Currently, our one-room grass-thatched house feels cramped with nine children, causing some of them to sleep at their grandmother's. To address this, my spouse and I have decided to start saving diligently towards building a better house. We envision a spacious, comfortable house where all of us can thrive together. It's more than just having a house; it's about creating a condusive living enviroment, where our family bonds can grow stronger. Starting in January, I plan to use my share of the savings strictly to buy iron sheets. Our goal is to build a two-roomed house that will better accommodate our family and provide a more secure and comfortable living environment. With determination and teamwork, we are committed to making this vision a reality.

Previously, my children were frequently sent home from school due to unpaid fees, but now the teachers listen to us more attentively. Before receiving support from GiveDirectly, I used to burn and sell charcoal to provide for my family. I am very grateful for this financial assistance, as it has significantly eased my financial burden. With the support from GiveDirectly, I no longer have to work as tirelessly, as I can now better balance my financial needs. For instance, from my most recent transfer, I spent $52 on food for my family because we had none available at home. Unfortunately, my investment in farming last season yielded no harvest due to harsh weather, which is why I used most of my transfer on food and some on buying water for domestic use. Additionally, I allocated $40 to cover my children’s school fees to prevent them from being sent home. I saved the remaining $20 in our savings group, as I am planning to build a better house in the future.

By December, I'm aiming to begin construction on a new house. Our current one, made of a grass-thatched roof, feels cramped with nine kids under our roof, forcing some of them to sleep at their grandmother's. My spouse and I have made a joint decision to start saving diligently for this project. We envision a spacious and comfortable home where all of us can thrive together. It's not just about having a house; it's about creating a place we can truly call our own, a sanctuary where family bonds can grow stronger. With determination and teamwork, we're committed to turning this dream into a reality, step by step.

Ensuring my children's education remained uninterrupted was paramount in my mind as I received the unconditional cash transfer. With $54, I promptly settled my son's Form 1 school fees, a milestone that filled me with immense pride. Additionally, I invested in new uniforms for my two younger children embarking on their journey in junior secondary school. Witnessing them equipped for their educational endeavours brought a sense of fulfilment, knowing that, despite the challenges, their academic paths were secure. With their schooling needs taken care of, I could focus on sustaining our livelihood through my charcoal-selling business, alleviating some financial strain. Recognizing the importance of securing our future, I strategically allocated a portion of the funds towards acquiring a tangible asset: a goat. Investing $34 in this endeavour represented a step towards financial resilience. With plans to breed and expand my goat herd, I aimed to create a safety net for unforeseen financial setbacks. This prudent investment offered reassurance, knowing that I had diversified our resources beyond our immediate needs. Finally, I ensured the stability of our household by purchasing essential foodstuffs. This provision not only sustains us in the present but also reinforces the impact of the support received, fostering a sense of security and gratitude within our family.

I have seven children who are all enrolled in school, but my financial situation makes it difficult for me to provide for their education. I rely on selling charcoal, but it hasn't been profitable. I am hoping that the transfers I receive from the program will be enough to pay for my children's school fees on time and avoid them being sent home. My husband is also a recipient of the program, and we are also planning to save a portion of the transfer to buy iron sheets. We currently live in a dilapidated grass-thatched hut, and our goal is to build a decent iron-roofed house. We plan to buy at least two pieces of iron sheets per month and aim to purchase a total of 20 pieces to start the construction.

I want to express my gratitude to GiveDirectly for their support, which has been crucial in ensuring the well-being of my family. This program has been a lifeline not only for me but also for my seven children who are currently in school. It has been quite challenging for me to provide for my family as my only source of income selling charcoal - has not been profitable. Even though it is a tiring and physically demanding job, I can only earn around $8 in two weeks. Meeting my financial needs has been a significant hurdle. My husband also sells charcoal and does occasional menial jobs for a living. Without the financial assistance, our lives would have been difficult, and my children would have had to stay home from school frequently. I am grateful that the transfers have enabled me to buy foodstuffs when I couldn't sell the charcoal, and my seven children are now comfortable in school. Recently, one of my children joined high school, and I was able to pay his fees and buy him some school supplies for $70. I saved some money over the past few months for his education while he was still in primary school. I also bought a goat for $30, and I am now a proud owner of six. My goal is to keep them, breed them, and sell them to cater for my children's education when they need to advance.

It would be a great joy if we could construct a more spacious iron-roofed house to replace the leaking, grass-thatched one we live in. The house is also too small to accommodate my large family which consists of 9 children, 7 of whom are still under our care. It is a nightmare whenever it rains because the house leaks so we have to sit in strategic places, and with the looming El Nino rains, it is paramount that we have a better house as soon as possible. Besides the physical problems we face, we also have to endure the shame of sleeping in the same room with our children who are old enough to have a separate room. Worst of all is that those who are old enough have to sleep at a neighbour's house leaving them with very little supervision. Having a more decent and a much bigger house to accommodate all of us would make me very happy. A bonus would be being able to harvest rain water for domestic use .

