I am almost finished with the construction of my house, which is a great relief as I will no longer have to spend nights in the cold. Additionally, I plan to save enough money to purchase livestock. Investing in livestock offers me the opportunity to grow my wealth as they multiply, and during emergencies, I will have something to rely on. I can sell some livestock and use the money to take care of myself. I am very happy and appreciative of the financial support I have received so far, which has significantly improved my life.

Sadly, my house collapsed in March due to strong winds blowing across our village. After this, I sought shelter in the structure where I usually cook my meals. With the help of my two sons, who work as casual laborers in town, we began building a new house. I spent $68 from my transfers to purchase building poles and three pieces of iron sheets. My sons covered the cost of the other materials and paid the mason. I am happy that the house is nearly ready, and I can't wait to move in. I also spent $30 to plow my 2-acre land, preparing it for planting now that the rains have come. I hope for a bumper harvest, which will ensure I have sufficient food for a long time. Additionally, I spent $9 on food, ensuring I had enough to eat and never went hungry. I am very grateful for the financial transfers, which have eased my financial struggles from selling charcoal in Mariakani town. Now, I can sell charcoal from my compound, alleviating the hardship of walking long distances.

I plan to allocate a large portion of my subsequent transfers to purchasing livestock. Investing in livestock can create substantial wealth over time. As my goats multiply and the herd grows, I can sell some to generate funds during emergencies. A large herd of livestock will provide me with the financial stability to support myself even after the financial aid ends. I am very happy and grateful for the support, which has significantly improved the quality of my life.

I earn a living through subsistence farming and by digging up tree stumps and making charcoal for sale. These activities provide me with very little income, and I often struggle financially to meet my needs. To sustain my family, I used a significant portion of my transfers to buy food, spending $29 to ensure we had enough to eat. I also purchased three hens for $9, hoping they will multiply so I can sell some of them for extra income. After receiving some rains, I plowed my 2-acre land in preparation for the planting season, hoping for a bumper harvest to ensure food security. Last month, my house partly collapsed due to a heavy windstorm. I spent $34 on new building poles to repair my house, and I am glad it is now secure and in good condition. I am very grateful for the financial support from the transfers. Without it, I would not have been able to make these improvements and enhance the quality of my life.

My son has recently started high school, and since I don't have any external support, my plan is to finance his education through the monthly transfers that I receive. These consistent transfers provide me with the assurance that I can cover his school fees, enabling him to pursue his educational objectives without any obstacles. I am fully committed to ensuring timely payment of his fees and facilitating a smooth and uninterrupted educational journey for him. In my experience, owning goats has also proven to be a valuable investment, as it has allowed me to send my children to school. Recognizing the significant impact of this investment, my goal is also to expand my livestock holdings by acquiring more goats and chickens. Currently, I own nine goats, having sold some previously, and six chickens.

As my son was about to transition from primary to high school, I knew that I would face a significant financial challenge. To prepare for this, I committed to saving a portion of my monthly transfers. By the time my son completed his studies and passed his national exams, I had managed to save over $100 from my past three transfers. However, I knew that this would not be enough to cover the cost of his education, so I decided to sell some of my goats to supplement my savings. Thanks to my savings and the money I earned from selling my goats, I was able to cover the cost of my son's high school education without any major financial struggles. This was a tremendous relief because I knew that I would have faced significant delays in raising the required fees if I had to do it alone. Unfortunately, I receive minimal assistance from my other sons, who are employed in low-paying jobs on construction sites and have their families to support. Fortunately, GiveDirectly has played a crucial role in helping me provide my son with the education he deserves. Despite my financial limitations, my son is now comfortably pursuing his education, and I am optimistic that he will achieve his educational aspirations with continued support.

Having successfully achieved my objective of constructing a new house, my next plan involves utilizing my funds to acquire additional goats. I hold the belief that these goats will prove to be a valuable resource in times of financial uncertainty. As a subsistence farmer, my income is not stable or dependable, making livestock ownership a prudent investment choice. I can anticipate selling some of them and generating a supplementary income stream. Additionally, goats are easy to maintain and require less management, further solidifying their appeal as an investment option.

Constructing a decent house represents my most significant accomplishment since becoming a part of this program. Previously, I resided in a grass-thatched hut, with no prospects of ever upgrading to a house with an iron roof. I am filled with immense joy because, through diligent savings from the monthly transfers, I was able to acquire 24 sheets of iron and several building poles, ultimately fulfilling my dream of building a proper home. Although I hadn't fully completed the purchase of all the necessary materials to finish the house, including a door, I allocated $34 to secure these remaining items and procured a new door, which I promptly installed in my new dwelling. I am deeply grateful to GiveDirectly for their financial support, as it has enabled me to attain a decent living space. Furthermore, I invested $40 in acquiring two goats, which I am currently caring for. These living assets provide me with a sense of security, knowing that I have resources to fall back on in times of financial need. Additionally, I spent $14 to purchase new clothing for myself, a task that had proven challenging prior to my enrollment in the program. I am elated that the transfers have allowed me to elevate my standard of living, affording me the ability to acquire items that were previously out of reach due to financial constraints. Finally, with the remaining funds, I addressed various household needs by purchasing essential items that were lacking in my home.

