pleased that, to date, I have never gone without at least one meal per day. We recently commemorated the passing of my mother during which I contributed $34 towards the preparations for the ceremony. This contribution was towards the meals that were consumed that day. Furthermore, I allocated $10 to plow one acre of my land, taking advantage of the recently started rains.

My primary plan is to begin the process of building a new house, my current house is not in the best condition. Previously, financial constraints, particularly the need to prioritize food, made it difficult for me to embark on constructing a new home. With the hopeful prospect to harvest this year, I now have the opportunity to allocate resources toward building a better house.

Lack of food is a significant concern in my household, and there have been instances where we have gone to bed hungry. I am one of the main providers for my household, relying on charcoal burning to generate income. However, the practice has become challenging in my region due to the depletion of tree stumps, making it difficult to produce enough charcoal for sale. Three sacks of charcoal, which could fetch $15, now take much longer to produce. Currently, I live with my brother, his wife, and their son who is in grade school. The cash transfers have been a lifeline as they have allowed me to contribute to household expenses while saving some of the money for my own future needs. Besides, as we still wait for the maize crops we planted to mature this season, we still have to buy food from the store and ensure that the family is well-fed. This is why I used $24 from the recent transfer to purchase food to supplement the little that was left in stock. After that, I set aside $10 as savings for future use. My ultimate goal is to continue saving and eventually access a loan from the savings group to build a house.

For so long, I have depended on making charcoal, an endeavor that hardly provides daily meals for the household. I would like to venture into a better income-generating practice, that will hopefully fulfill all my needs such as food and clothing. So, in the next year and beyond, I wish to be owning and operating a kiosk business in the village. To establish this business, I plan to obtain a $200 loan from a self-help club I have been actively saving with for the past year. Besides earning me profit, this kiosk will save my community members the energy and time they spend to find a shop in the next village, which is a two-hour walk away. 

Before I received my recent funds, my family had gone to bed hungry thrice because there was no money to buy food. My charcoal-making practice generated so low income that I could barely put daily meals on the table. After receiving the money, my priority was to ensure that the household had enough food to last the remaining part of the month. So, I used $24 to do food shopping, most of which was maize flour. Am happy that the food has lasted to date, which gives me time to make more charcoal. I saved the remaining 410 through a self-help group, to which I have been an active contributor for over a year now. As my monthly contributions have bought me loyalty to the club, I wish to acquire a loan of $200 to start a kiosk business in my locality. At least, this is a more decent venture, which I hope will generate better returns than charcoal burning. 

I've been setting aside $10 from each transfer for the past year. I want to open a store that sells food in the coming year. The residents of our village must travel long distances to buy food because there are few stores. I intend to launch the business that will enable me to earn a respectable amount of income to provide for my family by taking out a loan that is three times the amount of savings I have. Ever since I lost my job in home construction, life has been difficult. My low income and tedious temporary job selling charcoal prevent me from providing for all of my family's needs. Starting this business will help me improve my life.

As the sole breadwinner of my family of seven individuals, I rely on charcoal burning for a living. The process of producing charcoal takes almost two weeks as am required to cut tree stumps before burning them to the end product. Also, due to the physical demands of the practice, the much I can make over that time are only three sacks of charcoal which generate around $10 in total once sold. Considering the high commodity prices, this amount can only afford food to last the household for only a week. This leaves us struggling with only a meal per day or no meal at all for the other week. By the time I received the transfer, we had starved for two consecutive days. So, I used $15 to buy food and we have not lacked to date. Since water has become very scarce in my area due to drought, I spent $4 to buy and ferry some on a motorcycle from a neighboring village. I saved the rest of the money intending to buy a goat next month.

It is a requirement in our culture to pay the bride price once you get married. I am soon going to get a second wife after my first wife left me a year ago. When I received my transfer, I spent KES 2000 plus my other savings and paid a dowry worth KES 30000 to my in-laws. I am happy that the negotiations and other cultural rights are going on well. Besides paying the dowry, I spent KES 1000 on buying food. As a casual laborer working as a woodcutter, I could not secure a job. The company I worked for closed down because of bankruptcy. For over a year now, I have struggled to meet some basic needs such as food.

The unconditional transfers from GiveDirectly have been of great help to me when I am struggling to get a job. I bought food using the money from the transfer stopped me from starvation. I would like the organization to give us a large sum of money in a short time which will help us invest in extensive projects that change will our lives, unlike the paltry amount which is very hard to plan for and invest in.

After a long period (50 years) of my relatives living on a piece of land, we realized three months ago that we weren’t the rightful owners. The legit owners of the land showed up and requested back the land. After a series of negations, they accepted to sell the piece of land (10acres) at a price of KES 200,000. This revelation caused serious panic among my extended family about losing the most valuable possession we inherited from our grandparents. Together with other family members, we contributed amongst ourselves raising KES 10,000 that we paid off as the initial payment. From my transfer, I spent KES 1000 as my personal contribution towards the payment of the land. Besides paying for the land, I spent KES 2000 on buying food. In the past month, I have skipped meals and slept hungry for over two weeks. The drought has affected my business as a woodcutter because of the lack of trees in our village. Once a week, I have to travel outside my village incurring extra costs on food and accommodation in such a job. This has drained all my savings and left me with nothing to buy food.

I had taken my phone for charging on this day. When I went to collect it, a message came I, upon checking, I saw that I had received money from give directly. I was awed by the gesture. Since I was next to an mpesa shop, I withdrew the amount and bought some bananas that went for KES50. I then went home. Since the money was not enough to cover my initial budget, I changed my plan, the next day I went to do some shopping for the house.

The day I received these funds, I had run out of food in my house and I never had money to do any shopping. So, give directly has done very well in supporting people in my community through the cash donations that have come in handy in times like this as I was now able to buy food. It will also help in improving my business. Despite the good deeds, I still feel give directly can do better by ensuring everyone gets the transfer since we all live in the same village. This is so to avoid others feeling left out. Some of us travel far just to go charge our phones and chances of being unreachable are high.

I am a happily married man despite the fact that we are yet to be blessed with children. Recently, my wife traveled to get treatment for some stomach ailment and she is to return home in 3 days' time. Other than being a family man, I am also an industrious man. I have a grocery shop that serves as my main source of income. On a good day, I make around KES300. When I was registered in the program, my plan was to repair my shop, but on my first transfer, I only got KES1200 which was not enough to cover the budget I had. Instead, I opted to do some shopping. Using KES1000, I bought sugar, maize flour, cooking oil, and some spaghetti. The remaining amount I will invest in the repair of my shop.