In the coming year, my goal is to construct a five-room rental house on the new plot I've recently acquired. I believe this investment will provide a stable financial security for my family through the rental income it generates. To fund this project, I plan to rely on the savings I've accumulated in my merry-go-round, with the intention of taking a loan and repaying it gradually. However, I acknowledge that realizing this dream might be delayed due to the current income limitations, but I remain determined to see it through.

Getting money from GiveDirectly has been a real blessing for us. The cash transfer they provide helps us cover our basic needs and gives us a sense of stability and I feel nothing should be changed .

On receiving the second transfer, I used $80 to pay my daughter Sofia's school fees. She's in secondary school and has a huge debt. The school wouldn't let her eat lunch or even send her home until we paid. Sometimes she'd go hungry all day until we could give her dinner at home. I also spent $180 on my other daughter, Zawadi. She didn't do well in school and wanted to join a beauty school. I hope she'll help us in the future. She promised to. Then, I bought a piece of land, 35 by 35, for $150. We can finally have our own home. Lastly, I used $180 for my niece's medical bills. She had an accident. I'm a casual worker, sometimes earning only $30 a day. My wife sells charcoal, but we barely make enough for our nine children's food and basic needs. Am so grateful to Give Directly for the great support. May God bless them abundantly.

I remember clearly sitting at home that day with my wife, trying to get some rest after we had returned from the farm. My relaxation wasn't as pleasant as it was supposed to be since my mind was always racing with ideas about how I was going to pay the remaining sum for my children's school fees. Two of my nine children were in their final year of secondary school and were doing their final exams. I owed $280 in unpaid school fees, and I was unable to get the money. I work as a palm wine tapper, and the little money I make from this doesn't even cover my family's needs since it has to be split between school fees and food. The principal insisted that I take responsibility for my children and that I should be a man. Yes, I was aware that I was responsible for them, but it stung a lot that the principal continued to rub it on my face. My children had to go without eating the entire day while taking their examinations because they were not permitted to eat at school due to the balance. This was quite frustrating. My cell phone buzzed at around 3:00 pm, when I checked, I saw the mobile money notification. I read the message, I had to read it again to confirm what I was seeing since I could not believe it. I called my wife right away to double check what I was reading. GiveDirectly had indeed done the deed. We thanked God and were overjoyed and dancing. My first thought was of my children, who were taking exams on an empty stomach.

I am a palm wine tapper and this doesn’t earn me enough. My wife doesn’t have a job. We both rely on working on peoples farms to make ends meet. Life was very difficult and the little we got was barely enough to cater for school fees (both the debt and current fee) and food. At times we even went for a day without a proper meal. This was really saddening and very heavy in my heart. GiveDirectly has given our lives a new direction. With the school fees balance at least partially cleared, I can now direct our little earning to our family needs and at least have a proper meals. I am now happy to know that my wife and I can work and the little we get can feed our children, instead of being split into two to also cater for school fees.

I spent $180 of the transfer to pay part of the school fee balance for my children so that they could be allowed to eat at school and do their exams without any difficulties. I also spent $295 to purchase a cow and three goats because I want to do livestock farming. In hopes that they will multiply in the future, I know they will help me to cater for my family needs and school fees for my children. My younger children were sleeping on a very tattered mattress. Having a good rest on this kind of bedding was not possible, and it really bothered me. I therefore purchased a mattress for my children at a cost of $60 so that they could at least have some good and relaxing sleep. The rest of the transfer was spent on food.