My plan for this year is to invest in goats, hoping they will multiply and generate profit when sold. I intend to utilize the transfers received to pursue this goal, providing an additional source of income for my family. Knowing that I'll have this extra financial support brings me peace of mind, especially in terms of covering my children's school fees. I'm deeply grateful to GiveDirectly for being a lifeline for me and my family, offering much-needed assistance during challenging times. Their support has made a significant difference in our lives, and I'm thankful for their generosity.

I grow maize, beans, and cowpeas, both for sale and to feed my family. With seven children and four still in school, I struggled to afford fees, food, and clothes on my husband's limited income. I am immensely grateful for this project, as it has allowed me to cover school fees and expand my agricultural activities. Now, I also raise chickens and goats, alongside cultivating my land. I allocated $20 to prepare my land for planting and $14 for purchasing food and clothes for my children during the Christmas festivities. Additionally, $34 went towards settling a pending school fees debt for my children, while the remaining $34 was used to purchase two chickens, soap, and cooking oil, essential items that had run out and needed replenishing. The assistance has brought me great joy since it has truly improved our quality of life and made a difference for me and my family. With our basic needs being met, I feel hopeful about our future and grateful for the positive impact this project has had on our lives.

The arrival of these transfers fills me with a sense of contentment, knowing that they hold the key to resolving most of my challenges. My primary objective is to venture into livestock farming, with a particular emphasis on goats and chickens. I see this as a sound investment, with plans to sell them at a profit in the future. I'm committed to saving and judiciously utilizing my forthcoming transfers to turn this goal into reality. Establishing a stable source of income is not just a dream but a beacon of hope, providing me with the peace of mind that my family's needs will be well taken care of.

Life has presented numerous challenges to our family of nine, given that my husband and I struggle to make ends meet. My husband works as a casual laborer, but job opportunities have been scarce in recent years, largely due to prolonged drought. I turn to farming to provide food for our family, though unfavorable weather conditions have limited our harvest. I'm delighted to share that this project has made a substantial difference in our lives. It enabled me to purchase food for our family and cover our children's school fees. With $6, I acquired two chickens, which I plan to raise and sell once they mature. An additional $12 went toward the immediate school fees demand as the children had just commenced a new term. I allocated $24 to purchase clothing, replacing the old and worn-out ones we had before. The remaining $60 was used to replenish our food supplies and meet essential household needs that we had run out of. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to GiveDirectly for this invaluable assistance.

Since I began buying goats with part of the transfers, I have had six goats. Previously, I had four but courtesy of the transfer, I have bought two more. My primary goal, therefore, is to expand my flock because, in addition to paying my children's school fees. I aim to do so that when the program comes to a close, I will be able to sell some to raise money. That will help me pay school fees for my children and meet my family's nutritional needs.

I am a mother of four children. Two are in secondary school, while two are in primary school. In addition, I stay with additional four people, making my household of ten members, my husband and I inclusive. When I received my recent transfer, I spent $20 on paying my children's school fees. At that time, they had fee arrears that I could not settle since we did not have a source of income. My husband keeps livestock while I do farming, although the proceeds from such ventures have been low. The rest, $14 came in handy in acquiring food for my family. Life had been unbearable due to the current state of famine.

The only thing I have ever desired to own are goats. I love the fact that with goats, it's easier to take care of them and for them to easily multiply. The moment I received my transfers, I was able to buy two goats and it really made me feel good. It made me have that desire of wanting to have as many goats as possible so that I will be selling them out whenever I face any difficulties in life. I believe that it's better to invest in something that will help you in future rather than not investing at all.

I am a housewife who just stays at home and takes care of my family and my house. My husband happens to be the breadwinner of my family and everything he does is for the betterment of our home. We have seven children; Four of them are in school busy pursuing their dreams and the remaining have completed their studies. The first thing that I did when I received my transfer was that I pay a $12 tuition fee for two of my children who are in primary school so that they may not be sent out of school. I also took the remaining amount of $ 22 and stocked up for food at home. Food is becoming scarce due to the prolonged drought and lack of rain. People are really dying because of the hunger and the high economic standards. I thank God that the transfers I have been receiving from GiveDirectly have helped me a lot.

GiveDirectly does well in offering unconditional financial support. It has improved the living standard and given parents the ability to educate their children. It was previously not possible since many children used to drop out of school. Currently the number of new school enrollments has gone up. It does well in ensuring that the safety of the recipients is enhanced through constant communication during follow-up. During that time, staff emphasized the need to keep secret our Mpesa PINS. However, I have not observed what GiveDirectly does not do well.

I am unemployed and rely on subsistence farming to support my family. We have a large family of nine people. So, with my recent transfer, I spent $10 on school fees for my two school-age children, Samson and Rehema. They have not had any disruptions in school since then and have been able to focus on their studies. Second, since we had depleted our food supplies, I spent $10 on five 2kg packets of maize flour. I am grateful that we had enough food to last us more than a week. I began by venturing into poultry farming by spending $10 to buy three hens. Previously, I lacked the capital to initiate it. I am glad I have three hens right now.

As soon as I realized that the donation had actually arrived, I was over the moon with so much excitement and I could hardly even describe the feeling that I felt at that moment, but it was definitely an amazing feeling and I was happy to finally be able to provide for the needs of my family.

In my opinion the fact that I managed to pay tuition for my children and they got back to school was the most biggest difference especially if I had not received the transaction when I did then my children would have probably taken a longer time before resuming school.

Upon receiving the donation I decided to deal with my most vital priority at the time and it happened to be my children's tuition reason being they had actually been kicked out of school the previous day, so I ended up paying KES 700 for two of my children. Afterwards I took the remaining KES 500 and went ahead to buy three packets maize flour since hunger was another problem that we keept facing time to time.