In the upcoming month, my primary goal is to finalize the repairs on my house, ensuring the safety of our living space. Simultaneously, I aim to persist in providing financial assistance to my daughter, supporting her as she pursues her college studies. The invaluable financial aid from the transfers has been instrumental in significantly enhancing the quality of my life, and for that, I am sincerely grateful.

I played a role in financing my daughter's college education, where she is currently pursuing a beauty therapy course. I contributed $10 towards her school fees. Additionally, I allocated $14 to acquire building poles to address the deteriorating condition of my house, which was on the verge of collapsing. In an effort to diversify my wardrobe, I spent $11 on purchasing new clothes. Last year, I invested $23 in plowing my one-acre land, preparing it for the cultivation of maize. Furthermore, I acquired a goat for $34, expressing optimism about its potential for multiplication. This strategic investment serves as a contingency plan, allowing me to sell the goat in case of emergencies and utilize the funds for self-support. I am genuinely delighted with the financial assistance provided by the transfers, which has significantly contributed to these positive developments in my life.

At the moment, my daughter is enrolled in a three-year hairdressing course, and she relies on me to cover her tuition fees. This course holds significant importance for her as it paves the way for her to establish her own hairdressing business and become financially independent. Unfortunately, my current financial situation is not very stable, as I lack a steady source of income. I depend solely on the monthly transfers, and my husband is also a beneficiary of these funds. Our shared objective is to ensure that our daughter can complete her course without any disruptions due to financial constraints. I am committed to paying her tuition fees on time and helping her achieve her educational aspirations.

I spent $60 from the recent transfers to cover my daughter's college fees. She is currently in her first year of a three-year hairdressing course as part of her vocational training. The monthly transfers have proven to be indispensable in ensuring her education continues smoothly. Initially, I was concerned about the financial burden, but now I'm relieved that she can comfortably attend her classes, all thanks to the transfers. Additionally, I invested $30 in acquiring a goat, adding to my homestead's assets, bringing the total to four goats. I plan to allow them to reproduce, creating a financial safety net for future needs. I can readily sell them if necessary to support my financial obligations, particularly my daughter's education. Also, my house had fallen into disrepair, with one side collapsing due to heavy rains. This made it uninhabitable, forcing me to seek shelter elsewhere. However, I used $14 to purchase building poles and undertake the necessary renovations. I'm pleased that my house is now in excellent condition and suitable for habitation. I spent the remaining funds on purchasing essential provisions for my family. This included buying beans for sustenance and acquiring personal hygiene items such as soap, along with other household necessities.

My goal for this year and the future is to save sufficient funds from my subsequent transfers. I intend to utilize these savings to cover the school fees for my two children. Although my youngest child finished her secondary education last year, financial constraints prevent me from immediately supporting her college enrollment. Witnessing my children pursue their desired career paths brings me immense satisfaction, and I aim to strive towards that by utilizing the resources obtained from these transfers.

As the sole breadwinner in my family of four, I bear the responsibility of providing for everyone. My husband, due to his old age, is unable to work and can only tend to our livestock by taking them to the field. While I manage a small business selling palm wine, the income it generates is not substantial enough. Consequently, there are times when I struggle to meet the family's financial needs. In May, a significant portion of the $20 I received went towards my daughter's college tuition fees. She recently started her beauty course, specializing in hair styling. It brings me great joy to know that she will acquire enough knowledge and skills in the next two years to establish her own business and assist me as well. In addition to the tuition fees, I allocated $10 to prepare my half-acre farm for planting. Finally, after a long wait of over six years, the rain has arrived. This presents a wonderful opportunity for me to resume farming, with hopes of a bountiful harvest. A successful harvest would alleviate the burden of purchasing food at exorbitant prices from the store. Having an abundance of food would ensure that we never go hungry or skip meals again. With the remaining $4, I purchased a packet of maize flour and sugar, which would sustain us for an extra day. I eagerly awaited the chance to capitalize on my business and buy more food for my family.

At the time I started the program, our house was in terrible shape. Both the previous roof and the walls were in bad shape. My husband looks after our goats in the, while I manage a tiny coconut shop. The lack of income from our sources prevented us from building a new house. Thank you, GiveDirectly, for saving my life. During the last three months, I spent $44 on timber, which we used to restore a section of the wall. While it isn't nearly finished, we are happy with the development. By the end of this year, perhaps, it will be done and furnished. In addition, with the complete transfer I received in November, I purchased chickens for raising, but I recently sold them owing to a case of a poultry disease outbreak. Later, I increased the remaining $28 of my transfer by the $30 I had made from sales and purchased two goats. They are easier to handle and rarely get sick compared to chickens. I pooled my savings with $20 from the transfer when our last child, a secondary student, went back to school in order to cover some of this year's tuition. We purchased food for our home with the $10 I had left.

I personally want to applaud GiveDirectly especially because through the funds they have clearly elevated us from the conditions of living in pure poverty to where we are now, where we are at better survival rate as compared go before. This is because our children were not going to school, starvation was the order of the day and most of us could hardly call what we lived in houses.

I have been looking forward to do some reconstruction when it comes to my house especially because it is almost collapsing. Therefore when I got the chance to withdraw the funds I went ahead to use KES 1,500 to buy the. pieces of timber. Afterwards I proceeded to spend KES 1,000 by purchasing two hens because I was planning to invest in poultry farming with the sole purpose of financial gain. As for what remained which was KES 500 I bought two kilograms of sugar and three kilograms of beans.

I received a message alert on my mobile phone at night, but I could not confirm its contents due to my inability to read. I waited till the following morning and requested my helper to check what the message was all about. My heart melted with joy when she found that Give Directly had sent my first transfer. The money would help me afford some food for the family.

Since the month began, up until the day I received the transfer, my family would skip taking basic meals to save the little available for supper. We would either forgo breakfast or lunch because the food was always not enough for three meals per day. However, the food consumption frequency improved after I used the entire transfer amount to obtain food. My family was able to eat all three meals; breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I spent the entire transfer amount on food to boost the little that was left in stock. At least this helped relieve the responsibility burden off my son's shoulders who has been actively providing for the family of seven people. The little earnings he makes from working as a bus conductor barely provides regular meals for the family. Am glad because the transfer gave me a chance to support him by purchasing food for the household.