I'm a single parent and bear the responsibility of raising my five children without a reliable source of income. My children are still young and in lower levels of education, though some will soon be joining high school. Looking at my financial status, it might be difficult for me to raise fees when the time comes for them to join high school. To prepare for this, I plan to buy more livestock, particularly goats so that as they multiply, I can sell them to raise the fees for my children. With this plan, I am confident that my children's future is secure and they will be able to continue with their studies, despite my financial predicament. Currently, I have seven goats, and I expect their number to increase in the near future.

As a single parent of five children, I have been raising them alone while doing some menial jobs as well as doing subsistence farming to make ends meet. However, raising enough money for school fees has been a constant struggle as I don't have a stable source of income. I am grateful for GiveDirectly's monthly transfers, which have allowed me to keep my children in school. With my most recent transfer, I was able to pay $10 towards their school fees and reduce the outstanding arrears. This has given me peace of mind and allowed me to easily plan for the next term's fees. Furthermore, I have always wanted to keep livestock, especially goats and cows, to secure my children's education. I am worried that I may not be able to save enough money when they join high school; hence, the livestock will help me with this. Thus from the recent transfer, I am glad that I was able to buy three goats for $90, increasing my herd to seven. I plan to let them multiply and sell them in case of financial need, and also exchange them for a cow, hence increasing my living assets. Finally, I spent the remaining amount on buying foodstuffs such as sugar and vegetables, as well as some toiletries that were needed in my household.

At present, I possess six goats. My intention is to acquire an additional goat and then trade the total of seven goats for a bull. The bull will play a crucial role in preparing my land for planting during the rainy season. Furthermore, it will provide an opportunity for me to generate income by offering plowing services to others. The financial transfers have brought immense joy into my life, uplifting my circumstances.

Following the tragic passing of my husband, I have shouldered the responsibility of raising six children as a single parent. My primary source of income is through casual labor, particularly the sale of charcoal. Providing meals for my family of six and meeting their other needs, including education, has been a significant challenge. I allocated $20 to settle a school fee debt that had resulted in my children being sent home and missing three days of classes. I am relieved that they were able to sit for their end-of-term exams. Additionally, I invested $55 in the purchase of two goats, envisioning them as a future source of income when they multiply, allowing me to address my family's needs. To prevent my family from going to bed hungry, I also spent $29 on purchasing food. The ongoing financial support from the transfer has been invaluable in enabling me to care for my family amidst the hardships of generating limited income from selling charcoal. I am profoundly grateful for this assistance.

My objective for the near future and beyond is to achieve financial stability. It pains me deeply whenever I find myself unable to fulfill my children's basic necessities. This circumstance has sparked a strong desire within me to invest a portion of my income in purchasing goats. My plan is to let them multiply, and subsequently, I will sell some of them to acquire a dairy cow. The income generated from selling milk from the cow will provide us with a substantial amount of money to cover our daily expenses and support my family's needs.

As a widow responsible for my five children, I am the sole breadwinner in our household. To make ends meet, I engage in the laborious task of digging out tree stumps, converting them into charcoal, and selling them in the market. Unfortunately, this venture brings in meager earnings, leading to financial hardships and making it challenging to fulfill our basic needs. Recently, my children faced a difficult situation when they were sent home from school due to unpaid fees. Regrettably, I didn't have the funds to cover their education expenses, resulting in them staying home for a week. Despite my attempts to sweet talk the teachers and promise payment once my transfers arrived, my pleas fell on deaf ears. Thankfully, after receiving the July transfers, I was able to partially pay $10 of the $20 owed to the school, allowing my children to return to school and continue their education. To plan for future emergencies, I invested $15 in purchasing a young goat, which I see as a potential source of income. If needed, I can sell the goat to cover my children's school fees. With the remaining $9 from the transfers, I purchased food, ensuring that we didn't go hungry during this challenging time. I am relieved and grateful that the money from the transfers helped us through this difficult period and ensured that my children didn't miss any meals.

When my husband passed away, I took on charcoal burning as a means to raise money and take care of my six children. Through the practice, I make at most $8 after a week, which barely affords food for the entire week. This has made fulfilling other needs like school fees a struggle. With the monthly cash transfers, I plan to invest most of them in goat rearing. By the time my two grade-six sons are joining junior high school, I wish to have accumulated enough wealth through the goats to fund their tuition. 

