Currently, what's been weighing on my mind is the issue of my house. I have a plan to build a new one since the current one can't handle much due to its age and weakness. I've already gathered some of the necessary materials using the cash transfers I've received, and I'm pleased with the progress. I'm looking forward to starting construction in the coming months. Once complete, the new house will ensure the safety and well-being of my family, as our current home is no longer safe, especially with the rains expected to start soon. It will also bring me peace of mind as I continue to face the daily challe

My current house is on the verge of collapsing because it's old, and the walls have become very weak. I also feel it's no longer accommodating as my family grows. Therefore, building a new house has been my focus. Over the past few months, I have used about $67 to buy building poles, as I already have other materials like iron sheets. My aim is to complete this house before the next rainy season, as I believe none of my family members should have to seek shelter elsewhere due to a lack of space. I won’t have to pay for labour costs because I am a mason and will construct the house myself. I also have a daughter who is now in grade six at Mutulu Primary, and I was able to pay her school fees of $20, as I was alerted that she would be sent home if the fees weren’t settled on time. Luckily, the cash transfers came just in time, so this was sorted out, and she is now in school with the rest of her classmates. I later used $15 to buy food and vegetables, and I am very grateful that we currently never lack food, thanks to GiveDirectly.

My main goal for the coming year is to complete the construction of my new house. Having assembled all the required materials, I am pleased with the progress and look forward to finishing the construction next month. This will ensure the safety and well-being of my family members. Once the house is completed, my focus will shift to supporting my daughter, who is in class six, in her educational journey. I aim to provide her with a good environment to achieve her dreams and gain the necessary education.

My job of constructing houses is unpredictable, as I often go long periods without any job offers, making it difficult to earn an income and cater to the needs of my family of five. Before being enrolled in the program, I struggled to pay school fees and purchase food for my family due to the little income I made from my job. Thanks to the financial transfers, I was able to finance my son's education, and he has now completed his secondary education. With his education completed, I embarked on building a new house for my family. Our current one-room house is in a dilapidated condition and is almost collapsing. Repairing it would cost more in future repairs, so I decided the best option is to build a new house. I spent all my transfers, totaling $102, to purchase building poles for the construction of our new house. I am very happy with the financial transfers, which have been a significant boost in ensuring I achieve my goal of building a new house before the old one completely collapses.

I'm determined to build a new house because the current one was damaged by heavy rains at the end of last year. It's starting to collapse, and the large holes in the mud walls make it unsafe to live in. Since building a new house requires a lot of time and materials, my family has been enduring cold nights in the damaged shelter. I would not wish this to last. That is why I've started saving money from the transfers to buy the necessary building materials, including poles and iron sheets. Thankfully, I'm a builder myself, so I can save on labor costs. I'm hopeful that we won't have to endure these conditions for much longer.

The heavy rains at the end of last year destroyed my mud-walled house. It's not safe anymore because there's a big hole in the wall where cold and crawling animals can get in, and our belongings are at risk of theft. I need to build a new house to keep my family safe. For the past three months, I've been saving $20 each month to gather enough money to buy building poles and iron sheets. Since I'm skilled in construction, I only need a little help with labor, which won't cost much. I am relieved because, without the cash transfers, I'd struggle to afford these materials because my job barely covers our basic needs like food and school fees. The remaining $14 goes towards household expenses like food and sometimes buying stationery for my children when they need it.

My primary aspiration is to provide my child with a college education. His dream is to pursue a teaching course, and I am determined to ensure that he achieves this goal no matter the sacrifices required. I plan to set aside the upcoming transfers and the earnings from my work to fund his education. I firmly believe that education is the cornerstone of a prosperous future, and by equipping him with the necessary skills, we will enhance the quality of his life. Moreover, his education will empower him to support us in our old age, fostering a brighter future for our family.

I work as a professional builder in my village and nearby towns. However, the income I earn from my profession falls short of covering the expenses of my family, which consists of five members. In the past, it was a real struggle as I couldn't afford to pay for my children's school fees. The arrival of GiveDirectly in our village has brought us immense relief. My wife and I have combined our transfers to ensure our children's education is well taken care of. I have a son who attends a day school in Mitangani. Out of the transfers I received, I allocated $75 to cover his school fees for the current term, with the remaining $37 going towards his housing and rent. This arrangement allows him to stay closer to the school since daily commuting is both time-consuming and expensive. GiveDirectly has truly revitalized our hope and provided us with a much-needed lifeline.

