In the coming year and beyond, my greatest hope is to provide the best education for my five children. Education is a treasure no one can take away from them, a solid foundation for a brighter future. Despite the challenges, with an income that fluctuates with the seasons, I manage to balance our finances with the help of GiveDirectly transfers. Each month, I set aside a portion of these funds specifically for their schooling. It's not always easy, but seeing my children learn and grow makes every sacrifice worthwhile. My job may not always provide a steady income, but the support from GiveDirectly ensures that come rain or shine, my kids' education remains a top priority. As they continue to excel in their studies, I dream of a future where they have the opportunities I never had, breaking the cycle of poverty and building successful, fulfilling lives.

As a contractor working on construction sites, I often get low-paying contracts because I don't have academic papers to prove my expertise. Despite the challenges, I'm grateful for the work that allows me to provide for my family of seven. Reflecting on the most recent three transfers totaling $102, I used $72 to facilitate the education of my five children. Ensuring they have the tools and resources they need for school is my top priority, as I believe education is the key to a brighter future for them. With the remaining $30, I bought food for my family. This money provided essential relief from the tiring construction jobs I do daily to make ends meet. Though the work is hard, knowing I can provide meals for my children keeps me motivated. Each small contract I complete and every dollar I earn plays a crucial role in sustaining my family's well-being and supporting my children's education.

The significant challenge of food scarcity in my household was alleviated when I successfully cultivated my acreage and reaped a bountiful harvest. Now, I no longer bear the burden of food expenses. However, my reliance on sporadic menial jobs persists, and there are times when securing employment becomes challenging. To address this inconsistency, I have devised a plan to invest a portion of my transfers in acquiring livestock, particularly goats and chickens. This investment holds significant value for me, as livestock serves as a valuable asset that I can depend on, supplementing the uncertainties of the casual jobs that I do. By diversifying my income sources to include livestock, I aim to move beyond my sole dependence on menial jobs. Furthermore, the ownership of livestock opens up avenues to contribute to my children's education, thereby securing their future.

Being a beneficiary of GiveDirectly is something for which I will always be grateful. As a mason, finding a job has become increasingly challenging. The search for construction work can stretch for weeks, posing a significant obstacle to providing for my family. Despite the sporadic nature of my employment, the financial transfers from GiveDirectly have played a crucial role in ensuring that my family's basic needs, such as food and education for my children, are met. I have four children currently enrolled in school, with one in high school and the others in junior classes. A significant portion of my recent transfer, nearly $70, was dedicated to covering my children's school fees. Despite the financial hardships I face, it brings me peace to know that my children can continue their education without interruption. Without this financial support, some of them might have had to stay home. The monthly transfers provide reassurance that even if I struggle to secure consistent employment, I can still manage to pay my children's school fees. The remaining part of the transfer was used to purchase food for my family, especially during the festive season of Christmas and New Year celebrations. Thanks to the transfers, I was able to enjoy quality time with my family and bring smiles to my children's faces.

Looking ahead to the coming year and beyond, I have a goal to purchase two more cows to add to the two that I already own. These cows have been helpful in plowing activities during land preparation. In the recently concluded planting season, the two bulls I own significantly increased crop yields not only on my farm but also on the farms of others who hired their services. I aim to buy two more cows and expand my cattle holdings. Additionally, as these cows mature, I can sell them at a higher price. Currently, the price for acquiring one cow stands at $150. Since my household has four cash transfer recipients, including my wife and children, we have all agreed to contribute towards this goal each month. Moreover, with the recent food harvest, we anticipate that our funds will not be as constrained, making this goal more attainable.

One of my children is currently in form four and is preparing to sit for his national secondary school examinations at the end of this year. However, affording his school fees has been a challenge for me since the beginning of the year because my job in house construction is highly unpredictable. Additionally, I have four other children in lower classes who also rely on me for support. I am incredibly grateful for the cash transfers as they have allowed me to reduce a portion of the tuition debt and increase the likelihood that he will not miss out on classes. From the recent cash transfers, I used $30 to reduce the balance, and I am optimistic that I will be able to settle the remaining $100 before his exams. I also allocated $68 to purchase food for my family over the past few months. Before we recently harvested our crops, affording food was another significant challenge. I'm thankful that the cash transfers have supported me in providing for my family and have alleviated some of the hardships in our household. The remaining $4 was used to buy sacks for storing the maize produce from the recently concluded planting season.

