My primary goal in the coming year and beyond is to repair our house and restore it to a safe and livable condition. Currently, part of the mud walls have developed huge cracks and are caving in, which makes the house insecure for occupation. If these issues are not addressed, the house could eventually collapse. To prevent this from happening, I plan to do some urgent repairs before it deteriorates further. To achieve this goal, I will save a portion of my subsequent transfers until I have accumulated enough money to start the repairs. I am hopeful that once my husband’s health improves and he returns to work, we will be able to save even more from the transfers. This will allow us to allocate a larger portion towards the house repairs, ensuring we complete them quickly and securely. I am very happy and appreciative of the financial support, which has helped me take care of my family and work towards achieving some of my goals despite undergoing a difficult time financially.

My husband is currently suffering from Tuberculosis. This illness has severely impacted his health, leaving him incapacitated and unable to work. As a result, I have become the sole breadwinner for our family of seven. Unfortunately, I do not have a well-paying job and often rely on casual jobs that pay very little money, which makes it challenging to support the entire household. However, thanks to the financial boost from the transfers, I am now able to cater to most of our needs without much struggle. I used $60 from the transfer to pay school fees for my four children. This ensured that they could stay in school without being sent home due to fee arrears. Seeing my children continue their education without any interruptions gives me immense happiness and peace of mind. Additionally, I spent $24 to purchase food for my family, ensuring that we had enough to eat and never lacked or missed any meals. Having enough food has been a great relief, as it guarantees that my family is well-nourished and healthy. I also took the opportunity to purchase new clothes for myself for $10. This replaced the worn-out clothes that I had, and I now look smart and presentable, which brings me joy and boosts my self-esteem. Moreover, I invested $4 in buying two hens. I am optimistic that this investment will be beneficial in the future. Once the hens multiply and reproduce, I will be able to sell some of the chicks and earn some profit. I view this as a small step toward establishing a more sustainable source of income for my family. Another $4 was spent on transport to visit my sick husband, who is currently receiving treatment in the hospital. I am relieved that his health is improving, and I look forward to seeing him fully recover. It is a tough time for our family, but I am thankful for the financial support that has helped me manage the situation and take care of my family

My goal for the coming year and beyond is to ensure my children have access to education. With their father unable to work as he used to due to health issues, I now have the responsibility to work hard and support the family. The regular transfers are a lifeline, covering their education expenses and other necessities. I hope this support continues, allowing us to maintain their education until my husband fully recovers. I am deeply grateful for the assistance provided by GiveDirectly, as it has not only supported my children's education but also given them a vital foundation for the future.

My spouse and I depend on small-scale farming to take care of our children. Since my spouse developed health issues and can no longer perform heavy duties, I had to step in to support our family because he has no income. When I received my most recent transfer, I allocated $30 to buy food for my family because we had none in the house. I also spent $58 on school fees for my children to ensure they are not sent home for unpaid balances. Finally, I bought a basin and plates worth $6 because we didn't have any.

My primary goal for the year is to ensure my children remain in school, especially considering their father's inability to work due to illness. The regular transfers are a lifeline, covering their education expenses and other necessities. I hope this support continues, enabling us to sustain their education until my husband recovers fully. I am profoundly grateful for the assistance provided by Give Directly, as it has not only facilitated my children's education but also equipped them with the essential foundation to pursue their life aspirations.

I operate a pastry business to provide for my family of seven. Previously, my husband worked in a tea factory, but his battle with tuberculosis forced him to stop working, leaving us reliant on my income alone. Although my earnings are insufficient to meet all our needs, GiveDirectly's support has been instrumental in ensuring my children's education continues uninterrupted. Allocating $12, I purchased uniforms for two of my children who lacked them, while $22 went towards replacing a broken bed. Additionally, $20 was allocated to settle their school fees debt, with the remaining $14 used to purchase household essentials. The remaining $34 was designated for tuition and school lunch expenses. This assistance not only relieved our financial burden but also allowed me to focus on providing for my family's needs. I am genuinely grateful for the opportunity to meet my children's needs and ensure their education continues smoothly.

My current priority is to ensure that my four children can attend school comfortably. I have had challenges covering their tuition fees, occasionally having to turn to relatives for assistance. These difficulties arose when my husband's ability to work was compromised by illness, and although he occasionally engages in manual labor, his health constraints limit him. I now rely solely on the monthly transfers to meet the financial requirements of their education. My ultimate aim is to witness their educational success, and I intend to use the monthly transfers to ensure their fees are consistently paid on time, thereby preventing any interruptions in their education.

