My goal is to get livestock like goats and cows. I have been saving through a savings group since I started receiving cash transfers. I once accumulated enough savings in a year to buy school uniforms for my four children, especially those in junior high school. Now, I have started saving afresh to buy livestock, pay school fees, and build a house for my children. My current house is small with one room and cannot accommodate my family of six people. I want to build another structure for my four children. I also want to buy goats. I previously had a goal to start a hotel business but I switched my mind because running a business is not efficient given the many needs of my children like school fees. Owning livestock is the perfect substitution for this. I am sure that I could sell them to cater for the school fees of the children.

Whenever I receive cash transfers, I usually channel them towards different kinds of needs depending on the urgency. These include school fees for my five children, saving through a merry-go-round group, and buying livestock and other household items like food. Sometimes my husband supports these needs, but only when there is a pressing issue. He sells traditional herbs in town and his income can be quite unpredictable. So recently, I spent $35.5 to pay school fees for my son in secondary school and $7 for the four in primary school. There have been accruing debts for years back, and the funds have helped reduce the balances. Only that I have other needs like food in the household, but if it were not for that, I would have spent everything on the tuition. I also used $20.5 to buy five chickens. Right now, I have seven chickens. I am rearing them so that when they reproduce, I can sell them to cater to the needs of my children, particularly school fees; for instance, I can sell two and get $10, which can cover one primary school child for the entire term. I also spent $39 to buy a goat as well for rearing.

Currently, I have a plan to build a new house. Our current house is in poor condition, and I'm willing to save through a savings group to acquire a more spacious and decent house. The current one-room house is too small, and I share the space with my husband. When we have guests, it becomes very inconvenient, and we have to ask our relatives to accommodate them. My goal is to acquire a house with at least two rooms, made with mud walls and an iron sheet roof, to provide us with more space.

As the primary provider for our family, my husband sells traditional herbs to make a living. However, the demand for such herbal products is quite low these days, making it challenging for him to barely afford school fees for our six children and food. Thankfully, the cash transfers have allowed me to contribute to these needs and relieve the burden from his shoulders. From the last two cash transfers of $34 each, I used $50 to settle tuition fee debts for the children. I'm happy and at peace knowing that my children can study without interruptions, thanks to the cash transfers. I also allocated $10 to clear debts at the shop where I had obtained food on credit and spent the remaining $8 on more food. I'm grateful that the cash transfers have enabled me to contribute to the household needs and alleviate the hardships we were facing before.

As I strive to achieve the aim of improving my quality of life, my focus is on making prudent investments with my monthly transfers. One of my primary objectives is to acquire livestock, particularly goats, and provide them with proper care to facilitate their multiplication. By gradually expanding the size of my herd, I will eventually be able to sell some of the animals. The proceeds from these sales will then be utilized to purchase a bull, which can serve the dual purpose of assisting with agricultural tasks and cultivating my land. Furthermore, I can generate additional income by offering land preparation services to others in exchange for monetary compensation, utilizing the bull's labor. In this way, I will be accomplishing two goals simultaneously, effectively maximizing the benefits derived from my investments.

In recent months, our region has experienced a substantial amount of rainfall, which influenced my decision to allocate $15 of my June transfers towards preparing a section of my 5-acre land for farming. This allowed me to sow maize seeds, and I am delighted to share that the progress is quite promising, leaving me eagerly anticipating a bountiful harvest in the near future. Additionally, I utilized an additional $15 to settle my son's outstanding school fees, which had resulted in him being sent home from school. I am grateful that he has been able to return to school and resume his education. However, my other three children who attend primary school still have significant outstanding school fee balances, totaling $30. Presently, I am devoting my full attention to farming, taking advantage of the ample rainfall we are receiving. My husband's income from selling indigenous herbs is meager and insufficient to meet our family's essential needs. Thus, I express deep gratitude for the invaluable financial support we receive through unconditional transfers from Give Directly. Finally, I used the remaining $4 to purchase 1 ½ kilograms of maize flour, ensuring that my family and I have sustenance and are not plagued by hunger.

In order to save enough money, I recently joined a Merry-go-round where I save any amount of money I have. I believe that when I have enough money, I will be able to start a lovely hotel where I can serve my customers a variety of food items and earn more money per day than I do now. I want to thank GiveDirectly for all that they have done for me and for the opportunity to think beyond my ability and also have the belief that one day I will own my hotel and better the life of my family members.

To generate income, my husband and I burn and sell charcoal. We put a lot of effort into giving our four children the best life they deserve. Two of my kids are in primary school right now, while the other two are in secondary. The moment I received my transfers, I spent $15 to go buy a brand-new uniform for my primary school aged child because the one she had was worn out. Her school uniform was often the target of jokes from other students, which made her feel unconfident about attending class. She was genuinely delighted when I got her a brand new uniform and I also intend to do the same for the other children so that they won't feel left out. Seeing all of my children smiling and happy makes me feel proud and to brighten their day, I spent $2 for a soft drink and $5 on food and it made them so happy. It's been a while since I saw my children that happy and talk with a smile on their faces. The remaining amount of $12 I bought two chicken each at $6. I want to buy as many chicken as possible so that I can sell them and get enough profit.

Essentially, GiveDirectly is an NGO that has direct contact with the community because it establishes a good rapport during the sensitization process. As a result, it has made all participants aware of how it works and the number of transfers that they anticipate receiving monthly. As a result, by ensuring that we receive our unconditional transfer every month, we will be able to plan and spend the transfer in a very beneficial manner. As a result, there are positive changes in the community, our children can always attend school, and our ability to obtain food is also improved. This could not have happened before they began the program. There is nothing that it does not do well as far as I am concerned.

I am the mother of five children, and my family consists of seven people. Neither my husband nor I have a steady source of income. As a result, to support the family, we engage in small businesses such as charcoal burning. For example, I only make charcoal for sale, whereas my husband sells herbal drugs. However, we continue to struggle to meet our daily family needs. Unfortunately, my children were sent home for fee arrears before my recent transfer was sent. I spent $25 on school fees for my daughter in secondary school and three children in primary school as soon as I received the transfer. The remaining $5 enabled us to obtain maize flour. I am relieved that I have not had as many difficulties since then. I appreciate GiveDirectly.

It was 5.00 p.m. while I was still in the bush burning charcoal when I received the money, and since I do not know how to read, I had no idea it was money from GiveDirectly. I waited until I returned home when my daughter confirmed the good news. I felt so happy upon realizing that I had received money from GiveDirectly.

The biggest difference in my life is the ease of accessing food and paying school fees for my kids. My income from the charcoal business was too little to cater to all of the family’s essential needs thus could sometimes sleep hungry due to a lack of food. Due to this reason, I used all my transfers to buy food and pay fees for my school-going kids. Buying food enabled us to enjoy balanced diets after missing nutritious meals for a long time. In addition, paying the school fees helped reduce my financial burdens and made my kids report to school to proceed with their studies like the rest of the students. I thank GiveDirectly for the financial support.

I am unemployed and hence rely on burning charcoal for income generation. I thank GiveDirectly for enrolling me in the program that has since enabled me to support my family of seven with the little income from my charcoal business and the monthly transfers. Using the money I received from GiveDirectly, I paid school fees for my kids with KES 500 and bought food for KES 700. The transfer came at an opportune time when we had no food and money for school fees.