"My health and well-being will remain my top priority, so in the coming year and beyond, I plan to continue using a portion of my transfers to purchase the necessary medication, refills, and special nutrition I need to maintain and improve my health. Additionally, I intend to keep investing another portion of the transfers in more goats and chickens, with the hope that they will multiply and grow in value. In the future, I can sell some of them to start a business. Due to my health condition, I am unable to do heavy work, so my goal is to open a shop where I can sell household consumables without needing much physical strength. I am hopeful that these dreams will come true, and I am deeply grateful for the support I receive from GiveDirectly."

"In the coming year and beyond, my goal is to become a successful livestock farmer. I plan to continue saving a portion of my transfers in a merry-go-round group, which will allow me to purchase goats when I receive my pooled funds. My hope is that these goats will multiply, increasing both in number and value over time. By doing this, I aim to have a dependable source of income that I can rely on in the future. This will provide me with financial security, especially once this support program ends, allowing me to continue supporting myself and my family."

"Initially, I had plans of renovating my house, but things have become quite difficult and so I had to shift my priorities. The drought and hunger affecting our region has made life challenging for many of us. I used to collect building poles from the forest and sell them to people in my community who were constructing homes. But with the current hunger crisis, people are more focused on providing food for their families, leaving me with fewer customers for the building poles. This has reduced my income, and now I solely rely on the transfers from GiveDirectly. For the coming year and beyond, I plan to use a portion of these transfers to continue paying school fees for my children and buy food for my family. Additionally, where possible, I intend to invest in chickens, hoping they will multiply and grow in value. My hope is that when my children need school fees, I can sell some of the chickens to cover their costs and ensure they continue with their education. I’m truly grateful for the support from GiveDirectly, especially during these difficult times."

"Our lives have been challenging over the past four months. Providing for my family has become an uphill battle. My husband had a dispute with a neighbor over land boundaries, which escalated and led to his remand in April. Unfortunately, he was our sole breadwinner. With our two-week-old baby to care for, I am unable to seek work to support our family of five. Our agony never started there, earlier this year, a strong wind destroyed our main house, forcing us to live in our kitchen, which has become both our living space and cooking area. We use firewood to cook and warm ourselves, In most cases the house is full of smoke and I am worried that our child might develop breathing complications."

"We are currently facing a prolonged period of drought in our region. This has affected our lives negatively owing to the fact that we are unable to plant any crop in our farms. Our main source of water is the lake which is also far and we cannot do any meaningful agricultural activity through irrigation."

"Lack of a sustainable income has made our lives hard. I am only a housewife and my husband is a night guard in a nearby construction company. He earns KES 10,000 a month. This income in unsustainable considering his polygamous nature. I have 8 school going children and my co-wife has 3 all depend on our husband's income. This has turned me into a charcoal burner which is illegal with meager income."

"My plan for this year is to buy land that I will specifically use for farming. Currently, I am leasing land, but I want to have my own space to grow crops. Owning my own land will allow me to farm consistently, which will help solve our food needs and meet our immediate household expenses. With the surplus from my farming, I will be able to pay school fees for my children. The thought of achieving this goal makes me very happy because it means my life will be better, and my family will no longer have to worry about food."

"Recently, when I received $450 from GiveDirectly, I started allocating the money according to my most urgent priorities. First, I had a leaking roof that caused a lot of discomfort for my family, especially during the rainy season. To solve this, I used $130 to buy iron sheets to improve the roof, which will now provide safety and comfort for my family. Next, I used $230 to buy three goats. Before this, I only owned four sheep. My plan is to raise these animals, and they will help generate income, which will be useful in times of emergencies. The money arrived just as I was harvesting, but I didn’t have enough funds to complete it. So, I used $40 to hire labor for harvesting a farm I planted in partnership with Kenya Seed Company. The money from this harvest will enable me to buy a generator, which will make my farming activities more sustainable, as I will no longer rely on rainfed agriculture. With the generator, I will be able to irrigate my farm. Lastly, I used the remaining amount to buy food and household items for my family to ensure we have enough to eat."

"For this year and the years to come, I have two specific goals I want to achieve. First, I want to make my farming sustainable. Second, I plan to pay my bride price. Farming will help me feed my family, and I intend to sell the surplus to start paying off the bride price, which feels like a debt. The thought of achieving this makes me happy because it means I will finally have a family of my own."

"What stood out to me about GiveDirectly is their response to the floods and how they helped us recover and get back on our feet. Their support has been crucial in helping us rebuild after the disaster. I would recommend that they consider providing us with additional money even after the third transfer. This would further help us continue recovering and improving our lives."