This year, my main goal is to acquire a dairy cow to further secure my family's future. Currently, I manage a small livestock farm with five goats, five sheep, and six chickens. My strategy involves allowing my goats and sheep to multiply, then selling some of them to raise funds for purchasing a dairy cow. Investing in a dairy cow is crucial for generating income through milk sales. This additional income will not only support my family but also contribute to my children's education, ensuring they have a brighter future. As I am currently unemployed, I sustain myself by producing and selling charcoal, and acquiring a dairy cow would create more self-employment opportunities, where I will now have a stable flow of income to sustain my family.

As a mother of two school-going children, ensuring their education remains uninterrupted is my priority. Recently, I used $9 to cover their school fees, ensuring they can continue their studies without any disruptions. Aside from supporting my children's education, I have also invested in livestock to secure our future. Currently, I own five sheep, recently purchased two for $50, and five goats, where I purchased one costing $25. I find goats particularly advantageous for investment because they are easy to manage and provide a reliable source of income during challenging times.In addition to sheep and goats, I invest in chickens. I currently have six chickens, which I bought for $10. My strategy is to raise them until they mature, at which point I can sell them to fund further investments, such as purchasing more goats.With the remaining $8 from my transfers, I purchased food supplies for my family for the entire week.

My goal still stands I want to start vegetable farming since the rains have started, am planning that before this week comes to an end, I will go to the market and buy the seeds so that I can officially start planting them with the hope that when they mature I will sell them, make a living and at the same time be able to pay for children's school fees with less struggles.

Am a housewife who majorly depends on my husband being a casual worker burning charcoal to make ends meet. On receiving the transfers I used $20 to clear the school fees balances that we owed the school where my daughter schools after she was sent back home. I had been saving in our monthly go-round, a Few months ago I took a loan to take my child to the hospital on which I used $20 of the transfers to clear the debt at the merry-go-round so that in the future I may be allowed to take a loan with ease. I also used $30 of the transfers to buy a goat and 3 chickens hoping that they would later multiply and expand my pool of income. The rest of the amount was used to buy household utensils since I did not have enough.

Looking forward, my overarching goal is to support the education of my four children until they complete university and secure good jobs. I recognize livestock rearing as a viable means to accumulate wealth for their education. Both my husband and I have no active streams of income but I feel that owning livestock will create us wealth in the long run. To date, I've acquired ten goats from the cash transfers and plan to persist in this effort until the transfers come to an end.

Before the schools closed, one of my children had a school fee balance that needed to be cleared before they broke for the holidays. So, I allocated $10 to settle the tuition balance. Also, I bought him and his sibling new school uniforms, which cost around $10. They had been attending school with casual clothes which were inappropriate for the school environment. At least when they resume school they will have new attire. In response to the recent short rains, I invested $10 to have a quarter acre of my farm plowed using an ox plow before I planted maize crops. Additionally, a significant portion of the cash transfer, $58, was dedicated to purchasing food for the household, addressing a perpetual concern. My husband, the primary provider, sometimes faces challenges in providing daily meals for us to go to bed hungry. He has no active source of income other than raising livestock. Am happy that through the cash transfers, the frequency of sleeping hungry has drastically reduced over time. Finally, I invested in livestock for future support, purchasing a goat for $20 and two hens for $4.

I have been working in a grocery store as a shop attendant and I have had a chance to observe the way it has been with that business. The business does so well because the drought has made us reliant on buying our food. My hope is to start a grocery shop of my own. Probably start with potatoes and work my way up to other goods. I believe having this business will give me a chance to focus my finances on educating my children. I will also be able to add some more animals, I have bought some goats and chicken and I hope to add to this maybe buy some more goats and chicken which I can always sell when they reproduce and become many.

