I’m glad to have achieved my dream of building my house and also providing a home for my children. My house is a two-room structure, but as my children grow, they need privacy since they’ll soon be adults. That’s why I decided to build them their own house. I accomplished all of this with the help of GiveDirectly transfers, for which I am very grateful. I know we were given this support for a limited time, so I thought about starting a goat rearing project, which I plan to invest in for the coming year and beyond. I prefer goat rearing because I can afford to buy them, and they are not expensive to maintain. Additionally, goats thrive in our environment. Since I have school-going children, I want to make the most of my transfers by investing in goats. They will help me in the future with paying fees for my children. Rearing goats is also advantageous because they multiply quickly, and some even have twins, which increases their financial value.

I have five children, three of whom are in school. I value education highly because it provides children with the knowledge they need for their future. That's why I always make sure to pay my children's school fees on time. When I received my most recent transfer, I spent $29 to cover the fees for all three children. Since they had outstanding balances, I divided the amount among them to ensure they wouldn’t be sent home. Teachers are understanding; if you pay something, no matter how small, each month, they know you’ll eventually settle the balance. I also bought each of them a new uniform for $12 because their old ones were worn out. Additionally, I purchased a goat for $30, as I’m starting to invest in goat rearing for future financial security since these transfers will soon end. With the remaining amount, I bought $24 worth of food for the family, and I spent the last $19 on iron sheets to finish building my house.

I am glad that I have achieved my initial dream of building my house. For the coming year and beyond, I want to build a house for my children. The one I recently built is a two-roomed house, but as my children are growing, they need privacy since they will soon be adults. They have started reminding me of this, so I want to save part of my transfers to buy materials and eventually build them their own h. I am grateful that these transfers have benefited me.

I had always longed to improve my living conditions because my previous house was in bad shape, with water seeping through the floor. We had built our house next to a river, which was risky for my family. I am glad that after buying iron sheets with the transfers I previously received, I was able to achieve my goal. When I received my most recent transfer, I bought some poles for $34 and paid the builder $68 to construct the house. Now, I am happy to say we are living in our new house. That is how I spent my most recent transfer.

I am determined to start building a new house next year. I lack confidence in the current condition of my house, standing on poorly drained ground that leads to flooding. I fear that it may collapse, leaving my husband, five children, and me homeless. In the meantime, I have begun acquiring iron sheets to prepare for the construction of the new house. My goal is to support my husband in accumulating the necessary building materials throughout this year and commence the construction next year. I am grateful for the financial support that has paved the way for a more secure and stable living situation for my family in the future.

My current house is situated on poorly drained ground, leading to flooding during rains, particularly damaging its mud walls and creating holes. The cash transfers have been instrumental in allowing me to contribute funds toward the construction of a new house. If solely reliant on my husband's earnings, this endeavor would have posed a significant challenge, especially with the financial demands of supporting our five children through their education. With the recent cash transfers, I allocated $68 to purchase six iron sheets in preparation for the new house construction. Additionally, during the Christmas holidays, I utilized $34 to buy new clothes for my children, providing them with a memorable celebration. I am pleased that I could uphold this tradition through the support of the transfers, bringing joy to my children. The impact of the cash transfers on my family's life has been profound, and I deeply appreciate the positive transformation it has brought.

I live in an old one room house which God forbid it rains, we are rendered homeless. I had wanted to have a new house built in its place as my family grew and the house got more delapitated. I now have started purchasing items towards this goal. I got new iron sheets and my hope is to add more to a point they are sufficient for the two room house we hope to construct.

I have five children, four are school going. I sell charcoal as a way of making ends meet and my husband is a casual construction worker. We do not make much to sort out all our needs and so we are forever greatful for the Givedirectly transfers as they gave us a chance of taking care of important needs. I have used my cash transfers over the last three months to pay school fees for my children, $15 in July, $10 in August and $10 in September. I also bought iron sheets for my building project $20 for two sheets of iron in August and September. I was also able to pay debts $10 in July while being able to stock up on toiletries at $9 in July and $4 on August and September.

