Four months ago, my kids had some outstanding arrears in school which I really needed to offset urgently but then due to financial limitations, it was never easy to cross that line. However, today, I am glad that I managed to offset part of that budget and they are now able to go to school without interruptions from the teachers.

I have this house which I live in but I feel that it is too small as compared to the size of the family. It is high time I got a new house that is more spacious and more appealing so that my family can have somewhere to live in in a more comfortable manner.

I would say that the biggest difference is that I was able to buy a cow using the transfers, something that I had only been dreaming of for ages. Were it not for the transfers, I do not think it would have been possible for me to be able to have purchased it. What I know is that the cow will give birth some time to come and of course with time the population will keep growing which means that in case I will have the opportunity to sell them out then I will be able to cash out on such transactions.

Like I have mentioned before, I need to construct a new house in the near future so that my family can have a better place to call home. Currently, we have to squeeze and fit in this small structure that can barely accommodate all of us. I know that six months from today, my dream will have come true and life will be much better than it is today.

The past four to five months have been awesome to me because I have been able to buy two domestic animals, one being a cow and the other one a goat. The reason why I invest in these animals is because I know they act as long term investments which will generate some financial benefits to me in the unforeseeable future.

My only headache right now is the issue of expanding the size of my house so that it accommodates all of us comfortably as opposed to how we have to squeeze ourselves within such a small structure where we live in today. Most of the times, it is so hard to find me accommodating any extra visitors because the house has never been spacious enough to offer us the chance to have more people in the house, leave alone the issue of our own privacy as a family.

For me, the biggest difference is that I have been able to use some of the modern methods of farming such as the use of modern fertilizers and seedlings from abroad. Through this means, I have been able to get more than enough harvest from my farms which are not so big but just the right size to provide us with our daily needs and even have some surplus.

I believe that for the future to be better, then I must start working towards it today, so that means every month I will be saving some cash once I get the transfers. I want to make sure that my kids go to school uninterrupted so that they get a quality education.

Since I started receiving money from Give Directly, I have never missed any meal. This is like a miracle because I used to have one meal in a day in most cases. I was not able to provide all the three meals due to low income from casual work. Even though the transfers are not much by it has changed my life. I don't have to beg anymore to feed my family. Secondly, I have been able to at least pay some amount every month to cater for school fees for my children. This has given me a good reputation with the teachers because they feel I am committed towards my children's' success. My children are not always on the list of those being sent home every term. I feel proud because of the respect it has earned me with the teachers.

My new goal is to expand my house. I would wish to buy building materials such as iron sheets, timber and nails to use in expanding my house. My family is growing and I have had to send my older children to my neighbour's house since my house cannot accommodate us well especially at night when we want to sleep. I feel I am risking my children's' lives since they walk at night to go sleep. Expanding my house will help me take care of my family and reduce my worries.

The biggest difference in my life brought about by the transfers from GD is that my children have new bedding. For 6 months, they have been asking for new bedding since what they have been using is old and torn. They have had to share the old ones which makes their sleep very uncomfortable. When I received these transfers, I have been able to buy for them new beddings and they sleep comfortably. I am glad that I have taken my role as a parent to provide for my family. Without GD, I would not have managed to buy new bedding for my children by now because my income from casual work was too little to cater for that.

I have always desired to have at least one type of livestock in my compound just like any other family in the village. Low income from casual work could not support me to accomplish this dream because of the many demands I have from my family. I know when I have at least one livestock in my compound, my life will change. This is a good investment especially here in the village. In most cases when they give birth, some of them can be sold and the rest keep on increasing in numbers. I believe I will have herds of cattle in my life because of GD.

I have planted in large scale since that has been my greatest desire and since I started receiving this transfer, we have been eating well as a family.

Currently, I do not have any new goal apart from my earlier plans.

I have been farming in small scale because I don't always have enough money to buy enough seeds to plant in large scale but when I received the transfer, I was able to plant in way I have always wanted to because I had enough seeds.

In the next six months, I would want to start a business to boost my income.

My new goal is to own small livestock for wealth creation.

My life is currently different in that I can have plans, that was not possible before.

In the next six months I expect to increase the scale of my horticultural project, and increase the quantity of hybrid tomatoes, vegetables, and onion seeds that I grow for better profits.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that my family can feed well these days.