In the coming year and beyond, I have two key projects that I’m eager to pursue. My long-standing passion for masonry, inspired by my father's dedication to the craft, has motivated me to seek formal training. I plan to enroll in a college to earn a Certificate that will qualify me for professional opportunities in masonry. To fund this, I will allocate a portion of my monthly savings towards my education. Additionally, I aim to start a business for my wife, which will help her contribute to our family’s well-being. Relying on a single source of income can be challenging, especially when job availability is inconsistent and our children sometimes go to bed hungry. By establishing a family business, we hope to supplement our income and improve our financial stability. I’m grateful to be part of a group savings scheme, and this December, it will be my turn to receive our savings. I plan to use this to kickstart our dream business.

With my most recent transfer, I used $30 to repay a solar loan. I installed solar lighting and am paying for it in monthly installments. I also spent $12 to settle a fee balance for my younger brother, who is in secondary school. Additionally, I allocated $22 for food and water due to the ongoing drought resulting to scarcity of water in our area. The remaining $14 was spent on a new pair of shoes and some personal clothes. These clothes are essential for when I take on casual jobs. The investment in clothing ensures I have suitable attire for work. Overall, the transfer was used to cover essential expenses and support my family’s needs.

I've been passionate about masonry for a long time, inspired by my father's lifelong dedication to the craft. I've already started practicing and now I want to take it further by getting formal training. My plan for the next year and beyond is to enroll in a college and earn the qualifications that will allow me to excel in this field. To make this happen, I'll be saving up for the $15 school fees required for enrollment, aiming to start by the beginning of next year.

I found myself in a difficult financial situation when I received some much-needed transfers. With no steady income, I was struggling to make ends meet. One pressing issue was the disconnection of my solar lamp due to unpaid bills stretching over two months, leaving me in the dark without an alternative power source. On the other hand, one of my siblings in in secondary school had been sent home from school owing $100 in fees, adding to our family's financial strain. Fortunately, the transfers arrived just in time. I promptly settled the solar bill and made a partial payment towards the school fees, allocating $10 and $20 respectively. With what remained, I purchased a new pair of shoes to replace my worn-out ones and provided food for my family with the little amount that was left of $2.70. These transfers brought immense relief, allowing me to face the challenges with renewed optimism. I extend heartfelt gratitude to GiveDirectly for their timely assistance.

I recently enrolled in college as a part-time student, pursuing a course in masonry. Since I rely on transfers to pay for my tuition, I've been surviving on menial construction jobs. I believe that having a certificate will help me find more profitable opportunities. To enhance my education, I recently joined a merry-go-round where I contribute $25. When it's my turn to receive the transfers, I'll be able to pay for my tuition. Once I complete the course this year, I plan to invest in livestock, specifically goats and chickens

After I finished my studies, I didn't have the resources to support myself through college. My father had been sacrificing to provide for me and my five siblings throughout our different levels of education. He works as a mason, and his job is unpredictable, making it challenging to provide for the family at times. To help out, I started working with him as a mason, and I have been surviving on these casual construction jobs ever since. I had always dreamed of going to college to acquire skills that could help me get a better job. When I received the transfers, I enrolled in part-time vocational training to learn masonry. The transfers covered my tuition, which was a huge relief. Additionally, I joined a merry-go-round where I have been contributing $25, intending to do this every month. This will help me pay off the tuition arrears when my turn to receive the money comes and continue with my studies. I also used the transfer to clear some $20 debts I had accumulated while shopping for my siblings. Furthermore, I paid $20 to help my father pay for my sibling's high school fees, which allowed them to continue their studies. I spent the remaining transfer to buy foodstuffs and new clothes for myself and my siblings, who depend on me and my father. The transfer has been a great help in meeting our needs.

Since I completed high school 4 years ago, I have been working in construction which I learnt locally after failing to join college due to lack of income from my parents to finance my college education. I have grown to love this job and would like to learn more skills to better my opportunities and get more clients. I would also like to work for high-end clients and win major construction tenders, but this is not possible because I have no official training nor do I have any certifications making it impossible to move from working as a handy man to a constructor even though I do quite a decent job and have acquired a lot of experience over the 4 years. To bridge this gap, I have decided to enrol in college to pursue a course in Building and Construction which unfortunately I must sponsor single-handedly as my parents are unable to raise the funds. To make this happen, I have been saving part of my monthly transfers and earnings from the construction jobs I engage in through a local savings group. I have also been accepted into 2 colleges that I applied to but I am yet to decide which of them I will be joining as I require a bit of flexibility so that I can be taking my course part time while I work to be able to support my needs while in college.

As as family, we all depend on casual jobs which are not readily available and mostly very inconsistent. Through these transfers, I am able to support my family even on days that I am unable to earn any money from my job as a construction worker. My transfers are mostly spent on foodstuff and other basic household items and sometimes, even to clear debts on foodstuff that are purchased on credit within the month. I have 4 younger siblings in school whom I sometimes support by taking care of part of their school needs, especially in times when my parents and elder brother are unable to raise the requirements. Whenever possible, I save part of the transfers in a local savings group with an aim of saving enough to enable me join college in the near future. I was unable to further my studies beyond high school which I concluded 4 years ago due to my parent's lack of income and was forced to locally learn construction work which has been my major source of income. I would however like to acquire a diploma certificate to better my chances of landing decent jobs, but I am fully aware that no one else can make this dream possible considering our financial background, so I have to make it happen myself. This is the major motivation behind my savings which I hope that some day, will be enough to enrol me into college.

