I am grateful for the support I have received from GiveDirectly. Thanks to their help, I was able to start a poultry project, which has become a valuable source of sustenance for my household. Whenever I face a financial challenge, I can sell some of the poultry to address it, especially when it comes to paying for my children's school fees. However, I believe that relying on this project alone is not enough, so I am planning to open a small kiosk in our trading centre. By stocking it with different products, I hope to generate additional income for my family of ten. This way, I can diversify my sources of income and provide adequately for my children, including paying fees on time.

I work as a community mobilizer and support a family of ten. To diversify my sources of income, I started a poultry project that could supplement my income and help sustain my family. Currently, I own over 40 birds, and I have been selling some over the past few months. When I received the transfers, my priority was to boost this project by acquiring more nutritious chicken feed and purchasing a solar panel to light the chicken coop. I spent $26 for this purpose, and as a result, my chickens are now healthy, and I believe they will fetch a good price. I also built an extension of a single room that required iron sheets, which I purchased for $20, and I paid $10 for the labour. My room is now complete and able to accommodate my children too. Additionally, I spent $34 to hire a pair of oxen during the planting season, and I was able to utilize my three acres and obtained a bountiful harvest. I no longer suffer food shortages in my household. Finally, I spent the remaining amount on paying fees for my six children who were reporting back to class. I purchased enough supplies for them, including some stationery required during their admission. I am at peace now, seeing my children comfortably in class.

My goal is to expand the chicken-rearing project that I initiated with the cash transfers. Currently, my job as a community police officer does not provide a reliable income to support the education of my seven children, let alone cover their food expenses. I am happy that I already traded 15 chickens for a goat, which marked the beginning of my goat-rearing venture as well. I aim to acquire around 15 laying hens that will breed and increase the flock size. With a larger chicken flock, I can trade for more goats and expand my goat herd, which is another source of income I am eager to pursue.

Before the recent planting season, my primary use of the cash transfers was for purchasing food and paying the school fees of my seven children. My job as a community security officer does not provide enough income to cover all our family's needs, so these cash transfers have been a significant help. From the most recent three transfers, I allocated $26 to reduce the tuition debt for my children. I needed to clear these fees to ensure they would not miss school or their upcoming examinations. I also used $14 to buy an iron sheet to complete a room extension on my house. Additionally, I spent $25 on chicken feed. I started a chicken-rearing project as an additional source of income after receiving the cash aid, and I am pleased to see the flock growing steadily. The monthly cash transfers have allowed me to provide for the chickens' needs and I could never be more grateful. The remaining funds were used to purchase food during the period when we had not yet harvested our crops.

In addition to working as an office messanger, I also engage in livestock and poultry farming to supplement my income. Despite these efforts, providing for my ten children's needs, such as food and school fees, remains a challenge. To address this, I have set a goal to establish a kiosk business in the near future. I am not only passionate about running this type of business but also hopeful that it will serve as an additional income source to support my family. By expanding my sources of income through the kiosk, I aim to generate substantial profits that can contribute towards meeting the various needs of my family.

When I began receiving the cash transfers, my primary goal was to construct a one-room house to accommodate my ten children. The existing two-room house was becoming insufficient for our needs. As an office messanger at the Assistant Chief's office, my income was limited, and could only cover basic expenses like food. Therefore, I decided to utilize the cash transfers from Give Directly to build the house. Recently, I completed the purchase of building materials (iron sheets) and paid the builder's compensation, which amounted to approximately $19. I used this amount from the recent cash transfers. With the remaining $15, I was able to buy food for my family. We had run out of food the previous day, and I was feeling anxious about how I would afford more for my family. I am grateful that the cash transfers played a significant role in providing the necessary resources for our housing and addressing our immediate food needs.

As I had previously indicated, I have six school-age children, and I am hopeful that the money I get this year would allow me to cover their tuition. In addition, I had hoped to use this money for nutrition since, as I had previously indicated, it is continually difficult due to drought. By the end of the year, I would also prefer to have completed construction on the extra rooms. Last but not least, I want to purchase a few chickens for commercial purposes. Up to now, GiveDirectly's funding has allowed me to purchase twenty hens, which I intend to sell soon.

I went ahead and spent the money I was given in December to purchase five sets of iron sheets since I had plans to add a room to my house. My home only has two rooms, and my six children can almost all fit in one. I made the decision to construct additional rooms because they are also growing and will require their own privacy. In light of my recent moves, I made the decision to keep purchasing building supplies for my home, so I went ahead and spent KES 1,800 on 18 pieces of iron sheets. I then spent the remaining KES 1,600 on food because it could be difficult at times.

The organization has changed our village positively. We have been empowered financially. Throughout my interaction with the GiveDirectly officers, I did not see anything that was not done well.

I was overjoyed with happiness the moment I saw a GiveDirectly officer in our village. I knew that finally, God had remembered us. I lived in a 2-roomed house which is small and cannot contain my children comfortably. This made me request my mother to allow some of my children to sleep in her house. I am married and blessed with 10 children. I am a consistent farmer and a part-time volunteer at the chief's office. Therefore, upon receiving my transfer, I used $30 in buying iron sheets so that I can build a bigger house after assembling the building material. This was not possible before, due to school fees, responsibilities, and other basic needs. I am so happy and relieved that finally my dream would be realized.

Most of us did not trust when we were informed by the GiveDirectly that we would receive a cash transfer. We thought they were empty promises as happened with other organizations. The receipt of the first transfer was a confirmation that the organization meant its words. I felt happy because I knew we had started a journey towards the transformation of our village. Most of us are poor and the money will be of great help.

Having been able to purchase some pieces of iron sheets is the biggest difference in my daily life. Constructing an additional bedroom room for my children has been my dream but I could not afford it. They have since then been sleeping in my mother's house but it does not make me comfortable since I can not closely monitor them. The income I earn from the casual work can barely afford a whole day's meal for my family of 12. I am glad I have most of the building materials required for the construction and hopefully, by next month the process will kick off.

I have a one-bedroom house which can not fit my family of 12. I work at the chief's office as a casual worker, but I am not a regular pay and the income I earn can not sustain my family. The children sleep in their grandmother's house because they are grown and I can not share a sleeping room with them. Any parent would wish to stay away from their teenage children and so do I since I can easily monitor them whenever they are around and even rectify any mischievous behavior. Therefore, I added some of my savings to the first transfer and bought two pieces of iron sheets worth KES 1400 that I will use to construct an extra room for my children. Hopefully, I will start the construction after receiving the second transfer because I had previously bought a few of the building materials.