Honestly, the cash transfers have listed some hardships I never thought would be possible to alleviate. Being a widow, raising six children by myself is never easy. However, with the support from Give Directly I can see a beam of hope. Not only has the money helped me to cover basic needs for my family, but it has also allowed me to own livestock. Recently, I mostly spent $45 from the latest two cash transfers to buy three goats. I hope that they will increase in numbers so that I can sell them to raise funds. Also, I used $12 to support the education of five of my children by buying them stationery and paying their tuition fees. The remaining $11 went towards the purchase of food, as my household would constantly run dry, at times forcing us to starve throughout the day. Despite the struggles, am happy that through the financial aid, hunger is less of a problem in my household and my children are mostly in school. 

The care of my six children is entirely my responsibility. Two of the students are in grade six, one is in grade four, another is in grade three, and the other two have not yet started school because they are still young. Since my husband passed away two years ago, I've found it difficult to provide for everyone in my family. I want to increase the number of goats in my herd. This is a long-term investment in the education of my kids. When the time comes, I'll sell some of them and use the proceeds to cover their tuition.

In my family, I am the only provider of income. After my husband passed away five years ago, I was left to care for my six children on my own. I sell charcoal to make a living as a casual laborer. I find it very difficult to provide for my family's needs because I don't generate many sales. My previous clients prefer to use firewood, which is a cheap and easily accessible fuel source. My kids frequently get sent home from school because they owe a ton in fees. So, in order to keep my kids in school, I paid $5 in school fees when I received my transfer. In addition to paying my tuition, I spent $24 on 12 packets of a two-kilogram supply of maize flour. This will sustain us for a full week while I work to earn money to purchase additional food. Now that my kids are in school and eating well, I feel calm and at peace.

When I got the transfer, I spent KES 2,500 on buying a goat. I do not have any livestock, though I have always wanted to own some. That, in my opinion, is a very viable type of investment. In my community, anyone who owns livestock is considered to have a high social status. As my goat herd grows, I will be able to provide educational support to my children by selling some goats. When GD continues to support me, I see a progressive development in my family in the coming years.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the GiveDirectly for helping me. The funds helped me when I was facing serious challenges of providing essential needs (food, medication, and fees) for my family. I would like the organization to focus on timely disbursement of the transfers to prevent further suffering from our end.

My life as a widow has been very challenging. I am the sole breadwinner of my 6 children. I earn a living by making and selling charcoal. Making the charcoal is very long (3 to 4 days) and tedious with very low income. The demand for charcoal has recently dropped, hence making it difficult to find a potential client. I am forced to buy food on credit, in the event I cannot sell any charcoal. We have frequently slept hungry together with my children due to a lack of money to buy food. The problems I faced forced me to buy a goat worth KES 2500 as an investment for the future. Once it multiplies in number, I will sell some and use the money to educate my children. Besides buying the goat, I spent the remaining amount to buy food for my family after spending 2 days without food surviving on water and wild fruits.

I was on my way to the clinic since I have a small baby who needed urgent medical attention as she had developed a severe cold during the night. While on my way, I met my friend who told me she had received her transfer. I became very anxious and eager. Few meters away from the hospital gate, I heard my phone ringing loudly. When I checked it out, I found out that I had too received my transfer. I was thrilled. After the clinic, I headed straight to the Mpesa and withdrew the money and bought food first.

The transfer has made a big difference in my life. Being the sole breadwinner in my family, I fully understand what it means to struggle to put food on the table. Receiving the transfer has eased an enormous burden on me and I can smile all the way and look hopefully for a better tomorrow and that my children will finish their education.

Being the sole breadwinner of my family after my husband’s death, life has not been a bed roses. I currently work on manual jobs like fetching water for other people for pay, cutting wood to make charcoal and selling firewood. The earnings from these jobs are very little to meet all my needs. My children have frequently been sent home due to school fee arrears. Immediately I received my transfer, I spent half of the transfer amounting to KSH 600 to pay off part of the school debt I owed to the school so that my children would go back to school and continue with their learning with no further delays. In addition, I spent the other half in buying food for my family. Being the sole breadwinner, I sometimes lack money to buy food for my children and at this moment it was not any different as I did not have any money. Buying the food was very important to ensure that my family does not starve.