In the past, my main goal was to get a bed and mattress for myself, as I had none and I was sleeping on the floor which was very uncomfortable. With the transfers I received, I was able to buy a bed and mattress, and I am now so grateful to sleep comfortably each night. However, I now realize that my teenage son, who is growing up quickly, also needs his own space. It no longer feels right for us to share the same living area, especially as he becomes more older. Therefore, this year, I plan to use part of my future transfers from GiveDirectly to gradually purchase building materials so I can construct a small house for him. I want both of us to have the privacy and comfort we deserve, each in our own space. I am hopeful that, little by little, I will be able to complete this project and give him this special gift. Just thinking about it fills me with joy. I am deeply grateful for these transfers, as they are making dreams like this feel within reach. I know I will be overjoyed when I can finally hand over a place my son can truly call his own.

My daughter has been unwell, and we have found ourselves making constant trips to the hospital. It has been such a difficult time, but the transfers from GiveDirectly have truly been a lifeline in covering her medication costs. Recently, I spent $34 of my transfer to take her to the hospital to get the necessary care. She is still not fully well, but I hold onto hope that she will recover soon. I am deeply grateful for this support, which has allowed me to be there for my daughter in her time of need. In addition to my daughter’s medical expenses, I was in the process of buying a bed and mattress, something that felt almost out of reach for so long. For years, I had been sleeping on a worn-out sack on the floor, and it was uncomfortable beyond words. I had begun to pay for the bed and mattress with earlier transfers, and with the recent transfers, I spent another $68 and I was able to complete the payment. Now, I finally have a proper place to sleep, a place where I can rest well and wake up feeling refreshed. This support from GiveDirectly has made such a difference in my life, and I am truly grateful. I can focus on my daughter’s health and finally have a comfortable place to sleep, all thanks to the help I have received.

I take on various jobs, from working on construction sites to cleaning, just to make ends meet. My children rely on me completely, so I am committed to doing everything I can to meet their needs. Our current sleeping conditions are very poor; we use an old, small mattress that barely offers any comfort. Thanks to GiveDirectly, I was able to join a savings group where I will soon receive funds to buy a new mattress and bed for my family. This will provide us with the comfort and quality sleep we desperately need. I am excited to receive my money from my savings group and ones I receive, I will first purchase one bed for us, followed by another for my children.

As a mother of three, my main goal is to improve our living standards. To achieve this, I joined a savings group where I contribute $20 each month. So far, I have saved $60, which I plan to use to purchase essential items for our home, such as a bed and mattress. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for their support, which has made this possible. Additionally, I spent $28 on food to ensure my family has enough to eat for the week. With the remaining $14, I paid my children’s school fees to keep their education on track and prevent any interruptions.

In the coming year and beyond, I want to focus on buying a mattress and a bed. With two children and a house given to me by my parents after separating from my spouse, I want to ensure that I maintain a clean and comfortable house for my children. Currently, our biggest need is proper bedding, as our current mattress and bed are too small and old. We are making do with the situation while we look for a better option. Therefore, in the upcoming year, I plan to use my transfer to purchase a better and more spacious mattress and bed. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for easing my financial situation and making it easier for me to acquire these much-needed items.

When I received my most recent transfer, I spent $30 to buy food for our family consumption to ensure we have enough to last us for at least several days. With the remaining $68, I bought roofing materials and replaced the old roof. A heavy wind partially blew off my house roof, and I had to replace it urgently for safety reasons. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for the financial support as it has enabled me to meet my immediate need of repairing the roof of my house.

I have been working on building a house which is now complete and myself and my children are staying there. I however do not have house furniture. I need a bed, I have asked around and was told I would need about $120 to buy a bed and around $50 for anew mattress. My plan is to redirect my entire transfers into savings to ensure I am able to reach this goal before the year ends.

I have been working on a project to build a house since I have not had my own place. I separated from my husband a long time ago and I have been living with my mother. I used my November transfers to buy an iron sheet and wood and also pay for a mason to make my door for the new house. I used the rest of the money to pay a school fees debt I had at $10 for my child. The rest of the money bought toiletries and vegetables. I used my entire December transfers on food. I have not used my January transfers I have saved the entire amount.

My primary objective for the coming year and beyond is to complete the construction of my house. I aspire to achieve this goal by persistently saving the transfers I receive. This endeavor holds great importance as it will provide a secure living space for both my children and me, granting me a profound sense of peace and security. Thank you Give Directly for the assistance you have given us.