I have encountered difficulties covering the educational expenses for my four children who are currently attending school. While my husband has been a source of support, his situation took a turn when he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and subsequently lost his job. Presently, we sustain ourselves through subsistence farming in our village. Although my husband takes on occasional construction work, his health constraints limit his ability to do so. Therefore, upon receiving my most recent transfers, I allocated $50 towards paying our children's school fees, and I am happy to see them resuming their education without further disruptions. In addition, I spent $6 on purchasing two chickens, which I am currently keeping. These transfers coincided with the planting season, so I utilized $20 to hire an ox plough, ensuring the timely cultivation of our land, and resulting in a bountiful harvest that alleviated food shortages in our household. The remaining amount was dedicated to acquiring essential household items that were lacking.

My husband and I do not have a reliable source of income to fully support our family, and I have always wished to have a project or any reliable source of income. Therefore, my main goal is to have a chicken-rearing project. I had already bought around four chicks to start off, and I plan to buy more egg-laying chicken every month I get my transfers bearing in mind that they would lay eggs, multiply and eventually have a market for both.

We have always experienced prolonged drought, but recently we had been lucky to be blessed with lots of rain and we therefore decided to take advantage of the situation by engaging in farming so that whenever drought strikes again, we shall be having some food in stock. Upon receiving my transfers, I decided to spend a bigger percentage of $22 on cultivation and getting maize and legume seeds. Two of my children who are in grades three and four had also been sent home for school fees and I therefore managed to pay $5 of the remaining transfers and finally spent $7.70 on food. GiveDirectly has been of great help to me and I will forever remain grateful.

I'm delighted I was accepted into the program by the organization since the donations have already made a big difference in my life. Since I have four children who are currently enrolled in school and the management of the school frequently sends students back home because of debts, my top goal right now is to make sure I pay the tuition. I also hoped to utilize the money before the year is through to hire an ox to assist me plough my property during the wet season. I will absolutely benefit from this because it will prevent me from becoming fatigued while farming, and if I'm fortunate, it may also allow me to not be worried of hunger.

Things began weighing on me when my husband was diagnosed with chest complications. Since then, I have been providing for our five children through charcoal burning. There is not much I can produce to cover basics like food and school fees given the scarcity of trees to cut down. Food needs mostly consume everything I earn and I have never been able to save for my children’s education. Since they solely count on me, keeping them in school is my priority. So, I saved $10 through a self-help group and I intend on continuing to save the same amount every month for their future tuition fees. Also, my household had run out of food the previous night and there was no means to secure any, which prompted me to spend $20 on restocking more. I used $2 to settle a debt at the shop, where I had obtained flour on credit a while back. Also, I repaid my sister inlaw the other $2, which she had lent me to buy food for my children. Am relieved that I no longer have debts on my back, courtesy of the cash transfers. 

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well by making sure that they gave us proper teachings on how we would secure our cash once received. This has been of help to us since a better percentage of us were not conversant with the Mpesa system. I, therefore, do not see anything that needs to be changed so far.

I spent $8 of my recent transfer on paying fees for my two kids who are in grades two and three respectively. It has always been my prayer to see them going to school every morning but this was possible because of the high cost of living. The little earnings could sometimes not be enough to purchase basic needs like food. Additionally, I had to clear debt to a friend which has now set me free and I have peace of mind. To add to that, I bought two chickens for $10. I am so happy and thankful because I can at long last mention that I have an asset to rely on. I also used $6 to buy food and saved the remaining cash in case of any emergency that might occur.

I was cooking dinner at 7 p.m. when my phone vibrated with a message notification. I immediately checked its contents and found that Give Directly had sent my first cash transfer. I felt a sense of relief sweep over me because I had been looking forward to this money to assist reduce the household's challenges, especially hunger.

Before the transfer, my family would sometimes go run out of food, causing us to sleep hungry at least once a week. However, thanks to the transfer, I was able to provide food for my five children and myself. I am glad the food lasted us till now, and we've never had to skip a meal or go to bed hungry since.

Life has been difficult for my husband since he was diagnosed with tuberculosis six months ago because he is the family's lone breadwinner. His employer, a Mombasa-based tea leaves factory, usually sends him a weekly stipend of KES 1,000 for sustenance while he recovers. However, given the rising commodity prices, this money barely covers our family of seven's necessities, such as food. In reality, the night before the transfer, we slept hungry because my household had run out of food and there was no money. This is why I spent KES 920 on food to last us till my husband's next pay day (every Tuesday). I saved the rest of the money to pay off my daughter's outstanding school fees.