"I have two school-going children, and their education is incredibly important to me. I do everything within my power to ensure they receive a good education. Recently, I spent $30 to cover their school fees, making sure they are settled and not worried about being sent home for lack of payment. Additionally, I purchased a solar light on credit for $10 and started paying off the debt with another $10. I plan to continue making payments over the next few months, as the remaining balance is $140. This year, our farms didn’t perform well, so I spent another $33 to buy food for my family to ensure we wouldn’t go hungry. I’ve also been saving in our local savings group and recently saved $10 with the intention of buying goats. I hope that these goats will multiply, increasing in number and value, and serve as a resource for my family in the future. Furthermore, I spent $5 to buy a chicken, hoping it will also multiply. This way, if any urgent financial issues arise, I can sell them to support my family. Lastly, my son was unwell and needed medical attention, so I used the remaining $4 of my transfers to take him to the hospital for the necessary treatment. I’m relieved to say that he is now better and back in school."

"The transfer has been timely, I've been wondering how to support my family. I'm very excited about Givedirectly's help. I plan to use the first transfer to buy uniforms, a bed, clothes and food supplies. Secondly, due to the bad state of my house. I plan to spend about $500 to improve it. This includes buying cement for the floor, iron sheets and wood to reinforce it. A good house will give me peace of mind and my grandchildren can study comfortably. To sustain my family, I plan to also invest in chicken farming and add more sheep. The remainder of the transfer will help in setting up a chicken structure and adding two more sheep. A sheep costs $50. This investment will help me in the future. The chicken will provide me with eggs and can also be sold."

"Receiving these transfers has been of great benefit, since I do not have a job. When I received my most recent transfer I spent $20 to buy clothes for my children because this i some of the basics that one need to have. I also bought food worth $32 for family consumption because this is a basic needs. Besides I also bought two chicken at $5, this is because they will act as my future finacial security incase of finacila security. Lastly I spent $15 to pay there fees since I do not have a job and I do noy when I will get a job to get paid and pay their fees thus to protect them from being sent home for fee, I decided to use these transfers to ensure that their fees are paid to avoid being sent home for the fee balances.And lastly I also paid my monthly chama contribution of $30 since this is also a requirement since I am saving to build a better house for my children"

"It was in May when I got a job as a caretaker in a maize plantation. This was a sign of relief for me, I had been struggling to get a job without success. I managed to buy a goat and chicken with my earnings. This brought happiness to me."

"Floods are disruptive here, last April we were displaced and moved to live with our neighbors. We lost ten chickens and an acre of maize plantation. This hit us financially and worried about the future months. Food shortage is inevitable.The rains have been continuing and we're worried that it may recur again. We're always on the lookout at night to avoid fatalities."

"Poultry farming is ideal here due to the hot and dry climate. I plan to spend about $300, to build a structure for the chicken and buy 20 hens. This will add to my current stock of 5 chickens. Since they do well and fetch good prices in the market, I'm positive it will sustain my children's education. Tomato farming fetches good profits. I have seen my neighbors make it. Plan to try my luck on my half an acre piece of land. It means I will spend about $600 on tomato farming. If everything goes well, it can fetch me up to $2000. This amount can easily support my family for a year. Furthermore, I need to set aside the rest of the transfer for my children's education. Two of them are now in secondary school. Paying school fees on time ensures their stability in school."

"Since casual jobs are so unreliable here, I have been eager to diversify my income sources. Recently, I have been considering poultry farming, but I lack the capital to get started. I am hopeful now because I am anticipating some transfers which will allow me to invest more extensively in poultry farming. I see it as a promising opportunity to generate income through selling eggs and poultry. With the transfers, I plan to spend $200 towards building a poultry house and purchasing the chickens needed to start. Additionally, I will spend $300 in cultivating maize and vegetables on my 1.5-acre plot of land. This initiative will not only provide food for my family of four but also create a sustainable income stream. The remainder of the transfers will go towards paying school fees for my son who is in university. It is a relief to have this opportunity to invest in our future and improve our livelihoods. I am optimistic about the possibilities ahead and determined to make the most of this opportunity."

"We have many plans for the cash transfers. For the first cash transfers, we intend to lease and plant a one hector maize plantation. This will be our source of food and money. This will cost us about KES 18000 of the cash transfers. For the second cash transfers, we intend to pay school fees for our four children who are in different levels of education and institutions. We intend to use about KES 20000 on this. For the remaining KES 25000 we intend to purchase 3 sheep and chicken. This will act as an investment into the future. For the third cash transfer, we intend to pay KES 25000 school fees for our children. With the remaining cash transfer, we intend to purchase household goods and also two goats at KES 5000 each."

"I'm putting in a lot of effort to renovate our house. In our area, the loose soil causes our mud houses to easily crumble when it rains. That's why I'm focused on strengthening and fortifying the walls of my house so that it can endure for a longer period. From my recent transfer, I set aside $60 to purchase sand and stones. I also saved a portion of it in my Mpesa account and another portion in our chama, which amounts to $5 to go towards paying the builder. With the remaining funds, I allocated $27 to pay off the solar loan, $4 for my daughter's tuition fee, and $5 to acquire two chickens for rearing."

"Floods have been our biggest concern in the last 6 months. It displaced us, and we were forced to relocate for about one week. It recurred three times. We also lost 3 chickens and their structure was destroyed. The floods also destroyed one acre of maize plantation leading to food shortage. We've been forced to depend on relief and doing extra jobs to earn income to buy food."