With two children in secondary school, my current goal is to ensure they complete their education. God willing, by the end of this year, they will have finished their final exams. Once they do, I will have some relief and can redirect the transfers I've been using to pay their school fees toward building a house for my family. We currently live in a small one-roomed house, which is not comfortable for all of us as we lack privacy. As a single parent, my ambition is to provide my children with good living arrangements that they deserve. My plan is to build a three-room house where we can all live comfortably and have the privacy we need. To achieve this, I plan to use a portion of the transfers I've been using to pay school fees for my secondary school children, along with some money I will be making from my other casual hustles. I will gradually buy building materials and start building the house I've always desired. I am hopeful that I will be able to achieve this, and once complete, I will be very happy. I am grateful for the support that GiveDirectly has been giving us. This assistance has been instrumental in helping me pursue my goals of educating my children and giving me hopes of improving our living conditions.

With seven children in school—two in secondary school and five in primary school—a significant portion of my transfers goes toward ensuring their education is well supported. Recently, I spent $90 to pay their school fees and accommodation for the secondary school students, making sure they wouldn’t be sent home for unpaid fees or evicted from their living arrangements at school. Being able to meet their educational needs has been a tremendous relief for me; I honestly don’t know what I would have done without this support. With the remaining $12, I purchased some food for my family to ensure we wouldn’t go hungry, especially given the current food scarcity in our region. I am truly grateful for these transfers, as they are making a significant difference in my children’s education and our overall well-being.

I stay in a small one-room house with my children. During bedtime, they put their bedding on the floor and sleep there. It’s very embarrassing, especially when I have a visitor, because there’s no space to sit and chat comfortably. Therefore, in the coming year and beyond, I am focusing on building a spacious three-room house that can comfortably accommodate my family. To achieve this dream, I plan to start saving the little income I get from my daily casual jobs. I am optimistic because my two children who are in secondary school are almost finishing their studies. Once they do, I will divert the $20 that I currently pay for their monthly rent towards this project.

The GiveDirectly transfer has been incredibly helpful for me in supporting my children, especially with paying their school fees. Ensuring their education is my top priority, so as soon as I receive the transfers, I allocate funds to their fees. I have an agreement with their teachers that allows me to pay whatever amount I can each month, as long as I don't miss a payment. When I received my most recent transfer, I spent $20 on my children's school fees. I also used $60 to pay the house rent for my two children who are in secondary school and living away from home. Additionally, I spent $4 on food since we were out of supplies at the time. With the remaining $14, I invested in preparing the land for planting, as the rains had just started. I am very grateful to GiveDirectly for the financial support. As someone who relies on casual jobs, this money has been crucial in helping me support my family.

In the coming year and beyond, I wish to have built a house. I am not confident in the house I have now as it is small and made of polythene roofing. I would be happy if I owned a much bigger house, with three rooms, and an iron sheet roof. That will be enough to accommodate my seven children and me. However, right now, my funds are constrained by the school fees of these children, especially the two in high school. Since they are in their last year of high school, I want to focus this year’s transfers towards covering their school fees. As of next year, I want to start buying building materials to begin the construction of my desired house.

I have two sons in high school, one in junior high school, and four other children in primary school. The responsibility of supporting their education financially mainly falls on my shoulders. To do this, I rely on casual jobs in house construction and working on people’s farms to raise funds for tuition. Before the cash transfers, providing for all of them was the most challenging. I am happy that the cash transfers alleviated this pressure. I usually use the entire cash amount of $34 to clear school fees for those in secondary school. I do this because they've accumulated balances from way before the transfers, which I had promised to clear before they complete their education. Even the school administration has trusted me to be able to pay the fees whenever cash transfers come in. I am happy because now my children rarely miss their studies.

My current house consists of only one small room, which is insufficient to accommodate my wife, seven children, and myself. It lacks the necessary space for our growing family, and it becomes particularly challenging for the children to study comfortably. Therefore, my objective is to construct a larger house that can provide enough room for all of us. With the financial support from the transfers, I am confident that I will be able to achieve this goal. The prospect of having a spacious home for my family fills me with happiness and optimism. It will not only address our immediate need for more living space but also create an environment where my children can study and thrive.

As a casual laborer, my primary source of income comes from undertaking various low-paying jobs. These tasks typically involve clearing bushes, constructing fences on farms, and facilitating animal sales, among other similar activities. Unfortunately, the wages I receive from these jobs are meager, making it challenging for me to meet the financial demands of my family. One of the most significant financial burdens I face is the payment of school fees for my seven children, all of whom are enrolled at different educational levels. Two of my children attend boarding secondary schools, which come with substantial expenses. As a result, my children in secondary school have accumulated a debt of over $600 in total. Additionally, my five children in primary school have a combined debt of over $30. The weight of these school fee obligations is immense, especially when compared to the limited income I generate from my labor-intensive work. However, I am grateful that the financial assistance provided through the transfers has alleviated some of the burden associated with paying my children's school fees. Thanks to the funds received, my children are not frequently sent home due to outstanding fee balances, as I have been able to partially clear their fees using the transfer money. This support has brought me a sense of relief and reassurance knowing that my children's education is not being disrupted due to financial constraints.

