I currently sell charcoal at my place and want to save enough to buy more dairy cows and cows that will help me in cultivating my farm. These cows will not only help me in cultivating my land but also in renting them out to my neighbors, generating income that will improve my life and my children's lives. I am really happy that the thought of me receiving my transfer monthly gives hope for the future.

I am a mother of ten children. Last April, I joined a merry-go-round group, believing that the money I save will help me start my tailoring shop. The moment I received my transfers, I set aside $20 and saved it in my merry-go-round. I allocated $10 to pay the school fees of seven of my children, to keep them from being chased out of school. Finally, with the remaining $4, I purchased soap and food for my whole family bringing them joy and happiness.

I aim to gather sufficient funds by April next year through my savings group, allowing me to acquire at least one cow and two goats. Over the past months, I've diligently saved $20 from each transfer, laying the groundwork for this objective. I firmly believe that owning livestock will be a great way for generating and growing wealth over the years. Even after the transfers cease, having livestock will offer a sustainable source of income, ensuring that I don't face the financial struggles of the past. This approach appears more promising than my current reliance on the labor-intensive charcoal-making activity for a livelihood.

The cash transfers have significantly eased the financial burden for my husband and me, enabling us to meet the needs of our family more effectively than before. Previously, we depended on sporadic jobs like making charcoal to scrape together funds for school fees, a struggle given the meager income. Now, when I receive the cash transfers, my immediate goal is to clear any outstanding school fees and balances for the month to ensure uninterrupted education for my nine children. From the recent transfers, I allocated $34 for tuition fees, providing relief and stability to their studies. Additionally, I saved $50 through a community savings club, to use the lump sum received next year to purchase livestock like goats for a new venture. I also spent $10 on medical expenses for my son, who was dealing with epileptic complications. I'm grateful that the funds covered his treatment and prevented further health challenges.

I believe that trough business we have the ability to do much. My husband is a professional tailor and at the moment he is employed. He makes an income but he would have made more had he been doing the business on his own. My dream is to open a shop where my husband work and tailors clothes, we will be the owners and that means our income increases. I have an approximate budget of $200 which I believe I will reach before the end of the year and at that time my husband can come and work from there.

My monthly expenditure would normally include making school fees payments for any or some of my nine children, savings to my informal savings group, and food. In April I spent $20 on paying school fees, I then bought books and other stationery for my children at $4, I saved $10 to my savings group. In May I spent $15 in making school fees payments, I bought food worth $14 and also saved $4 in my savings group. In June I wanted my land to be tilled since we had planted and we want their to be high yields, I paid $10 for the tilling, I paid school fees at $15 and saved $9 to my savings group.

I am a mother of eight children, and I desire to see them succeed in their educational pursuits. Though I have had a low-income level from the beginning of the year, I developed a goal of diverting a large proportion of my transfer to paying school fees. I know that if I fail to grant them that opportunity, they will not be responsible people in the future. I wish to see them grow to attain self independence. In addition to that, I also long to be investing part of the transfer to buy goats that I can raise for other family development plans.

Before receiving my recent transfer, 3 of my children had been sent home for fee collection. I had no money and I could not afford to pay their school fees in time. Therefore, after receiving confirmation of my transfer, I prioritized spending $25 on their school fee. I am relieved that they have had plenty of time to study. The remaining $9 enabled me to pay for my youngest child's hospital admission and medication bills. I had a lot of financial burdens then, but with the transfer, I managed the situation. My husband was the only one we were depending on as a family, and he seemed overwhelmed. The additional transfer from the previous three months was primarily helpful to me in covering our two high school-aged children's tuition costs.

GiveDirectly has done well by providing us with funds. Because through the funds, have been able to educate my children. My goal is achievable with the monthly funds coming in the next five years. I am grateful to be one beneficiary of GiveDirectly support funds.

I am married with ten children. They employed my husband as a tailor and I used to work as a charcoal burner but had to quit to take care of one of my children who is epileptic. Financial constraint is the biggest challenge in my family. Currently, I enrolled only six of my children in school, and the other four are at home because of a lack of finances. My firstborn daughter dropped out of junior school because of the frustrations of being in and out of school. She has given up on going back to school. The other two of my children are supposed to start school, but at the moment, with only my husband’s source of income and the medical treatment of my child, we cannot have them join the school. My last child is now epileptic, and it’s more than difficult for him to join the school because he needs to go to a special school for his condition. When I received the funds, I used $20 to pay school fees and $10 to buy food for my family.

I felt great when I saw the Mpesa message from GiveDirectly because I knew I was being considered for the program. I had been longing for it since the time of enrollment. This is because my life had been marked by difficulties. It felt like a prayer answered. With the constant transfers, I am hoping to grow and be able to support my family. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for considering such special assistance.

Before the transfer, I had debts that I could not commit to begin paying. I am fortunate that with the transfer, I have begun offsetting all debts I had. This has relieved me of the shame of being unable to pay off my debts. Though I cannot resume my work as I take care of my child, there is a change in my life. I am hopeful that as I continue to get my transfers, I shall be able to pay off the debt balance and live a life free from debts.

Because I had an ailing son, this situation financially drained my family. It forced us at a time to borrow money to buy drugs as well as to take care of his siblings. Fortunately, with my first transfer of KES 1200 I was able to pay part of the debts that I had taken. It relieved me from shame hence saving my image. From the depths of my heart, I am overjoyed to see the improvement in the young boy's life. I hope soon he will fully recover to give me an easy time to embark on my casual jobs to fend for my family.