Since casual jobs such as weeding prove to be tiresome and unreliable, I hope to venture into crop farming. My plan is to cultivate beans and sweet potatoes on my 1/2-acre piece of land so as to produce food for my family of six. I do like these crops because they are short-term and drought-resistant, thus producing them fully by utilizing the short rainy seasons. I will be happy to quit the long-distance travel as well as earn more income for the family through the sales.

In my entire life, I never imagined such assistance would ever arrive in my community. Previously, life in my community was a struggle because of a lack of finances. I am glad that with the finances offered by GiveDirectly, people have responded to their various pressing needs. For instance, houses have been built, school fees paid, and food provided for the households. I never wish for the organization to change their way of working since the change is noticeable.

It is always said that no man can live on bread alone, and so, as the saying goes, I have to struggle to make ends meet and thus feed my family of 6. At the moment, I do casual jobs such as weeding to earn $1.5 per day. However, for me to get such jobs, I travel up to 5 kilometers daily. The income I earn, even though it is insufficient, all pays for food for the household, and I have no surplus. I am glad the transfers came in handy, for they boosted me a long way as I used $2000 to purchase a heifer that I hope will produce milk for the household once it lactates. At the moment, I have one, but it runs dry in some seasons; therefore, having two will give room for alternating. I also spent $2000 on paying school fees for the whole year for my son in grade 10. Last but not least, I used the rest of the transfers on food for the household, and now I can save the income I earn from casual jobs for future use.

I was delighted and relieved when I received the message from GiveDirectly. Because I wasn't expecting any money from anyone else at the time, identifying the source of the message was simple. Since I wasn't at home when the message arrived, I had to go to a nearby shopping center to get the money before returning home to inform my children. They, too, were excited by the news, and despite their curiosity, none of them inquired as to whether the funds were already available until the next day. We were all grateful for GiveDirectly's support.

The ability to meet my financial obligations and provide for my family's needs has made the biggest difference in my daily life since I began receiving payments from GiveDirectly. I was able to do a lot with the extra money, including pay off my sons' school fees. This enabled my three sons to receive their completion certificates and ready to move on to the next level of their education. Prior to GiveDirectly's support, it was a constant struggle to meet our basic needs, and education was a luxury that we could barely afford. However, the support has provided our family with stability and peace of mind, and I am now able to plan for our future with greater certainty.

My three sons had completed their secondary education but were unable to collect their certificates on time due to financial constraints. I made it a priority to clear their pending $300 after receiving the first transfer, and I am happy to report that they all have their certificates and are ready to begin classes at their respective colleges in May. I also spent $90 on two sacks of dry maize grains, which my family of five is currently eating. Previously, I had to rely on casual labor, which was difficult to find and always paid less for a large workload. I am pleased that I am currently preparing my farm for planting in the hopes of obtaining a better harvest and relieving myself of the tedious casual chores. It has also been difficult to manage my cows' grazing patterns due to a lack of partitions, and escape from the tether would result in crop destruction on nearby farms. To make grazing management easier, I spent $80 on barbed wire and fencing poles to partition the field. I saved the remaining amount and used it to replenish household goods whenever we ran out of anything consumable.