I currently live in a two-room house, and with my family growing, I need an additional room for greater comfort and privacy. Adding this extra room will provide my girls with the privacy they need. My main goal for the coming year is to expand our house to three rooms, and I am diligently saving through my savings group to make this happen. Once the house expansion is complete, my next priority will be to build a shed for the chickens. I aim to increase their numbers and generate extra income from them. Eventually, I plan to expand my livestock farming by selling the chickens to invest in goats, with the long-term goal of purchasing cows. These efforts will not only help secure our financial stability but also fulfill my dream of providing a comfortable life for my family.

Since I had some outstanding fees, I decided to contribute $13 towards them to avoid the risk of my children being sent home. The teachers in our area are understanding of our situation, knowing that we receive some income from GiveDirectly. They are usually accommodating if you make even a small payment. Additionally, I spent $25 to buy a goat, as I plan to invest in goat rearing before these transfers end. Goats will provide future financial security for me. With school-going children, it’s important to plan ahead; I intend to sell some goats once they multiply to cover my children’s school fees in the future. I also purchased $44 worth of food for family consumption. Unfortunately, I didn't harvest anything last season due to harsh weather conditions that ruined the crops. As a result, most of my income is spent on food since we don’t have enough to eat. With the remaining $10, I saved it in our merry-go-round group. I'm saving because I want to expand my two-room house by adding an extra room for my children.

Completing the renovation of my house is my immediate goal, and I'm diligently saving in my local savings group to make it happen. Once the house renovation is complete, my focus will shift to building a shed for the chickens. I hope that they will multiply and bring me additional income. Eventually, I wish to expand my livestock farming where I will sell the chicken and buy goats in hopes that they too will multiply, sell them in future and venture into cows.These steps will not only secure our financial stability but also fulfill my dreams of providing a comfortable life for my family.

My house is in desperate need of renovation, and to achieve this, I've been diligently saving with my local savings group. Knowing that these savings will eventually mature and help fund the renovations keeps me motivated. Recently, I saved $15 from my transfers into the savings group. Since I place a high value on education, I used $25 to cover my three children's tuition so they may continue their studies without hindrance. I also spent $58 on food to make sure my family is well-fed, especially since our food supplies are running low. Sadly, I became sick and needed medical attention, so I had to use the remaining $4 of the transfers to pay for my medical needs. I am happy that I am feeling much better now, and I'm motivated and full of optimism to keep working for my family's better future.

With a household of five members, my two-roomed dwelling has become cramped. One room serves as both storage and a cooking space, leaving us with just one for sleeping quarters. To address this, my objective is to utilize my forthcoming transfers and the funds expected in July from the savings group to build an additional room, providing adequate space for my three children. I am profoundly grateful for the financial assistance provided by Give Directly, as it has enabled me to ensure the education of my children.

Last November marked a significant loss for me as my mother-in-law passed away after battling illness for some time. To honor her memory, I dedicated my entire monthly transfer to contribute towards a dignified farewell. Among my purchases were a small goat for $25 and a hen for $1, with the hopeful anticipation of their breeding to double my initial investment. Additionally, I allocated $39 towards school fees for my two children, who attend Ikanga Primary School. Witnessing them return to their studies is a source of joy, especially knowing that it helps alleviate the substantial debt they accrued at the end of the previous year. In preparation for unforeseen circumstances, I set aside $3 in a savings group, recognizing its potential to assist me in times of need. The financial assistance provided by Give Directly has significantly improved the quality of life for both myself and my family, a fact for which I am deeply grateful.

I am eagerly saving up to purchase my first dairy cow for my farm. At the moment, my farm does not have any cows, but I am determined to make this investment. Having a dairy cow will allow me to sell milk and create a valuable source of income for myself. This opportunity will not only benefit me but also greatly improve my family's overall well-being.

As a mother of six children, upon receiving my transfer, I took immediate action. I invested $10 in purchasing two additional chickens to add to the ones I already had. I also allocated $14 for essential food supplies that my family and I can consume. With the remaining amount of $10, I contributed it to my merry-go-round savings, where I am an active member.