Since I do not have any formal job, I always strive to look for a casual job to support my family. However, my wages are always insufficient to help me pay school fees for my son, who is in form four now. Even though my wife does charcoal making, her income is also low to meet the rising needs of the family. Therefore, with the assurance of the monthly transfers, I developed an of focusing on paying school fees for my children. It will go a long way in helping them to concentrate on their studies.

By the time schools re-opened, I was in a financial crisis. My son had been promoted to form four, and the principal gave an ultimatum that all the first-term school fees be paid in full. There was a need for every parent to pay off all the fee balance for the new term. Since I only had $20, I topped up with the transfer, $34 to offset his first-term fee arrears. I am so glad that he has been able to be in school throughout hence focusing on his study. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for such timely financial aid.

I currently construct people's houses and get paid $10 a day after a long day of struggle at work. I did not complete my studies because of my parents inability to take me to school because they were financially unstable.The only goal I have right now is to ensure that my children are in school busy studying and graduate from school with better grades. The lives of our future leaders are in our hands and I believe when my children get good jobs in future, they will remember all the sacrifices I did for them and pay back with taking care of me and opening for me a business that I will be operating.

My wife and I benefit from GiveDirectly's transfers. This has really made our life simpler and easier. The moment we receive our transfers we normally sit down and discuss ways to use our transfers and better the lives of our children. We normally divide tasks and projects to support for a particular month. For instance, I spent $16 to go get my family a goat since we had no goats and due to the prolonged drought, I spent $10 to get my family food to eat for that particular month, at least we had enough for the month.The remaining amount of $8 I took it and added it to my children's school fees and it enabled them to be in school for that period.

I am a father of two, one is currently in secondary school and the other is still in primary school. Raising a family of four has become a challenge of late especially with the current famine that has resulted in scarcity and rise in prices of both water and food. I do house construction and this has been our main household income, unfortunately, it cannot sustain my household anymore. Thank God, GiveDirectly came to our rescue. I have, therefore, committed KES 2000 of my transfer to pay for my children's school fees and use KES 1000 to purchase water and food. For the past three months, I spent KES 6000 on my son's school fees and used KES 3000 to purchase both foodstuffs and water. This is a great boost to our household income, and I am glad I have managed to reduce a bigger portion of the fee arrears.

I barely any complaints when it comes to this organisation because it has offered a lot of assistance to me and my family financial. For instance, if I had not received the funds when I did, God knows how long my son would have probably stayed home because I had no money at the time. Therefore I am grateful and happy of its generosity towards me and my family.

I happen to have two children who are still pursuing their studies, one if them being in elementary school while the other is in high-school. They just recently resumed their classes in school but unfortunately at the time I did not have enough money to pay school fees so I had a debt but I had promised their teachers that as soon I as got my money I will ensure to pay. Just as day before receiving transfers, my son who is in secondary school was sent home due to pending arrears but luckily the next day the transfers came in and gave him KES 2,000 to goa ahead and pay. Although I still owed the school over KES 10,000, they were okay allowing my son my to class for the time being. Meanwhile I paid for my daughter who is in primary school KES 600 for examination fee and tuition fee as well. Good thing her debt is not as large as that of her sibling. I still have KES 400 with me that I am yet to use. I plan on leaving it in my savings account incase of any emergency.

It was around 11 am, I was resting on my bed when I heard the notifications of the messages on my phone. I was with my wife who also had received it earlier. After confirming the message, I was very happy after realizing that I had received the transfer. Joy filled my heart since I was sure that I will be able to solve some of my financial problems.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am now able to cater to some needs of my family like food without much struggle. I am now left with the bigger roles like paying the school fees. This has reduced the burden of providing for every need of the family, something that has given me relief in my life.

I am the breadwinner of my family of 6 members. My job of temporary house construction was greatly affected by the high cost of living as most of my customers lack finances. The coming of Givedirectly was a great boost for me. I spent most of my transfer to purchase enough food for the family. In addition, my kids were about to go back to school after the long holiday. I used KES 500 to purchase some exercise books for them. I am planning to spend the next transfer on supporting the education of my kids by paying part of the secondary school fees for my elder kid who is in form 3.