To improve and reduce the costs of farming on my farm, especially on land preparation, I opted to buy my own bulls so that I would not be required to hire from other people anymore, therefore cutting down the costs. To make this wish a reality, I took out a $300 loan from our local savings group to purchase a bull, which I plan to use for plowing my farm. My goal is to pay off this loan, and I intend to allocate a portion of my monthly transfers towards settling the loan, ensuring that I am debt-free by November this year. Once I have cleared the loan, I plan to take out another loan from my savings group to buy a piece of land along the road. My vision is to build rental houses in future on this land, which will provide me with a reliable source of income. This income will help support my family and cover my children's education, especially once this program comes to an end. I am happy and optimistic about the future that lies ahead for me and my family. I truly believe that a brighter and better future awaits us, and for this opportunity, I am grateful to GiveDirectly.

For a long time, I have been hiring cows to prepare my farm during the farming seasons, which has proven to be quite costly. My goal has always been to cut down on these expenses in order to maximize my outputs. To achieve this, I decided to invest in my own bulls for farm preparation. I took out a loan of $300 from our local savings group and purchased a bull, adding on to one that I already have, and I’m thrilled that I no longer have to hire cows. Currently, I am focused on repaying the loan I took out. Recently, I used $90 from my latest transfers to make a payment, which has helped reduce my debt. My aim is to complete the loan repayment by the end of this year. With the remaining $12 from my transfers, I bought some household essentials like soap and oil to keep my family clean and well-groomed. I am truly grateful for the opportunity that GiveDirectly has provided me, and I am optimistic about the better days that lie ahead.

My goal is to diligently work and clear my debt. I took a loan of $300 from my merry-go-round to purchase a cow, which has proven invaluable in preparing my land for farming. I promised to repay $30 each month so that I can easily settle the debt without any difficulties. To date, I have repaid $90, and within seven more months, I will fulfill my commitment in full settlement of my debt. I am also working hard by burning and selling charcoal and also by selling fish. The only thing I am really working hard for right now is to clear the debt and start saving with a clear mind.

In January 2024, I borrowed $300 from my merry- go- round group, intending to purchase a cow. I promised to be paying an installment of $30 each month.With the transfers, I allocated $90 to repay part of the loan. As a mother of seven, with five children currently in school, I prioritized their education.I supplement our income by burning and selling charcoal and also selling fish to cover our household expenses. The remaining $12 I used to settle their school fees, ensuring their education is uninterrupted. I firmly believe that education is the key to their future success, enabling them to support our family in the long run.

I mentioned about taking a loan, this is something I could have never done before but now with the transfers I am confident to take a loan. This loan has ensured that I have animals that I can sell at a profit and even pay off the debts and use the remainder of the money to develop my home. I plan to continue paying the loan allowing the calf to grow and the goats to procreate which I will then use earnings from milk sale and sell of the goats to finish the loan and refocus my finances on my children's education.

Our receiving Givedirectly transfers has changed the holiday season for us. We have undergone a long drought period and our low earnings from casual jobs and unreliable businesses like charcoal making had made food a luxury. However being assured of receiving Givedirectly transfers made a difference over the holidays. I personally bought food supplies worth $24 for my family, I also got myself a cloth at $10. I understand that this transfers will come to an end some time in the future and I thought it well to secure mine and my families future. I got a loan of $300 which I used to buy a cow at $150 and goats at$50. I am now paying my loan with my monthly transfers and I have so far paid $60 from my January and February transfers.

My plan is to secure a loan from our merry-go-round group, I will have their support because they are aware of my ongoing transfers from GiveDirectly. With this loan, I intend to purchase two bulls, which I will be renting out for ploughing and generate an income. This will also enable me to cultivate my four-acre land as I'm currently able to only plough an acre. My primary goal is to ensure that I can consistently cover my children's school fees and support their progress through the various levels of education.