I am a casual laborer, engaging in various tasks within my village to secure a livelihood and provide sustenance for my children. Following my separation from my husband, I now live with my parents and I am immensely grateful for the assistance I've received from Give Directly, which has significantly improved my life. With their support, I have embarked on the journey of constructing my own home, made possible through a loan provided by a savings club I joined. I used $68 to offset a portion of this loan, and an additional $20 went towards clearing school fee arrears for my children. The remaining $14 was allocated to purchasing food for my family, a necessity we were lacking.

In the coming months, I plan to start constructing my own home. Since my divorce from my husband, I've been living on my parents' property. My two children are also with me, and we do not have much privacy. Since then, my ambition has been to construct a home for myself and my children. So far, the transfer and my small savings have enabled me to purchase 14 pieces of iron sheets, and I intend to purchase more for a larger house as well as begin purchasing building poles. Despite surviving on menial jobs with low pay, the transfers enabled me to save and purchase some of the materials. Having my own home, where I can live peacefully with my children under one roof, will be my greatest achievement.

I moved to my parent's house after divorcing my husband, and I've been surviving on menial jobs like laundry and casual construction jobs while staying at my parent's house ever since. At my age, I was not at ease staying at my parents' compound. I couldn't get the privacy I wanted. I was only making $10 per week and could sometimes go days without working. The additional burden of paying fees for my two children made building a house difficult. After paying my children's fees, however, I was able to save some money from my menial jobs and $24 from the monthly transfers. I've already purchased 14 iron sheets and plan to start buying building poles to start construction. Aside from that, I used the remainder of the funds to purchase long-lasting foods such as maize flour and cereals. This ensured that my children were fed adequately and did not go to school hungry. I am glad that I can effectively budget for food, unlike before, when my children could go for some days without food, which almost affected their studies negatively.

My main objective for this year is to construct a home. I haven't felt particularly proud of living in my parents' home for the past three years. Although it will take me some time, my long-term objective is to have all the supplies I need to construct the two-room house by the end of the year. I'm confident that I can purchase the necessary 24 pieces of ironsheets, building poles, cement, and building stones by setting aside a portion of my income and a portion of my monthly transfer. When the building is finished and I'm ready to move in, my heart will burst with happiness.

My only option after divorcing my husband was to return to my father's home. Since then, I've become very motivated to construct my own home. Currently, I reside in my father's home, but I believe the time has come for me to leave and establish my independence. I was able to purchase five sheets of iron sheeting last year with the money I saved from the transfer. I saved $19 after receiving my January transfers, money I'll use to buy more ironsheets. I sometimes struggle to support the family because I'm the only provider and only work on odd casual jobs. I am responsible for providing food for my son, my parents, and myself. I am appreciative of the January transfers because they arrived just in time when I was having financial difficulties. I spent $15 on food, enough to feed the family for two weeks without them going hungry.

In my opinion GiveDirectly does very well by giving support in form of cash. Everyone is thus empowered and are in a position to make informed decisions on what they need contrary to a situation where people are given material things which they may not require.

I am a mother of two children, the first born being 18 and the second born being 12. One of my children dropped out of school at an early age and is now engaging in odd casual jobs to re arn a living. Life has not really been that easy for us after I divorced m to husband many years a go. I have had to depend on odd casual jobs just to make ends meet for my family. I came home and we had to stay under the same roof with my parents. I could not be in a position to build a new house for us since I depended on casual work to earn an income. Getting money for food alone has lately been a toll order. When I started receiving payments from GiveDirectly, I felt so much happy and relieved about it. I am determined to make some savings that will see me build our own house and we move into it soon. It is fir this reason that I recently saved $10 that will be used to buy iron sheets. The plan is to buy pieces of iron sheets until it's enough to build a new house. I also used another $10 to pay school fees for one of my children who is still in school. Getting money to pay school fees has been very hard lately because of the rising cost of living.

I was on my way home from my usual work when I received a confirmation message of the receipt of my first transfer. This came as surprise because I was not sure whether it would be sent as we had been promised. I felt excited deep within me and kept on smiling knowing I would finally start the journey towards constructing a house for my family.

The hope of soon owning a house is the biggest difference in my daily life. This has been my dream but I had nothing to motivate me toward achieving it due to my low income from casual work. I do laundry within the village earning 200 KES whenever I am lucky to get one because they are not reliable. This can barely afford household meals. With the transfers, I am sure the dream of having my own house will soon come true.

I plan to construct a house. Currently, I have a family of 2 children, and we all stay at my mother's house. My marriage did not work out hence we parted ways with my husband and I had to come to my mother because I had nowhere to go. It is not comfortable, and we do not have privacy anymore because we are currently ten people in the family. I have, therefore, saved 1100 KES of the first transfer which I will later add to the coming transfers, and some of my savings and later use them to purchase building materials for constructing my house.