My main focus for the next few months is to build a larger house. The one-room house I currently have is becoming too small for my family of seven. It would be wonderful to have a two-room house, providing more space for both my family and visitors, as it has been challenging when people come over. To achieve this, I’ve started saving every coin I receive from my monthly transfers. So far, I’ve used some of the funds to buy iron sheets. I believe that with time, I will gather enough materials to start building the new house. Once it's completed, I won’t feel so overwhelmed when guests visit, and my family will finally have the space we need.

Since my husband's death, I've been living in a small house that hasn't been able to meet our needs. My old age and lack of a job made it impossible to build a bigger home, which has been especially challenging when special visitors come over. With a family of seven and a tiny house, it’s been tough to accommodate everyone. For years, I wondered how I could improve our situation. Thankfully, GiveDirectly came into my life. With the $90 I received, I started by buying iron sheets for the building. My plan is to construct the house in stages, using the monthly transfers to fund it. My goal is to create a spacious home that can comfortably fit my family, guests, and our belongings. Additionally, I spent $8 on two chickens, which I consider a financial safety net. If I ever face financial difficulties, I can sell them if needed. I used the remaining funds to buy food and cereal, which have been sustaining us for some time now.

My focus is on building a more spacious house. The current one I am using has only one room and is becoming too small for my family. I share the house with my daughter and her two kids. I would be happy if I could build one with two rooms so that we can have more space. To achieve this, I have been saving $10 through a savings group in my community. After a year, I believe I will have accumulated enough funds to start buying the building materials, such as iron sheets and building poles, to begin the process.

Whenever I receive the funds, I usually save $20. The goal for saving this money is to satisfy other needs that require a larger amount of money than what I receive monthly. For instance, I saved to buy a bed, which I obtained. Now, I am saving for a mattress. Additionally, I want to build a new house. The current house has only one room, and I share it with my two grandchildren and their mother. This space is not enough, which is why I would like to build one with two rooms so that they can have a separate sleeping space. The other $10 usually goes towards supporting the school fees of my two grandchildren. I cannot stand seeing them being sent home for fees while I have money in my pocket. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing them go to school happily. Their mother sometimes struggles to keep up with their school fees. She sells palm wine here in the village, but the earnings from the business sometimes are not sufficient for school fees as well.

My primary goal is to complete the repairs on my house, where I currently reside with my daughter and her four children. The structure has suffered considerable damage from the recent heavy rains. Having already acquired iron roofing sheets, my forthcoming transfers will be allocated towards the purchase of essential building materials, including cement, building poles, and rafters. The restoration of my house holds great significance, as it will provide my family with an improved and safer living environment, bringing me immense joy. I extend my gratitude to GiveDirectly for their invaluable support throughout this journey.

Throughout my entire life, farming has been my primary means of livelihood. However, this changed when my village faced an extended period of drought. Getting food became a hard task and life became unbearable. In the midst of these challenges, GiveDirectly entered our lives, and their impact has been transformative. The financial assistance we receive has enabled us to procure essential supplies such as food, cover school fees, and even establish small businesses. I directed the entire sum of $102 towards the purchase of nine iron roofing sheets. These sheets will be utilized to repair my deteriorating house, a consequence of the ongoing rains. I take pride in the fact that these transfers have empowered me to make a tangible improvement in my circumstances.

I plan to purchase building materials such as iron sheets and building poles in order to build a larger and more spacious house. My current home is too small to accommodate my three grandchildren, who are in my care. Every night, they must seek shelter from neighbors, and I am concerned that this will have a negative impact on their studies. I want to start saving every month so that I can buy iron sheets to begin with. I am optimistic that I will be able to achieve this goal as long as I continue to benefit from the program.

I used $10 of my recent transfers to purchase five chickens, which I am now rearing. My intention is to keep them and allow them to multiply. I currently have no source of income, and I believe that starting this poultry project will provide me with some cash. This will make it easier for me to meet my urgent financial needs. I am also hoping to exchange the chickens for goats. In addition, I paid fees for my three grandsons, who are currently enrolled in high school. I am glad they are back in school now that their arrears have been cleared. Due to financial constraints, my daughter has been unable to pay for them on time, so I have been assisting her, and I am confident that my grandsons will be able to achieve their education goals. I also purchased some foodstuffs, including maize flour, so that my family could now eat three meals a day.

In the months to come, I am hoping to raise enough cash to purchase livestock, especially goats. I believe that these are the best assets that I can keep in my home and benefit a lot. First, I will be able to sell one or two as soon as their number increases and sort out any pending bills. Also, through them, I believe that I will be able to start businesses of my choice. 

I spent part of my recent transfer on buying three chickens, which cost around $15. It has been my wish to keep them for so long, but I couldn't afford any at my cost. I am glad that I now have assets that I can readily rely on whenever an emergency arises. To add to that, I paid fees for my granddaughter, who is in primary school. I am happy she will now study properly without any challenges like before. Also, this has motivated her, and I am hopeful that she will excel. With the remaining amount of money, I have been buying foodstuffs and other household needs that I was lacking.

I am at a loss for words to express how grateful I am to the organization at the moment for the financial support they are providing. I was in the dark before getting the money, and we had trouble making ends meet. I'm appreciative that I can meet my basic needs and use my income to live a better life and escape the clutches of poverty. I implore the organization to offer assistance to additional residents of impoverished villages so they can improve their situation in life.

My daughter and my two grandchildren and I reside in the village. After the drought started, I was unable to continue farming, which was my primary source of income. I heavily rely on my daughter to provide for the needs of the family (buying food and paying school fees and medication). She makes a living by selling palm wine, a local brew, in the community. Her business is struggling as a result of the drop in customers brought on by the difficult economic climate. The negative effects of the drought have also significantly decreased the amount of brew she harvests from the coconut trees. Due to the impact on her business, she earns very little money just enough to provide a single meal for a family of five and has no money left over for savings. Consequently, when I received my transfer, I largely spent $22.5 on food. Before the transfer, we only had one meal a day, which had an impact on the wellness of my grandchildren. In addition to purchasing food, I also paid $5 in school fees for my two grandkids, who were ousted from school due to sizable balances. The last $2.5 I had was spent on a hen to add to the six hens I already had.

I was watching the sun set and savoring the nice evening wind outside my home. My granddaughter's presence bothered me because she wasn't in school and was playing instead. I received a text message on my phone a little while later. Being illiterate, I asked my granddaughter to come read the message. She gave me the exciting news that I had gotten my first transfer. I began to cry because I was so moved by my feelings. I said a brief prayer of appreciation, thanking God for the miracle.

I am overjoyed that the transfer played a significant role in assisting my granddaughter in returning to school. Her mother was having difficulty making a livelihood off the poorly performing business. She had been an intelligent and diligent child, so being regularly sent home for not having enough money for school fees depressed her. I'm glad she's back in class and continuing her education.

I completely rely on my daughter, who works in the village selling local beer. She has had several difficulties in her field of work, which has significantly impacted her ability to support the family. Due to these difficulties, she has been unable to pay her daughter's tuition, which frequently results in dismissal from school. My granddaughter felt awful about being home all week instead of attending school. I partially paid the outstanding KES 500 in school fees upon getting my transfer so that she may return to class and continue her education. I used the remaining KES 670 to purchase food in addition to paying my tuition in order to prevent starvation. Since circumstances have been difficult for the past three months, we have had to get by on only one meal every day. On the worst of days, we slept on an empty stomach in the hopes of receiving good news the next morning.