As I approach the completion of my secondary school education, my goal in the coming months is to use my transfers to clear any remaining school fee debt. This will ensure that I can sit for my end-of-year exams without the stress of having an outstanding balance. Once the results are out next year, I hope to continue my education and move closer to achieving my goal of becoming an engineer. I plan to use my subsequent transfers to pay the rest of my school fees, which will give me peace of mind and help me focus on my studies. I am very grateful for the financial support, as it has helped me pursue my dreams and continue striving toward my goals.

I am currently in my final year of secondary school, and my parents, whom I depend on for financial support, are casual laborers. They earn very little from selling charcoal, and the income is not enough to cover all our family’s needs and pay for my school fees. However, the financial transfers I receive from GiveDirectly have played a crucial role in helping me continue my education. I spent a significant portion of $90 from the transfers to pay my school fees, ensuring that I could stay in school and focus on my studies. With the remaining $12, I purchased stationery items, which have been essential for my learning. I am incredibly appreciative of the financial support, as it has allowed me to remain in school and work towards achieving my dream of becoming an engineer. Thanks to the transfers, I can now focus on my studies without worrying about dropping out due to unpaid school fees.

In the coming year and beyond, my goal is to invest in goats. I aim to raise and sell them once they multiply, generating profits to support my education. To achieve this goal, I will utilize the funds received through the project and a portion of my savings. The income generated from this venture will enable me to pursue my dream of obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Education. Becoming a teacher has been my lifelong aspiration, and realizing this dream would be a significant achievement for me. I am thankful to this organization for improving my family's living standards and positively impacting our entire community.

When I received my most recent transfer of $90, I used it to pay my school fees. Each term, we pay a total of $150, so I used most of my transfer to ensure I wouldn't be sent home for fees. Since my parents are jobless and it's difficult for them to cover my fees, I have to manage my transfers wisely to continue my education. These transfers have been crucial in allowing me to pay my fees, relieving my parents from financial burden. With the remaining amount, I purchased the books required for school.

Looking ahead, my goal for the coming year is to invest in goats. I aim to raise and sell them once they multiply, generating profits to support my education. To achieve this goal, I will utilize the funds received through the project and a portion of my savings. The income generated from this venture will enable me to pursue my dream of obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Education. Becoming a teacher has been my lifelong aspiration, and realizing this dream would be a significant achievement for me. I am thankful to this organization for improving my family's living standards and also for positively impacting our entire community.

I am a Form Four student at Mnazi Mwenga Secondary School, and I am thankful for the assistance this project has provided to my family. Among my four siblings, three of us rely on our parents for financial support. My father sells charcoal while my mother is a housewife and his income has not always been sufficient to cover our needs. There were times when we struggled to afford daily meals, and I often faced the risk of being sent home from school due to unpaid fees. However, I am relieved that our circumstances have improved significantly. Now, I can contribute towards my school fees, purchase clothes, and buy essential books for my studies. Thanks to the transfers received, I managed to allocate $50 to settle a significant school fees debt that was pending, ensuring that I continue with my studies. Additionally, I saved $30 in a savings club, which I plan to use next year to support my college education. The remaining $22 was wisely spent on essential items like clothes, books, and pens. Being a part of this program fills me with great joy, as it has truly transformed my life.

I'll be using the savings from the transfers, which I anticipate will be around $45 to buy a goat. This goat will mark the beginning of my livestock rearing venture, aimed at generating additional income through selling livestock. I believe this will allow me to support my education. At the same time, I hope to alleviate some of the financial burdens my parents have been shouldering for far too long. I am determined to make the most of the opportunities that have come my way.

I'm currently in school, I spent $75 on paying my school fees and $22 on the required school supplies. Before, I wouldn't be in school for long since my parents couldn't afford to pay my school fees and my other sibling's. I have a younger sibling, most of the time, we struggled to get by with the little income my parents earn. My parents depend on a small business where they collect tree roots, burning them for charcoal production. In our village, this is what almost everyone does since it doesn't require a large capital, though the returns are very minimal. One earns just $6 after a two weeks struggle, which is barely enough to sustain a household's needs.However, GiveDirectly has greatly changed our lives. My parents can now comfortably afford to pay my brother's school fees, and I'm also able to pay for my own education. Additionally, I've joined a savings group where I save $5 every month. These savings will be a significant help at the end of the year. This newfound financial stability has given both me and my family hope.

My goal for the next three years is to venture into livestock keeping, specifically goats. As a student in Form Three, I have experienced the challenges that come with relying on my parents' income from charcoal burning, which is often unstable. Our struggles have been mainly due to poverty and the lack of a steady source of income. I believe that engaging in livestock keeping, particularly goats will help change our circumstances, as they are a valuable form of wealth. To achieve this, I plan to save at least $5 from my monthly cash transfers, slowly accumulating enough funds to acquire goats and start building wealth.

As a student, I have always relied on my parents to cover my school fees and meet our family's needs. However, their income from making and selling charcoal is not sufficient to cover all our expenses, including tuition fees for my brother and me. The cash transfers have been a blessing, as they have allowed me to contribute towards paying my fees, easing the financial burden on my parents. Thanks to the cash aid, I no longer have to worry about missing out on my education like I used to before. In the recent transfer, I used $20 to clear an outstanding fee from the previous academic term. Additionally, I spent $4 to purchase a new school shirt, as my old one was worn out. The remaining amount was used to buy food, which has helped alleviate hunger in our family. These cash transfers have not only supported my education but also enabled me to contribute to our household's basic needs.

I am a student, and it takes me quite a long time to buy a new set of clothes. Most of the time, I am always in uniform while in school except for weekends when I am at home, and I do not mind putting on my old clothes. Since we live in hardship, I last bought new attire in December 2021, although I desired new ones. My parents are elderly and only rely on subsistence farming during rainy seasons, a situation that rarely favors them. Immediately after I received my December 2022 transfer, I opted to spend $15 on buying new clothes; long trousers and a shirt. I was delighted to get compliments from my peers on my smart attire on Christmas Day. Secondly, because I am still a student, I decided to save $19 to help me pay part of my school fees when schools re-open. I did this because my parents are often unable to raise my fees.

Most of the people in the village have been able to put food on the table. Due to drought in the area, most of the families were not able to get food. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.

I am still a secondary school student, I spent $20 on paying my school fees because I was sent home for school fees at that time. I am so happy because currently I am studying well without being disturbed. I wish to get a better performance this academic year since I have not missed most of the lessons. Besides that, I spent $5 on purchasing a hen and the rest of the money I spent on purchasing clothes and other personal items. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has supported me in my studies.

It was totally a surprising when I realized that I had received the money because I had no idea that it would come in at that moment because it was about nine in the night but I was definitely happy about it because this meant that I could finally go back to school.

As I had mentioned idea I had actually been out of school for three days so this transfers definitely were a huge help to me because I finally go to attend school and not have left a very huge gap in learning between me and the other students.

Nutrition is one of the biggest challenges that me and my family face and on numerous occasions we end up having to borrow some food from the neighbors when we have nothing. Therefore when I received the money I decided that I was going to at least try and ensure that we did not have to worry about when our next meal would be, so I ended up buying 10 packets of maize flour for KES 1,200. Afterwards I decided to pay for my tuition because I also had a debt and I had already been out of school for three days so I paid KES 1,500. I was left with a balance of KES 300 which I used on buying stationery.