My ultimate goal is to save more money from the monthly transfers I receive to buy livestock, particularly goats. I trust these will boost my current earnings from selling charcoal in the village. In my opinion, choosing goats is a great decision because they are affordable to acquire, easy to maintain, and reproduce faster compared to other domestic animals. I am confident that I will soon achieve this goal, and paying fees for my son as well as providing for my family will no longer be a challenge. I also realize that this program won’t last forever in my village, but by the time it ends, I will at least have something to rely on.

Since my husband is elderly and jobless, I have been left with the burden of taking care of the children, which has been quite challenging as age is also catching up with me. The only business I depend on is the charcoal one, which has become very competitive. Providing for the family has been difficult, especially for my son, who recently joined secondary school. His school journey has been tough, as he has often been out of class due to arrears. Therefore, I paid $20 from the recent transfer so that he could stay in school, and I feel that he is now inspired to perform well. In addition, I bought two chickens worth $14, which I believe will increase in number. In the future, I plan to sell some and use the money to handle any emergencies that may arise. Also, my clothes were quite torn, which lowered my self-esteem, so I used $11 from the transfer to buy a few pieces of clothing. I feel good now and more content. Finally, on the day I received the cash, I was quite unwell and decided to use $9 to visit the hospital and get medication. I am glad that I am now faring better and able to face the days ahead. I also used $50 to purchase sufficient food for the household, as we are facing a prolonged drought and there was a need to stock up on food.

As a recipient of GiveDirectly, my heart swells with hope and determination for the coming year and beyond. I desire to add a second room to my one-room mud wall house, an expansion that will bring comfort and dignity to our lives. Currently, I live with my two grandchildren, and our tiny space barely holds us. It's a constant struggle to find comfort and privacy. With the financial support from GiveDirectly, I plan to save diligently from each transfer. I will supplement this by continuing my charcoal-burning business, which helps put food on our table. The vision of my grandchildren sleeping peacefully in a room where they can stretch out fills me with determination.

I rely on charcoal burning and my two sons who do casual jobs because my spouse is too old to work. With the recent three transfers amounting to $102, I first used $10 to pay school fees for my son, Abdallah, who is in secondary school. He was about to do his end-of-term exam, so I wanted him to settle and concentrate. This was very important to me because his education is crucial for our family's future. Thereafter, I bought a goat for $37, increasing my herd to six goats, which will serve as security in the future. I also used $34 for medication because I was sick, and I'm happy to say I am now doing well. Lastly, I bought some food for $21 to relieve my body and my sons, who are working tirelessly to provide for the family. This support was essential in keeping us strong and able to continue our efforts to sustain ourselves.

Nothing worries me more than the lack of a stable income, especially with my son, Abdalla, still in school. Ensuring he receives a good education by covering his school fees is my top priority. Despite my husband's and my limitations in taking physically demanding jobs due to our advancing age, I see livestock ownership as the best way to generate wealth and secure my son's education. Even if the cash transfers were to end, I wouldn't be concerned. I'm already planning to invest in goats and have begun saving towards this goal.

When the cash transfers arrived, my grandson had fallen ill, and his parents had not successfully raised funds to take him for treatment. The transfers were a much-needed relief. I contributed $24, enabling us to take him to the hospital, where he received treatment for about two days. Thankfully, he's now recovering well. Additionally, I covered my son's examination fees using $2 to ensure he wouldn't miss his end-of-term exams. Without a stable income source, particularly due to my advancing age and inability to take on physically demanding work, I'm focused on building a substantial livestock holding. This way, in case of future emergencies, like my son needing school fees, I can easily sell these animals for funds. To kickstart this plan, I invested $32 in buying a goat and $8 in purchasing two chickens. I also saved $20 through a merry-go-round contributions club, intending to use it for buying goats when my turn comes to receive funds. The remaining money was allocated for purchasing food, especially during the Christmas and New Year festivities, ensuring my family could enjoy delicious meals together.

My objective is to provide my child with a comfortable and uninterrupted education throughout the remainder of his school years. To realize this dream, I am planning to establish a livestock business, focusing on goats. With my child poised to enter secondary school next year, I have diligently saved a portion of my transfers to serve as an investment in this venture. The plan is to sell the livestock as needed, ensuring a sustainable source of income. The prospect of being able to educate my child without financial strain brings me a great deal of peace of mind. I firmly believe that education is the key to unlocking his full potential, and I am dedicated to making this vision a reality.

