I am grateful that the unconditional transfers from GiveDirectly have helped me during my time of need. The food I bought went a long way in preventing my family members from starving to death. I would like the organization to put more emphasis on the timelines for the disbursement of the funds. A minor delay affects the planning of the transfer on my side, ending up hurting us e.g. lacing food to eat.  

My husband works in a motorcycle taxi called “Bodaboda”. In recent months, he has struggled to make a killing in his business due to several challenges beyond his reach. The scarcity and high prices of fuel have contributed to his low income. In helping my husband pay the family bills (food, water, school fees, and clothing), I previously burnt wood and sold charcoal. Currently, I no longer sell charcoal because I am expectant and the tedious nature of the job will affect my health and that of my unborn baby. Because of the financial struggle we are going through as a family (husband and seven children), I spent KES 2000 to buy food and water, which is a scarce and expensive commodity in our area. Besides buying the food, I bought 5 hens as a start in my poultry business. With a lot of economic uncertainties, the poultry business will ensure I become financially stable and take care of the family's needs.

I was in my home seeping the compound. I was waiting for my husband to return home as he had gone to get us something to eat for breakfast. We slept hungry the following day, and I felt very helpless seeing my kids lying down with groaning stomachs due to hunger. While sweeping, thoughts of my hungry children occupied my mind. My phone rang loudly, and it brought me back from slumber land. I checked it out and found out that I had received my first transfer. I was thrilled and jumped up and down with excitement. I called my husband, informed him of the good news and from the conversation we had, I felt he was relieved, as he was unsuccessful in his attempt to get us breakfast.

The money has made a big difference in my life. A weak prior to receiving the funds we used to survive on one meal per day. The situation was tough for us. We feared borrowing food from friends and neighbors as we had already accumulated lots of debts with them. I am that my children are back in school and we bought food and avoided starving.

I have a family of nine members with seven children. The children are students with the eldest being in class 6 and the last born in class 4. I currently do not have a job as I am expectant and cannot continue doing my normal casual jobs. Before I burnt down woods and logs to make charcoal for sale. My husband too does not have a job and only waits for his friends to lend them their motorcycle for few hours to work. This has made life difficult for our family as the income is too little to feed the family and even pay school fees. When I received my first transfer, I was thrilled and thanked God for it. My children were sent home because of school debt amounting to KSH 3000. I spent KSH 700 to pay some exam fees for my four children so that they would go back to school and seat for their exams and even continue with their studies as they had stayed at home too long. Because of the low income, we had nothing to eat for the last two days before receiving the transfer. I spent the remaining amount of KSH 500 to buy food to avoid starvation.