"Upon receiving my second transfer from Give Directly, I was filled with immense joy and gratitude, knowing that it would significantly improve my family's living conditions. Our previous home was aged, cramped, and on the brink of collapse, posing a safety threat to my family. With $300, I constructed a safer, two-roomed house, suitable for our three-member family. Additionally, as a first step towards investing, I spent $105 to purchase three goats. The remaining funds were used to secure enough food to sustain my family for an extended period."

"My biggest goal at the moment is to construct a better house for my family. Our current living condition is not good as we fear that the house may not be able to withstand extreme weather conditions such as heavy rains and may eventually collapse. To prevent this disaster and assure my family of their safety, it is paramount that we construct a new house. I have been purchasing the required materials in bits due to low income and increased cost of living, but I am happy with the progress I have made so far. I have now purchased most of the materials and hope that I will complete this project before the end of the year. Once this is complete, I will set a new goal long term goal, which is most likely to construct a separate house for my teenage children."

"My dream is to join college to pursue a course in teaching, but coming from a poor background makes me certain that my parents are not able to afford the required fees for the course as they are already struggling to pay fees for my younger siblings. This has left me no choice but to raise the money for my course on my own hence the reason I relocated to a nearby town to start a grocery business as it was the easiest to set up using minimal capital. My main aim is to stabilize this business to a point where it can sustain my daily needs and boost my savings as well. This will allow me to save my entire transfer amounts and hasten my dream of joining college. Once I am in school, I can hire someone to run the business while am away and use the transfers for my personal and school needs. Joining college and paying for my own tuition fees would be the biggest achievement in my life and would serve as a good example for my siblings and encourage them that we can still achieve greater things in life despite our current condition."

"In the upcoming year, my primary goal is to acquire a minimum of three goats. The preceding months have presented significant financial challenges, as a substantial portion of my income went towards covering the educational expenses of my three children, who are enrolled in college, secondary school, and primary school, respectively. However, with the current bountiful harvest from our farms, I am excited about the prospect of investing in livestock. I take immense satisfaction in the fact that I can now afford to purchase a bull, which will not only aid in cultivating my land but also serve as a source of additional income through the sale of goats as they multiply."

"In the upcoming year, my intention is to allocate my monthly stipend towards acquiring livestock, with a particular focus on goats and hens. The monthly funds at my disposal are sufficient to facilitate the purchase of these specific types of animals. Furthermore, I aspire to expand my livestock portfolio by eventually obtaining a dairy goat. This aspiration will come to fruition once I have successfully sold a portion of my goats and hens. This strategic investment in livestock serves a dual purpose, offering me a safeguard for unforeseen emergencies by allowing me the option to sell some of my livestock and utilize the proceeds for personal assistance."

"Now that I own a sawing machine, I need to expand this business by bringing in materials for sale and for making trendy dresses that I can sell at a decent price. This does not require a lot of money and with my next transfer, I can start by bringing 2 pieces of the required materials and increase the stock with time. With this improved business, I anticipate that my income will greatly improve and with this, I can now afford to dream of expanding my house which is very small. Having only one bedroom, my children have to sleep at their grandparent's house and I am always scared whenever someone wants to visit because I am always worried about where they will sleep. This is why it is paramount that I expand the house so that I can keep a close eye on my children, especially the older one who is now in his teenage years. My plan is to save as much as possible from the transfers and the business in order to achieve this goal."

"In the upcoming year and beyond, my foremost objective is to enhance and expand my tailoring business before the conclusion of the cash program. With a thriving business, I aim to assume a more significant role in managing our family's financial responsibilities, reducing my reliance on my husband for everything. Additionally, I aspire to utilize these funds to support my children's education by covering their school fees, ensuring a brighter future for them."

"The high cost of living is the biggest challenge that we are currently facing, the ends does not meet anymore and it has made our lives unbearable. This has made us struggle a big deal to put food on the table and meet other household demands. Our standard of living has taken a downward trajectory as a result, we are forced to eat less desired food just to keep us going, it is not a life that we enjoy and it worries us a lot."

"Food security is afflicting us a great deal. Putting food on table is a toll order as we depend on casual jobs that are intermittent. We live from hand to mouth, and sometimes we lack what to eat even today we have not taken lunch. I have an allergy that has been a thorn in flesh in my life since I cannot engage in doing casual jobs in farms, I am very allergic to farm chemicals and therefore it has limited me from doing casual jobs which are common so most of the time we depend on my husband as the only sole breadwinner. The dependency ratio is high, I sympathize with him and feel bad that I am not able to help him fend for our children."

"Given the persistent adverse weather conditions that have existed for years, we have hoped to reside in proximity to a water source or, at the very least, acquire substantial water collection equipment capable of harnessing rainwater. This yearning has been a prevailing sentiment within my household, as we have perpetually experienced the financial strain of buying water deliveries via motorcycles. Looking ahead into the coming years, my ambition is to amass sufficient funds through livestock farming and my casual labor to facilitate the establishment of a piped water connection directly to my doorstep. This endeavor holds the potential to yield multiple benefits, spanning from household water consumption to supporting livestock rearing and irrigating a vegetable garden, thereby generating supplementary income by supplying vegetables to the local community."