As a mason, the lack of house construction projects deprives me of work, forcing me to heavily on cash transfers. This reliance is further intensified by the financial demands of having seven children who are all attending school, contributing to the overall increase in expenses. Though the transfers have lifted a significant burden off my shoulders, I intend to establish another source of income to support my family even after the transfers stop. In the coming few years, my goal is to invest in rearing cattle. I believe that by acquiring young calves at a lower price, I can raise them over the next five to six years until they reach maturity. At that point, I can sell them at a higher price, generating a profit. This profit will open up opportunities for me to explore and invest in other areas.

Initially, I intended to utilize the cash transfers to acquire two cows and an ox plow to assist me in plowing tasks and also hire them out for the same practices to generate an income. Through previous months’ transfers and contributions from my children, I am pleased to have successfully bought one cow and the necessary equipment. However, acquiring the second cow has proven challenging due to financial constraints. It is crucial to have two cows for effective plowing, as a single cow cannot handle the task alone. Despite this setback, I am grateful that the cash transfers have supported me during the ongoing planting season, particularly in terms of weeding and providing food for my family. Over the past three months, I have been allocating $26 from each cash transfer towards purchasing food, while the remainder is dedicated to supporting weeding activities on my farm. This has ensured that my household never misses important meals. Also, through weeding, our crops will grow in a clean environment. We hope to have a fruitful harvest this season, enabling me to spend the funds on other ventures.

As a parent, I want to see my son who is in his last year of secondary school succeed in life. This is only possible with higher-quality education. I'm planning to set aside $10 per month to help him pay his college enrollment fee the following year. He is doing well in his present schoolwork, and I am sure he will get into the university.

I had set aside some money from my work building houses in the anticipation that I would use it for farming if it rained. Sadly, there isn't any rain. In order to buy an ox, I thus added $60 from the last three months' transfer to the $200 I had already accumulated. I currently have two of them that I intend to hire out to plow other people's farms at a fee. We will save money because we won't have to hire anybody to plow our land, which is another plus. Most of the $42 I had left went toward buying food for my family.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well in supporting poor individuals with cash transfers by sending money to them every month. This has increased trust with the shopkeepers as they can easily entrust us by giving foodstuffs on credit during the hard times. Furthermore, giving small amounts of transfers allows us to rethink our spending when we made bad decisions. I feel there is nothing that the organization did not do well.

With 5 children both in secondary and primary school, providing them with quality education has been my priority. I spent $10 of the most recent transfers with part of my saving to clear off the fee arrears for the children. Additionally, I saved $10 in a marry-go-round with the aim to invest it in doing a meaningful project that requires more cash to start like starting cattle farming. Lastly, I used the remaining $10 on food. This is because it has been a long time since we harvest enough food from our farm due to the drought caused by climate change.

By the time I received the transfer, I had left my village to work on a house construction project in Voi, alongside my son. I remember the night the mobile money message reached my phone vividly, it was around 7.30 p.m, my son and I  had just retired from the day’s activities. I was instantly relieved of the stress I had carried throughout the day about my children who had been pulled out of class due to unpaid school fees. I am grateful to Give Directly for coming through that day to help finance my children’s education. 

The greatest difference created by the cash transfer in my life is the ability to settle school fees for my children. When the school called me that morning, I had nothing in my savings; my employer had not processed my wage yet. Courtesy of the transfer, I cleared the tuition deficit, and the children happily resumed learning. 

Earlier that day, before I got the transfer, the primary school where three of my children attend contacted me to remind me of the unpaid cost for the current academic session. Because I had not made any money from my masonry work at the time, my children were pulled out of class. Fortunately, Give Directly's cash transfer timing was ideal. I gave them KES 1,500 to cover their school fees, and they all resumed their studies. I saved KES 1,000 through a self-help group formed in the household to save money to buy two cows in the near future. These cows will help generate money for the family when we rent them out for plowing. I contributed the remaining amount towards the purchase of food, to boost the little that was left in stock and last us at least four days.