I couldn't easily build a new house after my house collapsed due to the heavy rains we had. I had to seek refuge from neighbors until my sons built me a temporary small structure that I have been calling home so far. Since receiving the transfer, I've decided to begin purchasing materials in order to construct a large, semi-permanent house capable of withstanding any disaster. My goal is to save some money so that I can buy building materials like iron sheets and cement to make bricks. So far, I've purchased ten iron sheets, with a goal of purchasing twenty by the end of the year. I intend to begin the project as soon as possible because having a good shelter will undoubtedly give me peace of mind.

After a heavy downpour, the house that had long served as my refuge collapsed. Its walls were shaky, and the roof was falling apart. This forced me to seek refuge with my neighbours until my sons were able to construct a temporary house. However, I am not at ease sheltering in this small house, and I have resolved to build a new, larger house. I've been buying three pieces of iron sheets for $28 every month, and I've now purchased ten. I also sell sardines, which has supplemented my savings because I earn at least $20 per month. My goal is to purchase 20 iron sheets, which I believe I will be able to do with the transfer and the small savings I have. I intend to make cement bricks in order to construct a semi-permanent house. Having a decent and stable house will keep me safe from rain and strong winds. In addition, I've been saving $5 at our local merry-go-round. My goal is to save enough money to purchase bags of cement to make the bricks for the house. I also spent some of the money on food for my family, such as maize flour and cereal. This ensured that my family never went hungry since food was available.

I have been paying fees for my son through the transfer since last year and I'm glad that he completed his college studies, courtesy of GiveDirectly. I am now planning to buy 10 pieces of iron sheets, building poles and timber in order to rebuild my living house's roof. It was blown away and destroyed by strong winds and I couldn't readily renovate it because the transfer went to fees only. I will be purchasing 4 iron sheets every month to facilitate this. Once I am done with renovating the roof, I will save some money and buy some goats, I'm currently owning two. These are assets that I can also rely on in case of a financial need since they will reproduce and increase in number.

My ideal plan after I got enrolled into the program was that I was going to use the funds and finish paying off my son's tuition for college and then afterwards I had the intentions of finally renovating my house. Lucky for me, when I received these funds my son was finally done with college and that meant that I could finally renovate my house especially since the iron sheets were quite old and had holes which left me and my belongings drenched whenever it rained. I ended up using the entire transaction of 3,400 on acquiring two pairs of iron sheets.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well in sending direct cash transfers to poor individuals in our society. Through the transfer, I can afford to keep my child in school without him frequently missing classes. I am very grateful for the transfer that has relieved some of the burdens of providing for the family since I am a widower.

I spent $15 to support the education of my last-born son who is in form 3 in a day secondary school. This was for paying part of his remedial fees. Currently, I am happy that he is attending his remedial classes without any disruption. In addition, I used $10 to purchase one Iron sheet with the intention to purchase one extra iron sheet per transfer. I would use them to renovate the roof of my house which was blown away by the strong winds that we experience one month ago. Finally, I spent the remaining amount to purchase sufficient food for the family since we did not have enough food in the store. The charcoal vending that I am doing could not support my family fully due to the low number of customers.

At 4 p.m., my phone buzzed with a message notification while I was relaxing at home. Because I cannot read, my daughter-in-law assisted me in understanding the meaning of the message. There are no words to describe how thrilled I was when she informed me that my first transfer from Give Directly had arrived. Given that we hadn't eaten in two days, the money would relieve a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I'm still happy today.

My biggest concern prior to the cash transfer was paying off my son's college fee debt, which had been accruing since last year. He was sent out of class on occasion to collect the money, but I had nothing to offer him. Fortunately, the financial transfer allowed me to entirely clear the debt and relieved my tension. He expects to finish his studies in the following two months, having paid all of his tuition. My mind is now clear enough to focus on other objectives, such as building a new house and obtaining livestock.

I utilized KES 500 from the transfer to pay off a pending school tuition balance for my son, who is studying an electrical course in college. The balance had been outstanding since last year and I could not afford to clear it at that time.  I'm delighted he's continuing his education thanks to Give Directl's cash program. In addition, at the time I received the money, my family had run out of food for the previous two days and had slept hungry the night before. My boys, on whom I rely the most, had not made enough money from their chewing stick sales to buy food. That's why I paid KES 600 for maize flour for my family.