Currently, my family of five is residing in an old one single-room house. As our family has expanded in size, it has become increasingly apparent that we require a larger living space to accommodate everyone comfortably. Thus, I have devised a plan to construct a more spacious two-room house that will cater to the needs of our entire family. This undertaking aims to enhance each individual's privacy and contribute to the overall well-being of our household.

Currently, our locality is experiencing rainfall, creating ideal conditions for cultivation. Upon receiving my June transfers, I decided to allocate a portion of it towards preparing my land for planting. Hiring someone to till the land cost me approximately $30, but it was a worthwhile investment as I was able to plant maize across one acre. Once these crops are harvested, they will provide us with sufficient food for my family, significantly reducing our expenses on purchasing food. Furthermore, I utilized a portion of my previous month's transfer to purchase an additional goat for rearing, costing $15, which adds to the few goats I already owned. These goats serve as a valuable source of income as we can sell them and utilize the proceeds to fulfill other needs. Lastly, I allocated the remaining funds from this month's transfer to purchasing food for my family, who consists of five members.

The house I currently have is in poor shape and could collapse at any time from wind or rain, thus my present goal is to build a good one. I decided to come up with another one because of this. I am determined that going forward, I will set aside $15 from each transfer on a monthly basis in order to achieve this. I'll be able to use this to begin buying the construction materials one at a time. In the event that this plan goes as planned, I will be really grateful to find myself in a decent and secure home.

Due to mounting school fee arrears, my four children were about to quit primary school. I tried to convince the school administration to let them stay since I struggle to pay for them, but they grew impatient due to my broken promises. After receiving of the transfer, I went to the school with $30 to plead with the administration to let me keep my kids there while I continue to struggle. I appreciate the school letting them continue with their studies. I also purchased some personal effects and laundry detergent for the household with the remaining $4.

We can meet our immediate needs whenever we receive the transfer as community members. With an unconditional transfer, no one decides what we should buy for us; instead, we concentrate on the immediate benefit. As a result, I believe that GiveDirectly does an excellent job of improving the living conditions of low-income earners by providing direct cash transfers with no strings attached. For example, since enrolling in the program, I have found it easy to pay for my children's school fees. What has been a major challenge since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. There is, however, nothing that GiveDirectly does poorly.

Even though my husband is the sole breadwinner in our family, he is constantly overwhelmed by the responsibility because he does not have a formal job. He previously worked in the hotel industry but was laid off during the Covid-19 pandemic. I decided to make charcoal for sale to support our large family of seven members. I spent $15 on a young goat after receiving my recent transfer. I have always wanted to own livestock. I also paid the primary school fees for my two sons, Julius and Joseph. As a result, they owed me $10, which I paid. As a result, they have learned comfortably and with minimal disruption. Consequently, they had arrears of $10 that I settled. They have therefore learned comfortably with minimal disruption.

I was in the kitchen cooking porridge for dinner using the last bit of maize flour left in the household when my phone vibrated with a message alert. Upon checking its contents, I realized that Give Directly had sent me the first cash transfer. I felt a wave of relief sweep over me because my children would finally have decent meals the following day after two nights of staving.

Prior to the transfer, my two primary school children would constantly be dragged out of class to collect overdue tuition fee balances. Consequently, I would accompany them back to school and persuade the administration to allow the back to class as I worked on raising money through my charcoal burning business. When I received the transfer, I knew this issue would be solved. I cleared the fee balances and my children have not been sent out of class since then.

Since my husband had not earned enough from his daily casual tasks, I used KES 500 from the transfer to pay school fees for my two children. They had been ordered home from school to collect these fees and would not be permitted to return to class until they did so. In addition, I used the remaining money to purchase meals. My family had gone two days without eating since the household had run out of maize flour. At least, this would afford me time to generate more cash through the charcoal that I had been preparing since the beginning of the week.