"My goal for the coming year is to expand my poultry business. Previously, I faced a significant loss when nearly half of my flock was wiped out by Newcastle disease. To prevent this from happening again, I have taken preventative measures and purchased medicines to protect my next stock. I also plan to buy chicken feed to ensure their proper growth. I will be utilizing upcoming transfers to achieve this goal of restocking my flock. Having my own business provides an additional source of income, rather than relying solely on the seasonal work of tilling other people's lands. I am looking forward to a financially stable future for my family and am deeply grateful for the support I have received so far."

"Over the past five years, my health has been seriously deteriorating. Given my old age, I can no longer work and depend heavily on my son, who raises livestock to earn a living. However, his earnings are very limited and often insufficient to cover my medication expenses. Thanks to the cash transfers, I am able to visit the doctor monthly for check-ups and buy medicines. I spent $42 on medicines, which has led to a slight improvement in my health. I am optimistic it will continue to improve with access to the necessary medications. I used the remaining $60 to purchase food, including 12 packets of maize flour, 2 kg of sugar, cooking oil, leafy vegetables, and fruits. This ensured I had enough to eat and supported my recovery. I am very grateful for the transfers, which have been crucial in my recovery journey."

"My goal now is to increase my animals. A week ago one of my goats got a bad illness and died, it was expectant and so I lost the goat and its kid. I had banked on them for a project but this loss hit me badly. I am still grieving this loss. I have now learnt it is necessary to take care of my animals and use the right medication to ensure the numbers do not go down. My plan is to find better ways to keep all my animals in good health as I buy medicine and pay the doctor to come see them as I also buy some more animals."

"I am an elderly widow. With age catching up with me, I no longer have the energy to work and provide for myself. I heavily depend on my son, who works as a casual laborer in Mombasa town. Depending on him for financial support adds to the burden he already has of taking care of his own family. The cash transfers I receive from Give Directly have helped lessen this burden, as I often use the money to take care of my essential needs. Recently, I fell ill and visited the hospital for medical attention. I spent $12 on the medical bill, including transport to and from home and purchasing some medicines. I am happy that my health has improved, and I feel much better now. I also purchased a sweater to keep warm from the cold, which cost me $5, so I no longer have to endure the chilly weather at night. Additionally, I bought three hens for $9, hoping they would multiply so I could sell them at a profit. Unfortunately, they all died after being infested with Newcastle disease. I spent the bulk of the transfers, $75, on food purchases. This ensured that my entire family had enough to eat, especially now that we can no longer harvest any food from the farm due to climate changes. I am very happy and appreciative of the financial transfers, which help me take care of myself despite having no job and being unwell."

"My mother has been unwell for quite some time, and her health and welfare are my top priorities right now. I plan to use the transfers that I will receive from GiveDirectly to buy her the necessary medicine and nutritious food to aid her recovery. My goal is to ensure she regains her strength and fully recovers so that I may turn back and take care of my family as well. Once she is well, I plan to redirect my focus to helping my son, who recently got married but has not paid the dowry yet since he is unemployed and struggling to raise the money. In our tradition, it is not acceptable to live with someone's daughter without fulfilling this obligation, and I, as a mother to my son, would lose respect in our society. I therefore want to earn the respect of my community and proudly call my son's wife my daughter-in-law, so I have decided to help him raise the money. I intend to save a portion of my transfers until I accumulate a substantial amount, then take it to the girl's parents to pay part of the dowry. This will not only fulfill our cultural tradition but also show my support for my son and his new family."

"The transfers came in at a time when we were preparing our farms, getting ready for the rainy season to do planting, hence have some food security. I therefore spent $15 of my recent transfers to prepare my farm, all excited about the bountiful harvest that I would get. Unfortunately, there were no rains, but a lot of very strong winds instead, which destroyed all our farms in our region, exposing us to drought and hunger. Now, due to the drought and hunger that befell us, I had to spend another $58 to buy food for my family, ensuring that we wouldn't go hungry. Additionally, I had invested my previous transfers in turkey farming, and to make sure that my turkeys grew healthy, I spent $4 to buy some medicine and food for them. Finally, I spent the remaining $25 to pay school fees for my children, ensuring that they won't get returned home but stay in school and concentrate on their studies. Maintaining children's education during times of crisis is essential for their long-term development and well-being"

"I've been investing my money in a merry-go-round group so that we can pool our funds and do something meaningful when my turn comes. I saved $60 in our group, so when I receive the money in August, I will invest it in livestock, buying goats and chicken in the hopes that they will multiply. I plan to then trade the livestock for cows, which will provide milk for my family's consumption as well as for sale. The cows will also give birth to more cows that I can sell in the future to support my family. Additionally, there are some goats that I have been caring for that are not mine, and they were unwell, so I spent $5 to buy them medicine so they could grow healthy. I also spent $14 to buy building materials to repair my kitchen, which was on the verge of collapsing. This has secured a cooking space for myself and my family. Furthermore, I paid $6 in school fees for my child to ensure he could continue his studies without interruption. Finally, since we no longer have any food stored and the crops did not do well this year due to drought, I spent the remaining $17 to buy food for my family so that we would not go hungry."

"I am planning to spend the first transfer to complete college fees for my son who is taking a wiring course. This will equip him with skills that will help him to earn a living for the family. I will also use USD 100 to buy medicine inorder to manage my condition because according to the doctor it has no cure but treatment sometimes help. The remaining amount will buy five goats which cost a total of USD 160. Once they multiple, I can sell and use the money for our needs. The remaining amount will help me to purchase household items such as bedding and furniture so that my house looks decent."

"Givedirectly has made us a very proud people. Most of us never had animals, most of us who are much younger in the community do not have animals because the purchase of these animals are an expensive affair. However since I started receiving transfers from Givedirectly I have been able to afford to purchase chicken and goats. I used $17 to buy chicken, $25 to buy a goat and got some animal feed at $5 while getting the goats some medicine at $5. I am still making some savings in a savings group to help me continue facilitate this dream and I saved $10. I was also able to buy uniform for my younger sister at $15 and food at $20."

"My father has been sickly for a long time. He has had a condition which has made his life difficult for the past 6 years. He has had issues with his bladder which means he has issues with control of his bladder movements. We had tried for a long time to manage his condition with medicine but on his last visit we were advised to have him undergo a surgery to which we pooled our cash together to pay for his surgery. I gave $30 from my transfers to the contribution of both his treatment and surgery. I spent the rest of the cash, offsetting my payments for my motor cycle at $42, buying uniform and shoes for my child at $10, and buying a chicken at $3."