I have so far gotten three goats from my cash transfers. Givedirectly is the reason I am animal owner. The drought before had killed most animals and the periodic diseases had taken away most of our poultry. Having cash empowers me to replace the animals and my hope is to buy more animals which will be an emergency fund to my family.

About five years back I bought a mattress, unfortunately its now worn out. I have been having back issues because of the bad mattress. I had wanted to buy a new mattress and thanks to Givedirectly now I have a new mattress and am sleeping well. I spent $50 in buying it. I was also able to pay school fees for my children at $12. I was also able to buy a new phone since mine has been having issues, I bought the phone at $25 and can now communicate with everyone as well as Givedirectly.

This year, I aim to expand my goat herd by acquiring more goats. I intend to use my savings as well as my coming transfers for this purpose. Having a plentiful number of goats will leave a lasting legacy even after the project concludes, ensuring the well-being of my family and enabling me to provide a comfortable education for my children. I am profoundly thankful to this organization for the transformative impact it has had on my life.

I manage a vegetable kiosk in my village while my husband works on neighboring farms as a casual laborer to support our family of five. Previously, affording food and sustaining the business was challenging due to lack of capital. I am glad things have improved; now, I can invest in my business, pay school fees, expand into livestock and poultry, cultivate my farm, and even save some of my transfers for future needs. With the received transfers, I allocated $34 to purchase a bed and mattress as we lacked proper sleeping arrangements. Additionally, I invested $34 in installing solar lights in our house, a significant improvement from our previous situation. The remaining funds were used to purchase a goat, adding it to my current livestock. I'm delighted to be part of this positive change and look forward to a brighter future.

My primary focus is on expanding my livestock holdings. With two goats obtained from the cash transfers, my goal for the coming year and beyond is to increase this number to at least ten goats. I remain hopeful that, despite financial constraints like children's school fees, the continued support from the cash transfers will play a crucial role in realizing this vision. Owning a larger herd of livestock would not only contribute to the family's needs but also alleviate the burden on my husband, who works as a livestock trader.

From the recent cash transfers, I managed to save $29 through a self-help group, bringing me closer to my goal of reaching $200 to buy a goat. Additionally, I invested $20 to purchase a goat. The acquisition of goats is a strategic move as I plan to sell them to cover the school fees for my three children. Currently, one child is attending school, and the others are younger but will require financial support when they start their education journey. My husband, who works as a livestock trader, struggles to meet the household expenses, including school fees and food, with his limited income. Therefore, having livestock, particularly goats, serves as a means to alleviate some of the financial pressure on him. I allocated $20 to buy clothes for my three children and myself. This was essential as we had only a few clothes that were worn repeatedly. Additionally, I spent $25 to plow my one-acre land in preparation for planting during the ongoing rainy season. The remaining funds were utilized for purchasing food and toiletry items. The cash transfers have proven invaluable in meeting various needs, such as providing clothing for my family. With the acquisition of two goats, there is potential for future financial flexibility, as they can be sold to cover school fees when needed.

I have really put my mind in ensuring I grow my savings. My hope is that before the year ends I will have enough in my savings to buy a number of goats, and chicken. I believe this project should have a permanent effect in aiding my life. If I use all my transfers and have nothing to show for it at the tail end of everything then it will not have had that impact. I believe animals are the best way to make an investment you can feed them and in turn they reproduce and multiply. I can always use these animals as an emergency fund to sort out future hiccups when they arise.

I have a little one that has started school not so far back and I am so excited to be able to afford to take her to school. I spent $10 in April for her school fees and in May I spent $5 for school uniform and $5 for school fees. By the month of June I did not have a pending debt at school which allowed me to focus on other things such as using the transfers to prepare the farm at $10. I also Joined an informal savings group where I have saved $10 in April, $15 in June and $10 in May. I have also been able to afford toiletries as well as skin care products like petroleum jelly which cost me $4 in April, $2 in May and $4 in June. Our family has also had food, in April I spent $10, in May, the same amount but in June I spent $5. I bought my newborn some clothes at $2.

Currently, I am faced with financial challenges because I do not have any business or any project that would generate an income. Therefore, my main goal for the next one year and beyond is to have my own livestock-rearing project so that I no longer experience the same challenges in the future. I would want to ensure that I continue saving $10 every month and later buy the livestock by the end of the year to start off the project.

GiveDireclty is doing great in terms of providing financial support to the needy like us to enable us to fulfill and accomplish some of the things that we could not be able to do on our own like educating our children, buying food and other things, and there is nothing to improve on since everything is well done.

I was experiencing some financial difficulties by the time I received the transfers. My child who is currently in PP2 had some school fees arrears and she had already been given notice concerning school fees payment, but I did not have the money to settle her school fees, luckily I received the transfer that was of great help and I managed to pay for her the $10. I also spent $14 on buying food because this was also another challenge owing to the fact that there had been a prolonged drought in the area making it difficult for people to cultivate and also saved the remaining amount of $10 to help me with my future needs. I felt so happy and was so grateful for the support.

When I received the transfers, I felt so happy knowing that my child would go back to school and my family would also get something to eat because getting money had been quite a challenge for my husband and I. The little income we have been getting from our small businesses had never been enough to cater for all our needs in the family. It was therefore brought much happiness to me.

The biggest difference in my life was that the transfers brought great happiness to my family. Prior to receiving the transfers, my child has been sent home for school fees, I was so stressed because I did not know where to get money, but I finally felt relief upon receiving the money and I was very grateful to GiveDirectly for the support.

I received the transfers at a time when I was financially down, I had no money for food or for my child's school fees. Therefore upon receiving the transfers, I felt a sigh of relief because my child who had been sent home for school fees got a chance to go back to school because I managed to pay KES. 500.I also bought food worth KES. 980 with part of the remaining transfers.