My transfers for this quarter(past 4 months) aided me during the farming season by helping to purchase farm inputs, hiring of labour and purchasing of foodstuff for the family. Our farm is too wide for us to till on our own, so we had to hire cow-driven plough for tilling and human labour for weeding. As we were busy on the farm throughout the farming season, we did not have enough time to engage in our normal income generating activity which is charcoal making and selling, so we had to fully rely on the transfers for our basic household needs. We were also forced to purchase foodstuff on credit which would again be paid for when we received the money. During this period, the transfers also ensured that our children's school requirements were catered for therefore securing their full stay in school because without remitting the requirements, they would have to be sent out of school. The transfers have been of great help to my family during this period because without them, we would not have managed to realize such a generous harvest as we would not have managed to hire the required labour and would also have to split our time between farm work and earning our daily income. It is also not a secret that without the transfers, the effects of the prolonged famine would have been clearly visible on my children through malnutrition. With enough food in our granaries, we can now focus on other projects such as constructing a better house.

My goal for the year is ensure my children are not out of school and I have a better house. We have a one roomed grass thatched house that is dilapidated due to the years of wearing out by wind and rains. Now I am planning to renew the grass thatch but I hope to eventually get a tin roof house which is much bigger with more rooms and in a better condition. I am yet to get an estimate but once we harvest and have food in place I will redirect the money we use for food for this construction project. My children are currently home as they were ent away from school I hope that with time I will also increase the amounts I sent to school to avoid such incidences in the future.

Thanks to Givedirectky transfers our lives have changed tremendously. Before the rains began I used to help my husband seek for tree stumps to burn for charcoal. I have since stopped and become a full time farmer since the transfers came in. I used $20 my April transfers to hire a oxen plough and seeds to farm. I would have not planted had it not been that the rains have blessed us over the past few months. I am planting and ploughing maize and green grams which I hope will provide a food source for my family once they are harvested. Until then most of my transfers will probably still go into buying food as it has been these previous months. I spent $20 in March, $14 in April and $20 in may on maize flour which is a staple for us. I also have 7 of my children in primary school and I have spent $10 in March, $10 in May to help reduce the fee balances at my children’s school. We do not have electricity in our are but one of our neighbours acquired a solar system and charge us around $0.2 cents for charging services and so I sent aside about $4 in order to help facilitate me to access this service.

Every cash transfer brings a huge relief to the hardships, especially hunger, that my family endures. Due to the drought in my area, charcoal burning is all that my husband can do to put food on the table for our nine children. The $4 we make per week can hardly serve food for more than three days, which makes us go hungry for the rest of the week. I thank God for the cash transfers because they play a great role in providing food for my children. From the recent three transfers, I have solely directed $68 toward securing maize flour. Though it's not enough to last us the entire month, we have been able to manage the little to last at least three weeks. Also, since three of my children do not attend school due to a lack of money, I saved $20 from the transfers to help enroll them in learning this year. I spent the remaining amount, $10, on clearing debts that I had acquired before to buy food for my family. Honestly speaking, the transfers have improved the well-being and happiness of my family and I could never be more grateful.  

From the time GiveDirectly began to work in our area, it does well in promoting development within the community. From the transfer, I could obtain food and pay school fees for my children. It also created awareness through the sensitization program, making many of our community members understand how its program. That led to good participation among village members. It also embraces sending transfers through the Mpesa platform, a mechanism for enhancing our safety against fraudsters. So far, I have not observed what GiveDirectly does not do well.

I am a mother of nine children, and I always struggle to support their educational needs. Unfortunately, my husband and I rely on charcoal burning to earn a living. It is strenuous work with low returns, as a result, we suffer more to meet our daily household needs. As soon as I received my recent transfer, I prioritized spending $13 on food. The previous night, we only took food not sufficient for us because my husband and I could do not have money. In addition, I used $3 to buy a hen. The remaining balance helped me settle the school fee arrears for my children. I am glad, courtesy of the transfer, I felt much relieved and was able to put more effort into my charcoal-making work. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly.

I was at the marketplace where I had been contracted to help sell tomatoes for a business lady who would earn a day’s pay. The earnings were enough to buy a 2kg packet of maize flour to cook for my family that evening. I received a text message, and I was excited when I found out that I had received my first transfer. I jumped up and down and ululated at the top of my voice. My heart filled with joy and tears rolled freely down my chubby cheeks.

The transfer helped me a lot when I was on the verge of giving up because I could not get money to buy food for my family. Receiving the transfer at this moment made a huge difference in my life because I bought food for the family.

My husband and I are casual laborers selling charcoal to earn a living. For over three years, we have not received rain in our village, making this the primary root cause of our suffering. The scarcity of jobs has made it difficult to find any job. It is normal to miss food for two to three days because of our financial status., I have accumulated several debts from friends and neighbors and I feel shy approaching them for help in times of need. Therefore, when I received my transfer, I spent it all on buying food for the family and rescuing my children from starvation. Before receiving the transfer, we had spent two days without eating food and surviving on a cup of porridge per day.