My house is in a dilapidated condition. The iron sheets covering the roof are rusty and riddled with holes. Whenever it rains, the roof leaks profusely. The mud walls of the house are also weak and caving in, almost collapsing. I fear for my safety sleeping in the house. My goal for the coming year is to use the money I will get from my merry-go-round group to purchase more iron sheets and new building poles. I currently have four pieces of iron sheets purchased with the cash transfers. With the additional funds, I plan to secure enough materials to repair the roof and reinforce the walls, ensuring a safe and stable shelter for my family. I am very happy with the financial boost I am getting from the cash transfers, which is helping me achieve my goal. This support is making a significant difference in my life, providing me with the means to improve my living conditions and ensure the safety and well-being of my family.

I am the sole breadwinner of my family of five members. The biggest challenge I face is my health. My health condition has been deteriorating, and thus I am unable to work on labor-intensive jobs. Uprooting tree stumps to make charcoal is labor-intensive, and because of my deteriorating health condition, I am no longer able to do the job and fully depend on the cash transfers to support the needs of my family. To ensure that I maximize the benefits of the cash transfers, I joined a merry-go-round group consisting of four members. Every month, we each contribute $20 from our transfers, making a total of $80. This amount is then given to one member who can use the transfers to undertake a project that will improve their life. My focus is to repair my house, which is in a dilapidated condition. The rusty iron sheets covering my house are leaking, and the walls are almost collapsing, making it unsafe for me and my family to sleep inside. I have already purchased four pieces of iron sheets with the help of the cash transfers. I spent $60 as my contribution to the merry-go-round as I await my turn to receive the cash. I purchased food worth $40 for my family, ensuring that they had enough to eat. I also paid $2 in exam fees for my two children in Ikanga Primary School. I am very happy and appreciative of the financial support that is helping me take care of my family despite the challenges I face with my health in providing for them. .

I aim to build a floor in my house. Right now, the floor is made of mud. When it rains, the place sometimes becomes flooded with water, which dampens the space. Also, I fear that the mud walls may disintegrate from continuous rain. My wish is to have the walls plastered with concrete and install a concrete floor by the time the cash transfers end. I believe that this will protect the walls and the floor from water damage and, at the same time, shield my family from cold-related infections during the rains.

I used to make charcoal but developed chest complications due to the strenuous nature of the practice. As a result, I took a break from the practice when the transfers started. I have basically been spending the funds to cover the daily needs of my family. Recently, one of my children did not have decent uniforms; hers was tattered due to repetitive use. So I used $7 to buy her new school uniforms, and now she is more confident wearing comfortable attire to school. I also set aside $20 in my mobile money account. I plan to keep accumulating this money when I receive other transfers to buy a goat. The aim is to rear the goat. It can help me in events when my child has been sent home from school due to fees. I can sell the goats to raise the school fees. Ever since I started receiving the transfers, I joined a savings club intending to build a house. I am happy that this goal came to pass last year, and now I have a good place to call home. With this being done, I started saving towards the college fees of my child. She completed primary school last year but did not perform well enough to join high school. So, I would like to enroll her in a hair-making training college. I saved $60 for this purpose. The remaining amount went towards the purchase of food to ensure that my children never went a day without eating.

In the upcoming year, I have set two primary goals: completing the renovation of my house and expanding my existing goat herd. Acquiring more goats is a strategic investment aimed at supporting my children's education in the future. The renovation of my home not only enhances its security but also provides a more stable living environment for my family. To achieve these aspirations, I plan to utilize my savings. I am filled with happiness and gratitude for the opportunity to improve my life and work towards creating a better future for my family.

Being a widow for several years, the responsibility of caring for my four children has consistently presented challenges. My livelihood relies on farming and selling charcoal, although it has not always been sufficient. The timely intervention of GiveDirectly in my village brought relief when I needed it the most, preventing my children from dropping out of school due to a lack of fees. The assistance has enabled me to provide them with a comfortable education, resulting in two of them completing their studies. With the financial support received, I also managed to acquire two goats and expand my small house into a more spacious home. Allocating $30 towards land tilling for the ongoing planting season, I further invested $42 in procuring food for my family, bridging the gap until our harvest. The remaining funds were wisely saved in a local savings group, serving as a financial resource for various purposes in the coming year. With gratitude, I eagerly anticipate a prosperous and fulfilling year ahead.

Looking ahead, I aspire to build a new house by the beginning of the upcoming year. Our current one-room dwelling is inadequate to accommodate my three children and myself. Additionally, due to concerns about my two goats' well-being, they share the space with us to protect them from the cold. To address these challenges, my goal is to continue saving through the merry-go-round group, gradually accumulating the funds needed to construct a more spacious and comfortable home for my family. I would be happy if I built one with two rooms.

