My goal is to repair my house by constructing a concrete skirting around its mud walls. The ongoing rains have caused damage to the walls, leading to their caving in, and I fear further deterioration or even collapse. The concrete skirting will reinforce the walls and prevent additional damage. Since I lack a stable source of income, I hope to save at least $20 from each cash transfer to work towards achieving this goal.

As Christmas approached, I allocated $34 to purchase essential food items such as rice and wheat flour, ensuring the preparation of festive meals. Given that my husband, who works as a security guard at the school, had not received his salary since September, the cash transfers proved invaluable in financing our Christmas celebrations. I am pleased that we were able to enjoy the festivities without financial constraints. Additionally, I saved $20 through a savings group to receive a lump sum at the end of the year. This amount will be used to repair my broken door and purchase goats. Owning goats would provide a means to cover the family's needs in times of difficulty. The remaining funds were utilized to buy food, ensuring that my children did not go hungry. There was a challenging time when I lost my brother, and I used $34 for the preparations and arrangements for his burial. Prior to the cash transfers, I used to engage in charcoal making to provide for my family, a laborious and unreliable activity. I am grateful that, with the cash transfers, I haven't had to return to that demanding work for a while as the funds have been supporting my family’s needs.

In the upcoming year and beyond, my foremost goal is to repair the deteriorating wooden door at my residence. Presently, it's in such a sorry state that it nearly detaches from its hinges each time it's opened. My intention is to replace it with a sturdy metallic door, one that can ensure the security of my property. Additionally, I aspire to expand my livestock by acquiring more goats in the coming years, in addition to the seven I currently own. I am profoundly thankful for the life-changing opportunity provided through the transfer I received, which has significantly improved my quality of life.

In August, a significant portion of my funds was allocated to our savings group, which was established in collaboration with my relatives and close neighbors. This group consists of seven members, each contributing $20 per month. Once the funds accumulate, we divide them in half and distribute them to two members, who have the autonomy to decide how they wish to utilize the money. When my turn arrives to receive these funds, my intention is to invest in acquiring goats. This investment strategy is particularly promising because goats have the potential to multiply and appreciate in value over time. Additionally, I allocated $8 to settle a loan, which was incurred when purchasing four packets of maize flour on credit. I'm grateful that this decision ensured that our family never went without food, and it has proven to be a prudent one for the well-being of my family members. With the remaining $6, I made purchases of soap detergents and some sugar. I am genuinely pleased with the financial support I am receiving from this organization.

Owning a mud-walled house, I cannot help but worry that someday it may fall from adverse weather conditions like strong winds and heavy rainfalls. To reinforce the walls and prevent such uncertainties, I wish to build a concrete pillar around them. Both my husband and I have no reliable source of income to fund this project; well, except for the monthly cash transfers that we individually benefit from. With the cash aid, we plan to jointly contribute towards the house revamping project. Although it will be quite expensive given the house has three rooms, we hope to complete the exercise in a span of a year. 

I always ensure to save $7 from each cash transfer through a women’s group. This was my priority when I received the recent transfer. I hope to have accumulated at least $100 by the end of the year to buy goats and cover some needs, particularly food. Given my old age, my body cannot support any kind of work to raise an income. For now, the cash aid is my main source of income. Since the amount cannot take me throughout the month, my son occasionally chips in a small amount to get me by to the next transfer. After setting aside the $7, I always spend the remaining amount on food. I am grateful for the fact that I have never suffered from hunger ever since I started receiving cash transfers. I currently have $5 left in my mobile money account, which I will use to replenish more food once the household runs out. 

The transfers have greatly helped to overcome the challenge of food shortage in my household. I have been surviving on casual jobs like burning and selling charcoal which does not pay much. I have two children currently in school and they all look to me for their school fees. My husband is also a casual labourer and at times he also fails to secure a job. I totally rely on the transfer to pay my children's fees to allow them comfortably continue with their studies. I have also been saving Ksh. 1000 every month in or local group. I am planning to save more money that will ensure I do some investments, like buying goats which do well in our drought-stricken region. They are assets to me and once they reproduce, I can sell the offspring to sort out my financial issues.

For the past ten years, I have relied solely on farming to provide for my financial needs. Farming was profitable in the beginning, and I produced a lot of food that I fed my family while also selling the extra in the market. Unfavorable weather conditions have made it challenging for me to meet the growing family's needs. Due to the severe effects of the drought, we hardly ever harvest anything from the farm. I've made the decision to use the money from my transfers to invest in livestock in order to combat this situation. As a result, I had $20 saved when I received my transfers for December. By the end of February, I intend to purchase at least five goats with the additional funds I plan to save. Through the buying and selling of the goats, I will have the chance to have a different source of income and reduce my overdependence on farming. I spent $14 of the transfer on food after saving a significant portion of it. We barely had any food to eat over the festive holidays, so I bought five packets of maize flour and one kilogram of sugar, which we all ate.

I am a member of a savings committee back in the village where we each contribute money to an individual a month so that we can help each other financially. I therefore went ahead and deposited KES 1,500 to the committee because eventually when it was my turnto receive the money I planned to use the money to buy goats and also a bed and the mattress because at the moment my bed was a traditional one made from sisal.

I would like to commend the organization for the proper sensitization during the Barraza meeting. The lessons we learned are essential in helping us spend the money wisely in order to uplift our life from the jaws of poverty. I would like to urge the organization to come up with coaching programs that will help the recipients in overcoming stressful moments arising from the transfers.  

I work as a casual laborer selling charcoal, whereas my husband is the chairperson of our village primary school. My job is very tedious due to the extreme energy levels required when making the charcoal. Both my husband and I earn very little from our jobs and thus we cannot cater to all our basic needs. (Food, paying school fees, and clothing). Together with my husband, we have the responsibility of taking care of and educating my four nephews after the demise of their parents. The needs of the enormous size of the family (husband, 2 children often overwhelmed us, and 4 nephews) forced us to survive on one meal or sleep on empty stomachs. Therefore, when received my transfer, I spent KES 1000 on buying food for the family after struggling to provide for it because of my low income. Besides buying food, I saved the remaining KES 2000 in a “Chama” so the money can earn significant interest. Later in the year, I will use the accumulated amount to clear the huge school fee balances that the children owe the school.

Nothing can measure up to the joy I felt when I received the transfer. The money brought so much satisfaction and assurance that my long-term dream of getting a wooden bed was fast approaching. I was so excited that I prepared tea and snacks, through a portion of the transfer, for my family to enjoy.

The cash aid brought back the hope I had lost about replacing my beddings. Recently I have been constantly happier than before for the confidence in accomplishing a goal that once seemed unachievable due to financial constraints.

Getting a wooden bed has been my main goal since I was enrolled in the financial program. I currently sleep on a worn-out sisal twined one with a torn palm-leaves mat as beddings, which makes me wake up feeling exhausted and tired every morning. Since my husband is the sole breadwinner in the household, it has not been easy for him to save extra money for better furniture. Working as a school guard, his salary only allows him to provide food for the family. I intend to obtain approximately KES 5,000 for the new bed. However, due to the financial constraints, it becomes a challenge to acquire the whole amount at once. This is the reason I decided to start saving through a self-help group in my community and withdraw a lump sum later to accomplish my mission. So I opted to save KES 1,000 from the recent transfer through the platform. I used the remaining cash, KES 170, to buy sugar and scones and enjoyed a decent breakfast with my family for the first time in a long period.