I have a total of nine children, with six of them currently attending school, while the remaining three are still at home because they haven't reached the school-going age. I'm determined to provide them with education so as to enhance their future opportunities. And so I spent $50 from the transfers to cover their school fees. My husband and I manage a small business where we burn and sell charcoal. Additionally, we have another venture where he engages in fishing, and I handle the sale of the fish upon his return. However, the income from these businesses has consistently fallen short of meeting our household expenses.Prior to receiving assistance from GiveDirectly, we often struggled to put food on the table. Using a portion of the transfers, I spent $22 to buy both food and other essential household items. I then invested $30 in acquiring a goat for income generation. My plan is to raise the goat and have it reproduce, utilizing the proceeds from selling them to support our children's education. I'm so grateful GiveDirectly has brought meaning into our lives.

I would like to get some animals for myself. I have been spending a majority of the amount I receive for my transfers on my children's school fees. I have 5 children in school and each requires about $37 in a term for their school fees. I have been paying this in bits monthly from the cash transfers we receive from Givedirectly. I want them to get a good education but I know secondary school will have more requirements monthly in terms of cash and this means I need to create an emergency fund. I want to buy animals to be my emergency fund. I believe the rate at which animals such as chicken and goats multiply I will have a sufficient number that I can sell and take them through high school.

I recently gave birth around the time of receiving Givedirectly transfers this month. I have on the past few months spending money on food items and settling school fees balances in my children's school except for this month of June. In April I used $15 for school for my 5 children in school and In May I spent $16 on the school fees too. I also spent $4 in April on flour and in May I spent $14 while for this two months the $5 left I used to buy toiletries. In June I received the transfers while headed to go give birth, I did some shopping for clothes at $14 for the child and also paid the hospital some amount of $20.

I want to use a significant portion of the funds I get to pay for my education. I have a total of seven kids who are still in school, and they occasionally get sent home when I am unable to make payments because of a lack of funds. Therefore, my main responsibility is to keep them in school. After that, I will use the funds to pay for food because, as I previously stated, the drought has had a significant impact on our lives and the cost of living is rather high, yet we barely have enough work to support ourselves.

I choose to utilize my most recent transfers to get five of my children new school uniforms because their previous ones were very worn out and they were about to start school last month. I also believed that returning to school in new clothes would improve their self-esteem. I paid KES 2,500 for all of the uniforms. I then went ahead and spent the remaining KES 900 on food because we were constantly struggling to get enough to eat due to the drought and the high expense of life. We had slept hungry about five times in January alone, so I used the money to buy four packets of maize flour. Regarding my transfers, I used the money I had in December to pay off the remaining balance on fees and proceeded to spend the rest on food.

Give Directly does well in giving out cash for people to decide on their expenditure. Personally, the organization did well by sending me money that I used to start a business and support my offspring's education. I find nothing wrong with how GiveDirectly works.

I have spent my recent transfer mostly on my children's education and starting an at-home kiosk. I have four children in primary school whose fee arrears were due at the time I received the money; as a result, I spent KES 1000 on settling these balances. On the other hand, I established a small retail business at home with an initial capital of KES 2500. The opening stock comprised of a bale of maize flour and box of bar soap, which I procured at KES 1,500 and KES 1,000 respectively. The previous amount of KES 1,200 I received from GiveDirectly solely went into purchasing food for consumption.

It was early in the morning in my normal routine of charcoal burning.I had my phone make a sound and I stopped to look at the the message. I was excited to see the Mpesa message. I was unable to continue with the exercise as I stopped everything and rushed to withdraw the cash.

The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving transfers from GiveDirectly is that I have a candidate and with the cash transfers am hopeful she will be able to continue her secondary education.

I have 4 children in school and in the beginning of the term I was expected to pay KES 5800.When I received my cash transfer I was happy to use KES 600 to clear part of the school fees and buy food for my family with KES 600 which would last a minimum of 2days.