I currently burn and sell charcoal to support my family. This year, my goal is to purchase a five-by-six bed and mattress. The bed we have now is too small, and my children have to sleep on a mat, even during the cold season. I want to buy a larger bed for us and pass the current bed and mattress to my children. I believe that with the support from my merry-go-round savings group, I will be able to achieve this goal. It will ensure that my children can sleep comfortably and with more ease, instead of waiting for their father to leave so they can use the bed. Seeing them uncomfortable is distressing for me, and I am hopeful that this change will bring them the comfort they deserve.

When we first began receiving transfers from GiveDirectly, my family and I, five members in total, decided to pool our resources and start a merry-go-round savings group. I am currently part of a group where we each contribute $20 monthly. With the transfer, I invested $60 into this savings plan. My goal was to build my own house, and thanks to this support, I was able to construct a three-room home. I continued to save and, with those funds, was able to purchase four additional goats. I also used $30 to buy food for my family, ensuring they wouldn't go hungry. This provision brought immense joy to my children. As a mother of five; four of whom are in school and one who is too young. I spent the remaining $12 to pay my children’s school fees. I believe that good education will help them achieve their goals and secure a brighter future.

In the coming months, I have a simple yet heartfelt goal: to provide nice bedding for my kids. It pains me to see them sleeping on traditional beds, enduring discomfort night after night. As a parent, their well-being is my top priority, and the thought of their discomfort weighs heavily on me. But I refuse to let this continue. I'm determined to make a change. With each passing day, I work tirelessly, saving every penny I can. And soon, my efforts will pay off. I hope to accomplish this long-awaited dream for my children. I envision their faces lighting up with joy as they finally experience the comfort they deserve.

For a long time, the dream of owning a sizable herd of goats has fueled my aspirations. Unable to achieve this goal in one swift move, I embarked on a journey with trusted friends through a merry-go-round savings scheme. With the recent influx of cash, approximately $60 now sits patiently, earmarked for the purchase of goats that will not only symbolize wealth but also serve as lifelong assets to cherish. As the savings grow, so does my anticipation of finally realizing this dream, a testament to perseverance and patience. However, amidst these aspirations, the well-being of my family remains paramount. I allocated a portion of the funds to ensure my children's education was secured, paying their school fees without the previous worry of financial constraints. Witnessing them attend school without hindrance fills me with immense pride. Additionally, I addressed immediate household needs, alleviating some of the burden on my husband, who tirelessly provides for us through his carpentry business. The newfound stability provided by the cash transfers has not only empowered me to pursue my dreams but has also strengthened our family's foundation, fostering a sense of hope and security for the future.

While we've made significant progress by erecting our new house, there's still much work to be done to ensure its completion and comfort. Our immediate priority is to install steel doors and windows to replace the temporary ones, enhancing security and durability. Additionally, we aim to plaster the floors to minimize the dust common in mud houses, improving the overall cleanliness and livability of our home. While our long-term aspiration is to construct a brick house, we recognize that this may not be feasible given our current financial circumstances. However, we remain hopeful that with diligence and perseverance, we can work towards this goal in the future. In the meantime, ensuring that our children's school needs are met in a timely manner remains a top priority. Education is paramount for their future, and we are committed to providing them with the necessary support to excel in their studies. To fund these endeavors, I will continue to save a portion of my transfers, as I have been doing. By setting aside $20 monthly, I am able to accumulate funds for larger projects over time. This disciplined approach allows us to work towards improving our living conditions while also prioritizing our children's education and overall well-being.

Last year, our family faced the pressing need to expand our cramped living conditions, with only two rooms for our family of seven, leaving little privacy, especially for my spouse and me. Motivated by this necessity, I joined a savings platform where I could set aside $20 from my monthly transfers. By November, the accumulated savings allowed us to take a significant step forward in addressing our housing situation. With the funds from the savings platform, I was able to assist my spouse in purchasing the necessary construction materials. I'm delighted to share that we successfully completed the construction of a new three-room house. This additional space not only provides more privacy but also ensures that our children have a separate area to sleep, utilizing the previous house as their bedroom. Moreover, these transfers have played a crucial role in ensuring that our four school-going children receive all their educational necessities on time. Additionally, they have facilitated the provision of basic needs such as food and clothing, alleviating the financial strain that stems from my lack of personal income and my husband's modest earnings. Thanks to these transfers, we have been able to enhance our living conditions and provide a more comfortable and secure environment for our family.

I am wholeheartedly committed to securing my children's education, and I have devised a strategic plan on how to make sure my children are in school. I have become part of a merry-go-round savings group, a thrilling financial endeavor. Within this circle, we pool our resources, taking turns to fund our children's schooling. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for everything and for the support you have given me. I can now easily think of ways to brighten my future and my children's future.

Determined to create a better living environment for my family, I have embarked on the journey of building my dream home. Our current small house no longer suits our needs, especially with my five grown children. Upon receiving my recent transfer, I took the initiative to invest $20 into the construction project, ensuring that we are one step closer to our dream. Meanwhile, I allocated the remaining $14 thoughtfully to provide food for my family, striking a balance between our long-term goals and immediate necessities.

