I currently live in a semi-permanent mud-flour house. My new goal is to cement the floor of my house to help protect the timber from rotting and also improve on cleanliness. Mud-flour houses when not maintained well has a lot of dust that poses a health risk, especially to young children.

The joy of seeing my children go to school and study without having to be sent back home for school fees is heavenly. When GiveDirectly assured us that we would receive a monthly transfer for some time, I decided to take a loan from a local financial institution. I then cleared all the school fees arrears that were pending using the loan borrowed. The monthly transfers I get from GiveDirectly help me pay back the loan. Before, my children used to be sent home frequently for school fees since what I could afford to pay was less than the required amount. The fact that my children study with no disturbance now is the biggest difference in my life.

My expectation in the near future is to have cleared paying a loan that I am currently servicing. Once I'm done with it, I want to expand my tea farm by planting the tea seedlings that I currently have in a nursery. The seedlings should be ready in the next planting season. I also expect that my cow would have calved and I would no longer be spending money on milk for household consumption but rather I will be selling the excess of the milk for an extra income.

A lot about my life has really changed now compared to the past four months. I have seen myself venturing into the parts of life which I had never been before. I never knew that I am credit-worthy until I started using GiveDirectly monthly transfers as my security over the loan I was obtaining. This has seen me completting project after project with a lot of ease. Out of the loan which I obtained, I have been able to change many things, among them, are a cow which we bought, improved farm operations and also the plan to complete the construction of a new house. All these have happened within a span of six months. We Thank GiveDirectly for the support they brought in our lives.

When we picked the project to ensure that we avail a cow to our shed, we had to stop another project of construction of a house which we had started earlier before receiving the transfers. Now that we have completed the first part of it, we now feel comfortable picking the construction on where we had left. We are starting this as a new goal which will be running to completion in the next few months. We are currently part of a Merry-go-round which was started in the village with 15 members each paying 1500 KES every month. Our turn is coming next month which means we are expecting more than 20,000 KES. This money will help us in obtaining iron sheets and some timber which we will be using in the finishing of the windows, doors and the pressure boards. We hope to complete the construction of the whole house in the four-months time since we had already completed the foundation and the walls.

For a long time before receiving the transfers, we had been buying milk from our neighbor's house which still was not enough for our daily use. It reached a time when a liter of milk became very expensive that we could not afford anymore. This gave us an urge to own our own cow so that we can milk for our own consumption and also sell the remaining. I as well as my wife started receiving the transfers in February, just one month after the other members of the village who received first. Our first idea was to obtain our own cow but the amount combined was not enough. We decided to obtain a soft loan. We then signed an agreement to be paying 2130 KES every month which was a term very favorable to us. We completed all the processes and at the moment we have a lactating cow and we have completed the repayment of that loan and obtained a fresh one for the next project. Although we are still paying back this second loan, we are so relaxed and at ease since everything is in control.

I have three kids in public primary school now and it is my hope and plan that they will soon transform to a private primary school. Having known the easy way to pick on projects, we are motivated and sure that all shall go well when the time comes. This is one of the goals that we have a household and we hope to see it come through in the next six months after completion of the construction of the new house in our household.

My life is currently different from how it was four months ago in that I no longer buy milk on a daily basis like I used to do before. This has made me to start saving some money which I would have otherwise used in buying milk on a daily basis. I thank God that this has been possible since I was able to buy a cow using my transfers.

My goal for the next four months is to plant two thousand tea seedlings. This is a long term investment which will make me be able to educate my children without any challenges in future.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have been able to buy a cow which I did not have before. Because of this, I am currently selling milk unlike before when I used to buy them. This has made me start saving some money on a daily basis and this has always made me so happy.

I expect my life to change in the next six months in that I will have planted the two thousand tea seedlings in my farm. This will have given me hope that I will be able to educate my children well without much struggle.

My life is currently different from how it used to be. Right now i can go for a loan without having to worry about whether i will repay it regularly. Since i am assured of the monthly transfer, i will borrow the loan and use the transfers to pay it off.

Yes i do. I want to complete my house soon and i am planning to buy a dairy cow for rearing.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that i don't lack food as often as it used to be and my children eat well.

I expect that in the next six months, i will be having an extra source of income since i will own a dairy cow. My tea bushes will also be maturing and my family will be living comfortably.

My new goal is to use these money to raise tea seedling for sale. This venture will assist me generate income for buying food for the family and buying a cow. For decade we are buying milk as we do not have our own cow.

Now I am no longer struggling too much to feed my family since I spend some of the payment to buy food for my family.

In the next six months I would have started raising the tea seedlings that will be ready for sale in one year time. These will give me a huge income as I anticipate to raise a good number which after sale I will be able to grow economically and meet my daily bills.

The biggest difference is that now l can afford to have a three meal for my family. Receiving this payment has given me support and assurance of having a meal on my table buy the end of the day tussle.