As a widow, I lack substantial support. I engage in charcoal burning and other odd jobs to provide for my three children and myself. Occasionally, my eldest son helps us with some essentials, but it's not enough to sustain us. So, upon receiving the cash transfers, my main priorities include settling school fees and providing enough food for my household. With three children in school, covering their fees can be a financial challenge. While I cannot manage to pay the entire fee at once, I contribute whatever I can to ensure they are not sent away from school. In the most recent transfer, I directed $7 towards reducing their tuition. The transfer has been a lifeline for us; without it, my children might have faced the risk of dropping out. I also contribute $10 to a merry-go-round group, a savings initiative that I intend to use for multiple purposes. My plan revolves around using the accumulated savings to invest in livestock, build a more suitable house, and ensure my children's education expenses are covered. The remaining portion of the recent transfer was directed toward purchasing food. The struggle with food scarcity is common for us, often leading to missing meals. I purchased food to at least ensure that my children do not go to bed hungry.

Being a widow, am the only person that my three children (one is in junior high school, one in grade eight, and the other one in grade six) count on for provision. I want to be capable of supporting their basic needs like food and education but am afraid my practice of making charcoal may not go a long way. That is why, I wish to use the cash transfers to secure goats to grow my wealth as they reproduce. In the future, I will sell them to cater to my children’s needs. As I save to buy the goats, I also wish to spend part of the money on constructing an extra room in my house. The current one-room space is quite small to accommodate the four of us. 

Every time I get the funds, I usually save $10 through a self-help group. As the savings grow, they allow me to secure goats as an investment. When these goats multiply and grow, I will sell them to support the education of my three children who solely count on me for their daily needs. Apart from saving, deduct $10 to cover school fees for the children. Recently, I paid the same amount for my grade six son to reduce the balance that had accrued over the academic term. I am relieved that he will be able to sit for his end-of-term examinations, courtesy of the cash transfers. Also, since my charcoal-burning business barely provides daily meals for my family, I mostly spend the remaining $14 on food. To be honest, the financial aid improves the well-being of my children and me; we rarely miss meals and the children stay in school. I am certain that if it were not for Give Directly, most of my babies would have dropped out of school for lack of tuition money. I will eternally be grateful! 

To be honest, my three children would have dropped out of school by now were it not for the cash transfers. The $5 I make every week from burning charcoal would not have kept them in school. Being a widow, I lack extra support to provide for my children, and it could be overwhelming sometimes. However, I thank God for the cash transfers for they have covered most of their school fees. Supporting my children’s education is how I plan to continue spending my transfers. Right now, one of them is set to be admitted to high school and I intend to channel everything from the next transfer toward that course. Am certain that education is the surest way they will eventually pull us out of poverty.

I am a widow surviving on burning and selling charcoal as the only source of livelihood. The job is tiresome and tedious and does not pay well, hence making it hard to fend for my family. I have four children in school who look up to me for school fees, food, and their daily needs. There was a risk of them being discontinued from school after failing to pay their fees on time. They were constantly being sent home and they would stay for weeks without attending classes, which meant they were missing a lot compared to other students. I appreciate GiveDirectly for coming through with the financial help. I cleared the fee arrears through the recent transfers and my children can continue with their studies. Besides this, I have been able to provide food daily with ease. I also purchased a goat, which I am currently keeping at my homestead. Owning the goat is a saving for the future of my children's education. I will sell the offspring to cater to my children's fees in the future.

My husband died a few years ago. By the time of his death, we had four children. They are still in primary school and I have struggled all alone to support and provide both financial and emotional support for my family. As soon as I started receiving the transfers, I joined a rotational savings group where we save KES 1000 every month. I have so far saved KES 3000 of the last three months' transfers. I plan to set up a goat-rearing project for business when I earn my shares. Buying and selling charcoal is my main source of income but I do not make much profit from it to sustain my family. The income from the goats will be a boost to our household income. Besides saving some money, I paid KES 3000 tuition fee for my children, and I am glad they do not owe the school anymore. The remaining KES 3000 I spent on different kinds of foodstuffs for my family.

I am so glad and grateful for all that GiveDirectly does. It works so well in visiting every household and considers enrolling all eligible people. It offers finances as a way of promoting the well-being of its targeted recipients. As a result, we have had positive changes in terms of the ease to obtain food as well as buying some household items that we could not afford at first. So far no one has complained about the program GiveDirectly does.

I am a widow with no source of income. Because I did not have one, I spent KES 2,500 on a new mattress. Previously, I was only using sacks. I am grateful that I am currently residing in a pleasant environment. My peasantry and charcoal-burning are my only sources of income. Because of the unpredictability of weather patterns, the peasantry has not been producing much. In two weeks, charcoal only generates KES 400. Because I have five children, this is a small amount to sustain my family of six.

We were at home just seated with my family wondering how they would turn since we had not got any customers to purchase the charcoal we had in stock. In the process, I got a message notification but since I never went to school, I handed the phone to my son for assistance with the message. He then told me that I had received some money from Indirectly. It was such a happy moment for us. That was a blessed way to start my day.

The tough economic situations which have led to rising prices of commodities with no reliable source of income have made it challenging to meet our household needs including the most basic like food. Having a meal a day has been our norm, at times we would go without any meal for the whole day. I am glad the corn we bought with the first transfer has been pushing my family. I am hoping to see more improvements with the coming transfers.

We have been experiencing famine making it challenging raising money for the family's basic needs like food. I normally burn charcoal for sale and practice subsistence farming during the rainy seasons. Due to the prolonged drought, I did not get a good harvest in the last season hence leaving me to budget for food. I, therefore, spent KES1200 that I received on mostly corn and some other foodstuffs for the family.