In the coming years, my goal is to construct a three-room house with brick walls and an iron sheet roof. The current house, built with mud walls, poses challenges during rainy seasons as the walls are prone to damage. Each time it rains, I have to bear the extra costs of repairing the walls. Therefore, I am determined to build a more durable and sturdy structure using bricks. This new house will provide better protection and stability for my family in the long run. I see it as a worthwhile investment that will contribute to our overall well-being and alleviate the concerns brought about by the current housing conditions.

Earlier this year, when my two children started junior high school, I was not financially stable to purchase their required school uniforms. Due to my limited income from casual jobs, such as farm work and charcoal making, I struggled to meet this need. As a result, my children had to attend school in their previous uniforms, which was not ideal. However, I was able to communicate with the school administration and secure their permission for my children to attend classes until I could afford the proper uniforms. Fortunately, when I received the recent cash transfers, I allocated $24 to purchase the necessary uniforms for my children. I am relieved and happy that they are now properly dressed for school. I decided to save the remaining amount to use to buy additional books, as requested by the school. This way, I can continue to support their education and provide them with the resources they need for their studies.

My ambition is for my children to continue their schooling. I am a father of six school-age children, and my goal is to have my children enjoy their studies without being sent home on a weekly basis. I am hopeful that I will continue to get my transfers to aid with fee payments in addition to my monthly compensation of $ 120 from the farm's casual jobs. Another goal is to build a new three-room house for my children so that they have their own room. This will allow them to study privately. They are constantly irritated when they are asked to turn out the lights during evening studies. I need about $600 to do this, which I am hoping to obtain from my monthly income savings and GiveDirectly's transfers.

I have eight children who are in school. Six of them are in primary school, while the other two are in secondary level. Meeting the needs of all the children, including paying school fees, buying stationery, and getting new school uniforms for each of them, was very difficult for me. I work as a casual laborer, performing manual tasks for pay like selling charcoal, constructing houses, and occasionally fetching water for other people. These jobs offer a daily salary of no more than $5, which is insufficient to support all of my kids. After receiving my December transfers, I was overjoyed because I spent $24 on two pairs of uniforms for my oldest son's secondary school. He made it through the entire previous year wearing a tattered and torn school uniform. To prepare my two secondary-school-aged sons for their return to school, I spent the remaining $10 to buy stationery for them. I am grateful for the significant financial assistance I am receiving from funds, which I use to support my children's essential needs and paying for their education.

I spent the whole of my recent cash transfer on paying fees for my eight children; two in high school and six in primary school respectively. As a parent, I am so happy and thankful for seeing them studying well without being sent home regularly like before. This has given me peace of mind and much appreciation to GiveDirectly for making it happen. In a few years to come, I am optimistic that my children will change our living standards after graduating and grab well-paying jobs.

I genuinely applaud GiveDirectly for the great job that the organisation is going because the financial aid has been of great help to us especially my family. I honestly think my children would have been kicked out of school were it not for me receiving the transfers when I did. It meant the world to me seeing that I could keep them school because they were happy as well that they not have to stay home.

Before receiving the funds from the organisation my children were literally on the verge of being kicked out of school. The morning before receiving the funds the school administration had actually called for meeting for all parents of the children with debts in tuition fee but luckily as I was on my way to the school I receiving the transfers. I immediately felt great relief because it meant I could settle some part of the debt. Therefore by the time the meeting was done I was ready to settle some part of the debt and ended up paying KES 2,000 for the both of them. As for the balance I remained with which was KES 1,000, I used it for nourishment purposes because having a meal was challenging on multiple occasions due to drought, so I ended up buying half a dozen packets of maize flour and two kilograms of beans.

It was late at night and I was coming from the mosque with my son when I heard a beep on my phone .I ignored the message and when my son looked at me with puzzled face I explained that it was one of those messages received from Safaricom.My son asked for the phone and told me it was not the message I thought but a message of money received in my mpesa account. I was thrilled but confused by the name Segovia Technology. After obsessively thinking about it,I was happy to confirm to my son that the money was from GiveDirectly.

My desire is to fulfil my late sister's wish which was to educate all her four children. The difference in my daily life is having a source of income to look forward to every month.I am also planning to allocate part of my transfer to complete the 5 roomed structure had started when I was on full time job.The house will be ideal for my family of ten children because at the moment living in a one roomed house is so tiny and not enough for the large family.

I have been separated from my wife for quite some time ,which has made me raise my children and my late sister's alone.It quite a challenge raising the children single handedly without a consistent flow of income.I was working in a trading firm and retired a year ago,from then have relied on casual jobs which pay most of the times KES 400.Most of the time the cash I make is enough for food only and am not able to cater for other needs.I spent my entire amount to pay for some of my children's school fees arrears to relieve myself from the financial situation of paying for all of them at once.