I am a mother of two and two of my children are in school. This transfers have helped me pay school fees for my children. In April I spent $10, in May I spent $10 and in June I also spent a similar amount. I spent $20 in April on food while the $4 left went into buying toiletries. In May I got a goat for $15 I also spent $5 on food and $4 on toiletries. In June I got two chicken for $2.5 each, I bought clothes for my youngest and I spent $15 on food.

We have been experiencing such a long drought but now the rains have begun pouring. I hope to go back to farming and farm for as long as the rains are here. I want to buy vegetable seedlings and plant vegetables for sale. These will be able to allow me to make some money to make payments for my children's schooling as well as buy food for the home. My husband is an animal herder and he does not make much from this hence having a source of income will relieve his financial burdens. I also hope to add some more animals to an emergency fund. Having animals means they will reproduce and can be sold when money needs arise

Receiving GD transfers have been such a relief. My kids had been home for three days since they had been sent away from school due to a lack of school fees. They are required to pay $6 each, monthly, to continue getting an education. My January transfers were sent on the third day of their staying home. I took out $10 and paid $5 for each of them so they could go back to school. I also spent $10 on food since my house did not have food and I bought water and vegetables at $4 and bought 3 chickens worth $10. In February and March I got sheep and a got at $25 each, I also paid out $9 for my children in school fees and in February I spent the $9 to restock our food supplies.

My three children and I rely on my husband to provide our basic needs such as food, clothes, and school fees. His business of buying livestock and selling them during market days does not pay well because finding the animals, along with buyers, is tough. Such constraints make it difficult for him to cover all of the family expenses, and it is only fair that I assist him whenever an opportunity arises. Our kindergarten daughter, Alice, had an outstanding fee amount of $10 for November when I received the transfer. I used some of the money to pay off the debt that I promised the school two weeks earlier, after they had kicked my child out of class. In addition, since each of my children had just two sets of decent clothes to wear when going out, I opted to spend $10 on more clothing for them. Also, my home had gone four days without food, forcing us to survive on a cup of porridge for breakfast and supper. So I used the remaining funds to buy food. I'm relieved that we've been enjoying three real meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and supper) since the transfer; no more porridge for us.

In general, GiveDirectly promotes transparency and openness in the communities in which it operates. It ensures that all members of the community are informed and that anyone who participates in its program consents to it. The staffs do not force people to participate in the program. Furthermore, the financial assistance provided is unconditional, which allows us to prioritize our spending and has a significant impact on our lives. Because its entire process is straightforward, I have not yet noticed what it does not do well.

I had never owned a sheep in my life. However, I have always wanted to raise livestock because they are so valuable and useful. When I got my transfer, I decided to spend KES 2,500 on a sheep. I hoped to use this to increase my savings in live assets. In addition, my youngest daughter is currently enrolled in PP1. I spent the rest of my transfer acquiring a new uniform for her because her uniform had shrunk and could no longer fit her properly. Thanks to GiveDirectly for its support.

I was in the field raising livestock. My phone vibrated twice, and I quickly checked it out. It thrilled me when I realized I had received my first transfer. I jumped up and down in ecstasy. I called my husband to inform him of the good news. He was thrilled, and we all smiled and laughed at each other through the phone.

Paying school fees for my daughter is the biggest difference the funds have made in my life. Often she stayed at home while her friends were in school because I did not have the money to pay for school fees. I am glad that she is now back in school to continue with her education.

I am a homestay wife and depend fully on my husband to provide for the family. I could not secure a job to help my husband due to the scarce job opportunities present in our village. Upon receiving my transfer, I spent KES 300 paying school fees for my daughter in primary school. Paying the school fees ensured she continued with her education without being sent home. Besides paying school fees, I spent KES 300 on buying food. My husband is a shopkeeper and sole breadwinner has been struggling to provide for the family in recent months. Buying food helped to ease the enormous burden off his back. Finally, I spent KES 500 to buy a hen. The hen is an investment for the future because they will multiply and I can use the money I will get after selling some to attend to my most pressing needs.