We have a savings group that we started in January this year where one saves any amount she has weekly since we meet every Saturday. I do not have a stable source of income but with the current work that I do of burning and selling charcoal, I have been saving part of my income in this group. I am sometimes lucky to save KES 200 in a week and sometimes less depending with what I managed to make at the course of the week. I am planning to later use my savings to expand our house by extending a room that will serve as our bedroom. With this, my young children whom we currently sleep together will sleep in the sitting room so that we can have our privacy as parents.

With GiveDirectly's transfer, I have been using it in the purchase of food, chicken and paying school fees for my children. I have four who are in primary school and one in junior secondary school and with the recent transfer, I decided to spend it on something different. I spent the all amount in the purchase of two goats after topping up some amount. These are an investment to me that I can later sell and use the income in paying school fees for my children. This is because the responsibilities will increase once they join senior secondary school and I am glad that I now have something that I can lean on when such a time comes.

My little mud and grass thatched house is slowly falling apart because of how bad it is. My main objective for this year is to accumulate enough cash to fix the house and return it to its original condition. I worry about my safety because of the numerous cracks and sizable openings in the mud walls. The decaying coconut leaves, or "makuti," are the cause of the grass-thatched roof's leakage. Since my family is growing, I also intend to construct an additional room to house my children because the current space is getting smaller.

My January transfer was heavily weighted toward food purchases. I spent $19 on food in total. I do odd, part-time jobs that pay me very little, like selling charcoal and burning wood. My husband works as a carpenter and gets paid on commission. We occasionally run out of money to buy food for the family and are forced to go to bed on an empty stomach because neither my husband's nor my income is sufficient to meet all of the family's needs. Aside from food, I spent about $10 on my three children's Mnazimwenga Primary School tuition. I'm glad that my kids won't be sent home anymore and this will allow them to stay in class and work hard. Finally, I set aside $5 in a savings account with the goal of using the money at the year's end to renovate and upgrade my home.

I really want to appreciate GiveDirectly for what it is doing for us so far with the transfers because the money is definitely a great help for us back here in the village.We were living in conditions of extreme poverty and could barely even feed ourselves but right now we stand a better chance of survival than we had before.

Two days prior to receiving the funds, two my children had actually been sent home because I had failed to settle their tuition due to lack of finances. Therefore after receiving the money from the Organization I ended up spending KES 500 to pay for a part of their tuition. I proceeded to use another KES 500 and decided to deposit it into my savings account because I was looking forward to investing in poultry farming later on. Nourishment was my next priority because it was a challenge that kept reoccurring, so I ended up using the balance of KES 2,000 left and purchased nine packets of maize flour, a kilogram of sugar, half a kilogram of beans and tea leaves.

Around 10 p.m., I was preparing to sleep when my son came to my room and requested to check my phone. He had heard his aunts rejoicing after receiving their transfers and needed to confirm if money had been sent to me as well. My heart melted with joy when he broke the amazing news of my first cash transfer receipt. We both jumped with delight.

Seeing my daughter miss classes due to overdue school fees always broke my heart. A parent’s greatest happiness is to see their child study without interruptions. Since her father's income from his carpenter job was too little to clear the balance, I always wished for an alternative income source to settle the same. Gladly, Give Directly sent me the first cash transfer, which I used half of to pay off my child's school fees. She happily resumed her studies and has never been sent home since.

I used KES 1,500 from the transfer to pay school fees for my sixth-grade daughter, who had missed a day of class owing to a lack of funds. Her father's carpenter job had not generated any income to assist pay off the fee balance. I am glad she happily resumed classes and has never been interrupted since then. Also, the night before the transfer, my family went to bed hungry since the household had run out of food that afternoon. So, the next morning, I spent KES 1,200 on corn flour to prepare meals for my children. I used the remaining funds to purchase a chicken. The idea is to nurture the hen, allow it to reproduce, expand the flock, and make money in the future by selling the matured chickens.