Over the coming years, my primary goal is to enroll in and complete a carpentry course. After completing high school four years ago, financial constraints prevented me from pursuing further education. I am grateful that the cash transfers have presented me with an opportunity to pursue my educational aspirations. With the financial support provided through these transfers, I now have the means to save and explore further studies in carpentry. By investing in my education, I hope to break the cycle of financial struggles and create a better future for myself and my family.

I am actively involved in two saving groups, a merry-go-round club at my home where I save $10 monthly, and another self-help group where I save $15 monthly for a year and receive a lump sum at year-end. I plan to utilize these savings by the end of the year to enroll in a carpentry college. Despite graduating from high school four years ago, I have been unable to pursue further studies due to financial constraints. Additionally, the pressing financial obligations, particularly related to food, continue to burden my household, often compelling me to allocate a significant portion of my earnings from casual jobs toward meeting this basic necessity. I am grateful that through the cash transfers, I have an opportunity to enroll in college as I have always wished. After saving, I usually dedicate the remaining funds toward purchasing food for the household. Food scarcity is a prevalent challenge in my family, exacerbated by the increasing prices. Gladly, the cash transfers have ensured we have food on most days.

As I've already indicated, being able to enroll in college is the most important goal I have for this year. This is significant to me in particular because, until three years ago, when I graduated from high school, I had no intention of continuing my education because my parents don't have enough money to cover my tuition and they also have to care for my five other siblings. This is a huge opportunity for me, and I'm hoping that by the end of the year, I'll have saved up enough money to start the course. Additionally, I'm intendin

The organization enrolled roughly five people in my home into the program, which has had a hugely positive impact on our family. We decided to work together and donate KES 1,500, which we used to buy food that would last the entire family longer because the cost of living has increased and nutrition is a continual issue. Then,  I went on to save KES 1,000 in the hopes that when I had enough money I would finally be able to pay for college. I eventually used the KES 900 that was left over to purchase new clothes for myself because my previous ones were rather shabby and worn out.

GiveDirectly is a blessed organization that helps everyone without any favouritism. One thing I love about GiveDirectly is that they give money that has no condition and they help the needy people in such hard times. Thank you GiveDirectly for the good work and the great impact you've created in our lives.

I am currently a craftsman who is very skilled and very talented. Whenever I am called upon to do something I usually go without hesitation. I usually give it my best because I want to be financially stable and I believe I will only attain that stability by furthering my studies. The money I received from GiveDirectly I was able to save 2500 Kenya Shillings for my studies. I know with savings and investment I will be able to achieve all my objectives in life, one of it being enrolled in a University. The remaining amount which is 500 Kenya Shillings, I was able to assist my father in buying food for the entire family. I really thank GiveDirectly for giving me a helping hand.

My father and I are currently staying in a nearby town where we got a short contract at a construction site. We are paid weekly and whenever we earn our pay, we set aside enough money to sustain us for a week and send the rest to my mother both for their upkeep and my sibling's school fees. On this fateful day, we had exhausted our savings and unfortunately, the weekly payments were delayed. We had no choice but to sleep hungry. Fortunately, at around 6 pm I received a confirmation message of the receipt of the first transfer. You can imagine how delighted we were. This was a miracle! I shared the news with my father, and he was excited too. We later withdrew some money and bought our meal.

The biggest difference in my daily life is having been able to purchase enough food to sustain us for some days. After completing my secondary education two years ago, I joined my father in the construction work to help him raise money for sustaining my younger siblings who are in both primary and secondary school. We do not earn enough money to sustain all our needs, but we strive to provide the best that we can. There are times we send them most of our earnings leaving us with nothing for our meals. Am glad the money was of great help at the time when we needed it the most. We had resorted to sleeping hungry on the day we received it since we neither had savings nor foodstuffs left. Thank God, through the transfers we managed to get some foodstuffs. Besides that, I believe that I will soon pursue my dream of becoming a health worker. This has been my desire since I completed high school two years ago but due to our poor family background, I had to join my father in the construction work to support my younger siblings as I also save some money for my college. Since the work is not reliable, I have not been able to save much from it but I am glad I was able to save part of the first transfer. This is a boost, and I am hopeful that by the end of the year I will have saved enough money to facilitate my enrollment in college next year.

I cleared my secondary education two years ago and since then, I have not been able to join college. This is because of our poor family background. My father does casual work on construction sites while my mother is a subsistence farmer. I have five siblings, two are in secondary school and three are in primary school. Meeting the needs of the six of us has been a challenge to my father especially, the school fees and thus leading to huge school fee arrears. Therefore, after completing high school, I joined him in the construction work to support him with the family's needs as I save some money for joining college next year to pursue a course in community health. Am glad that GiveDirectly came to our rescue. I, therefore, saved KES 1500 for my college fee, gave my father KES 1000 which he added to his transfer, and paid for part of my sibling's school fees. The remaining KES 500 we spent on food for our family because we had no food at that time.