Currently, we have a plan of building a more spacious house for the family while continuing to pay school fees for our children. We have five children and we all sleep in the same room since our financial status has not enabled us to build even a small house for them. At the moment, we're planning to be spending part of the transfer every month in buying building materials in bits. So far, we have managed to buy 150 pieces of timber and I believe that with time, we will have all that we need in order to commence the construction process. Once we complete the construction, I have a plan of buying goats which will be my investment plan.

When I received my recent transfer, I used KES 2000 from it to buy some timber that I am planning to use in building a house for my family. We have a plan of building a more decent house since the one we live in is small and in a bad condition. It's a one room house and we use it as our kitchen, bedroom as well as our living room. With the transfer, we have been buying building materials in bits. Using the remaining amount, I bought food to last my family for some time and also paid school fees for my children to prevent them from being sent home. Paying a fraction of the fees and making commitments to submit the remaining amounts at a later date is advantageous since the head of school knows that we would deliver on time.

My focus is on building the new house and supporting the education of my children. I know that my husband struggles alot to put food on the table through charcoal making, and I would love to support him in doing these two things. When my savings hit $100, I plan to start buying building materials like iron sheets and tree poles for the new house. At the same time, I plan to be always paying school fees for my children so that they never miss a day of school due to unpaid tuition. I hope to achieve all these through the cash transfers.

From last September, I started saving money through a self-help group in my community. The aim is to accumulate enough funds to support my husband in building a new three-room house for our family. The current two-room structure that we use, is not only old and almost collapsing, but it is also too small for our family of five children. More so, it doubles as a cooking spot. Therefore, I saved $10 from the recent transfer towards that course. Next, I used $8 to clear a school fee debt for my youngest son who completed kindergarten last year. I also spent another $2 to enroll him in grade one. The remaining amount went towards food since my household had run out of maize flour the previous afternoon, that I had to borrow some flour from my neighbor to prepare supper for my children. Am glad that the food served us until my husband raised more money from his charcoal business. I spent December transfer to fund the festivities in terms of food and new clothing for my children to celebrate in. From the November transfer, I saved $10, bought a pair of khanga worth $6 for me and new clothes worth $4 for my one-year-old to replace our old attire that was torn and tattered. I also acquired a chicken using $4 for rearing and spent another $4 to replace my phones screen that had fallen and cracked. Finally I used the remaining $6 on food.

What GD does well is being honest and consistent when it comes to disbursing transfers. At times life is hard and getting a daily income is not that easy. Through GD transfers shop keepers have developed trust in us beneficiaries because they too believe that GD does as it promises. Through this, our children do not go to bed hungry even during hard times when lack money.

I sell charcoal for a living though on small scale and my husband works as a carpenter to support our family, my husband also assists with the market searching in Mariakani for the charcoal that I make. We are blessed with three children though still young. The little income we get from our hustling which is $ 15 a week, we spend on taking care of our family but still not enough. On many occasions, we are normally forced to sleep hungry due to a lack of capital to buy foodstuffs but not occasionally because of unreliable income. When the Give Directly staff came to our home and reveal to us that we were to be beneficiaries of their transfers, I was very excited, I said to myself that God has remembered my family once again. I was grateful for the transfer as I spent $ 5 on food, just to make sure that my children had enough food that day. Currently, we are experiencing harsh weather conditions due to a prolonged drought of about 3 years which led to a deficiency in food and the death of livestock in the village. Secondly, I spent $ 15 to pay my son's fees to help prevent him from being sent home. Finally, I thought of buying four chickens at $ 1 for rearing. I thought of starting a chicken-rearing project because it is less costly to maintain and I will sell some once they multiply to get money to support my family in terms of school fees.

I had just returned from a field where I was preparing the charcoal for sale by putting it in sacks. My phone notified me of a text message before I could get some rest. I was astounded to learn that I had received my first transfer. I ululated loudly and leapt up and down in joy. I quickly returned to the field where my husband was waiting for me to share the good news. We both grinned as we danced to celebrate the exciting event.

The biggest difference I've experienced since the transfer is being able to buy food for my family. Due to my difficult financial situation, I was unable to provide meals for my family. I am appreciative of the transfer because it gave me a significant boost to buy food and save my family from going hungry.

My husband and I work on odd jobs and make our livelihood by selling charcoal. Business has not been good over the last two months because we haven't been able to sell any bags of charcoal. My four primary school-aged children were sent back home because I was unable to cover the enormous tuition balance they owed the institution. I was ecstatic when I got my first transfer of KES 3000. I used a sizable portion of the transfer of KES 1000 to partially pay off the KES 1900 debt my children owed to the school. Along with paying off the loan, I restocked the family's food basket, which was empty. I bought a liter of cooking oil, two kilograms of beans, one kilogram of rice, and six packets of maize flour. My youngest son's clothes were worn out, so I eventually purchased new ones for him.