Relying on farming as my primary source of income, I've found that it often falls short of meeting my needs. Previously, my husband and I struggled to make ends meet, resorting to the physically demanding work of clearing tree stumps and selling charcoal. The support from GiveDirectly has been a lifeline, enabling me to invest in livestock and construct a new, safer house. With my children grown, except for one still in need of financial assistance for school fees, I allocated $18 from the transfers to settle an outstanding school debt for him. Additionally, $44 was used to purchase food when supplies were running low. Another $16 was invested in buying chickens, which I plan to raise and sell at a profit. The remaining $24 was directed towards purchasing medication for my grandchild, who fell ill and required urgent medical attention. I am content with the progress we have made so far, and I am grateful for the positive impact of GiveDirectly in our lives.

My main objective is to improve my life. I want to start raising animals, mainly goats, and I think saving some of my transfers will help me do so. I'm happy to know that my family will be well taken care of as a result of this.

I sell and supply charcoal to surrounding villages, but the task is incredibly tedious. I am also into poultry and cattle farming, so I spent $37 on buying chickens and a goat. Additionally, I used $23 on food for my family as there had been a severe shortage in recent months. Recently, I became ill and was hospitalized due to stomach problems. I am grateful that the rest of the transfers arrived just in time to save the situation, as I was not able to offset the hospital bill.

I am planning to buy goats, which are both an investment and savings for the future of my children's education. They are currently in primary school, and since I do not have a stable source of income, the goats will be of great help. I can readily sell the goats as they multiply to raise fees when they join a high school in the near future.

I have been sheltering in an old grass-thatched hut for many years, though my desire was to upgrade to an iron-roofed house. The hut was leaking uncontrollably whenever it rained, and I had to replace the roof with new grass every time. I could not afford to buy the necessary building materials at my own expense. However, when I began receiving the transfers, together with my husband, I decided to save our monthly transfers since last year in order to build a decent house. So far, we have been able to purchase 20 pieces of iron sheets, and building poles, and we have started the construction. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for enabling me to finally fulfil my dream of living in an iron-roofed house. This will relieve me of the stressful job of replacing the grass every month, which was really tiresome.

I applaud the organization for its efforts to assist society's most vulnerable people. I will be able to change and live a better life free from the clutches of poverty with the aid of the unconditional transfers we receive from GiveDirectly. I urge the organization to keep up with its programs because they are currently being carried out successfully and without any problems.

I live in a dilapidated, grass-thatched building with polythene bags covering the walls. Due to my lack of employment and complete reliance on my son, a casual laborer, I was unable to construct a quality home. I've been forced to put up with the cold weather and sleepless nights because of the leaking roof due to a lack of money. So when I got my transfer, I spent $22 on two pieces of iron sheeting. The purchase of the iron sheets marks the beginning of the realization of a long-held dream of mine: to construct a permanent, two-bedroom home for my family. I intend to purchase two iron sheets every time I get a transfer until I have 30. I will then purchase building poles, cement, and sand and begin construction on the house. In addition to purchasing iron sheets, I also added $5 worth of food to the house's dwindling supply. This prevented me from being caught off guard by going without food. Last but not least, I paid my son's class 7 tuition so that he wouldn't be expelled for having unpaid tuition.

While lying in bed at home since I was unwell, I received a message on my phone at around 5 pm. I contacted my helper to read and interpret it for me because I do not know how to read. Upon confirming, she informed me that I had received my first transfer from GiveDirectly. My heart was filled with happiness for receiving the money knowing that, the monthly transfers for the next five years which I was informed by the GiveDirectly officers had kicked off well.

Since this was my first transfer, the only difference that I can testify of is that the money came at a time when I needed it most and through it, I was able to seek medical attention. Again, I have faith difference that I feel my life will change from a struggling one to a better one since there is a guarantee of getting some money monthly. Through this money, I have some investment plans which I will soon unveil and they will change my story from hardship to inspiration.

By the time I received my first transfer, I was just lying on my bed at home not feeling well. The money brought some light on me knowing that I had got something to seek medical attention with. Therefore, I went to the nearest government health center and got some treatment for $4. Thereafter, I thought it wise to buy a hen to mark the journey of poultry farming as it was said, "a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single stride." Concerning that, I bought a hen for $3 and used the remaining $8 for food.