In March this year, I took the initiative to start my own business selling delicious Mandazis. Every morning, I diligently prepare them and go door-to-door in various compounds, selling them. After completing my sales, I then engage in cutting trees and producing charcoal to supplement our income. Meanwhile, my husband actively seeks construction work to make ends meet. I am incredibly determined to secure a better future for my children. My ultimate goal is to establish a dedicated spot where I can sell a variety of food items such as chapatis and Mandazis. This setup would not only streamline operations but also attract more customers, thereby increasing my earnings and improving our quality of life.

I am a mother of six children, with four currently attending school. Recently, I used $34 from the transfers to settle my high school child's overdue school fees, ensuring his education continues uninterrupted. Most of my transfers are directed towards his education, while I sustain my primary school children's education through hard work, cutting and burning charcoal. I currently manage six sheep and utilized the remaining $68 from the transfers to purchase an additional large sheep. Investing in sheep is strategic as they multiply easily, enabling me to sell them and cover my children's school fees in the future, without difficulty. I prioritize using my transfers for school fees and invest in sheep when there are no outstanding expenses. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for their support, which has been crucial in maintaining my children's education and expanding our livelihood opportunities.

I am currently unemployed due to the scarcity of rainfall, which has impacted my job of cutting trees. In response to this situation, I am considering starting my own shop where I will sell cakes, sugar, and flour. I find this venture promising because it's relatively easy to start and doesn't require a large capital investment. My primary motivation for pursuing this business is to ensure I can afford to pay my children's school fees without difficulty. To gather the necessary capital, I plan to sell my chickens after they hatch and also save enough from my transfers.

As a mother of six children, I prepared for the festive season by purchasing food in bulk, spending $30 to ensure we were well-stocked for the celebrations. This brought great joy to my children. Additionally, I invested in a chicken for $4, which has now multiplied to six chickens, offering potential for future returns. The remaining $68 was dedicated to the education of four of my children. I believe in the importance of their education, not only for my own future support but also for their own prospects of securing rewarding careers and financial stability down the road.

I want my children to go to school and finish. My husband and I get limited opportunities for work because of our education. I fear this will be the case if my children miss out on an education. I plan to direct all the transfers to educating my children. I have spent previous transfers on them and I plan to do this with the future transfers.

I am a mother of 6, 4 are school going children. I sell fish and occasionally dig up tree stumps to make charcoal as a way of supplementing my income. I have had a hard time paying school fees for my children but Givedirectly transfers have come and saved me from this situation. I have been able to pay school fees for my children in the last three months, in August I paid $30 for my child in form one to cover her fee deficit, the $4 left was paid to the primary school my children attend for three of them. In September I paid $10 to the primary school for the 3 children. I was also able to pay rent for my child in form one since her school is far which requires us to rent a place for her to ensure she accesses school $20, I paid exam fee of $5 for three of the children and gave my eldest $4 to helped her buy a few things to help her through school. I also saved $5 to my local savings group.

I have 6 children and five are in school. As I said my daughter is in secondary school form one. we do not earn much from our endeavours which leaves us at a loss. I would love to get my children through school and even ensure that some complete school. I plan to buy animals whenever possible to increase my investment as animals reproduce and this increases their numbers. with this animals whenever a need in school arises I will be able to sort it out to the best of my abilities.

My husband and I are both not employed. I sell charcoal while he engages in casual labour. we have school going children who depend on us to get through school with one of them having joined secondary school. My oldest is in form one and its the most expensive part of school. I spent $20 in April, and $30 in June to reduce her school fee balance. For the younger ones I spent $10 in April on their school fees. In May I got a sheep at $30. I have been using the rest of my transfers to buy food.

As a mother, I believe that everything I do will either lead to success of my family or it's downfall. My husband has no job to do and all he does is just move up and down in search of a good job to at least get something that can sustain us. I would want to start my business where I will be selling packed sugar to the locals living in my village. I really thought of what to do with the little that I have because it's better to do something than to do nothing at all. I have really been planning for everything and I did not just think of the idea but I also have saved like $9 that can at least help in starting my business. The business needs like $30 to start and I believe that I will make huge profits from my sales immediately when I start it, and it will help in paying my children fees and they can complete their primary and high school without a lot of challenges.

I am a mother of six children, four of them are in school and two of them are yet to join. I know the importance of providing for my family because my husband is currently unemployed and does casual work when called upon to do so. I really thank GiveDirectly so much because, ninety five percent of times, we normally survive on the monthly income we receive. Life is difficult and even affording a proper meal is becoming so difficult. I am currently taking care of my goats, sheep and chicken so that they can grow big and I sell them and make huge profit. With the recent transfers, I spent $14 to stock for food at home so that it can feed us for some weeks and the remaining amount of $20 I was able to pay for my children who are both in primary and secondary their fees.I am committed to doing everything I can to ensure my children have a bright future. I believe with education they can open doors that will lead them to greater heights and they will not forget all my sacrifices, and they will come back and help me when I am old.

First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude for the transfer and my conviction that I will gain more as a result. My daughter finished her basic education last year and will start secondary school in one month. We would not have been able to send her to secondary school if it weren't for the organization, and we had no plans to do so. In exchange for a tiny charge, my husband, who is the primary breadwinner, assists others by carrying their baggage. He works in the city, therefore the rent on his home is covered by part of the same income.To increase our revenue, I burn charcoal on the other side. Most of the time, our earnings is insufficient to cover a full day's worth of meals. Going ahead, I will utilize all of my upcoming transfers to pay for our daughter's educational fees while using other funds to cover everyday living needs. One of the biggest things a parent can give their child is education, and we will be pleased parents to see our child follow her dreams

I received the transfer when I was in great trouble, my children had been sent home for fees, and my sibling had had an accident and she required immediate medical attention. I had borrowed some money from friends since I couldn't raise the required amount and since I was not able to pay them on time and they were always on my neck for their money. I am grateful to GiveDirectly because my recent transfers helped me to pay back the money I had borrowed, and enabled me to clear fees for my four children. Seeing my children continuing with their studies without interruptions due to unpaid school fees gives me peace of mind, and I am happy that I am also free of debts. Also, I saved some amount in our local merry-go-round after clearing the debts and paying fees. Before the program, I could only save KES 50 but receiving the transfers has grown my savings as I can now save more than KES 500 which I believe will help me invest in a good project once I have enough savings.

I really loved how the staff from GiveDirectly handled us during the enrolment exercise. They were very polite, and kind and respected every member of the family they found in the compound. I urge the organization to increase the monthly stipend so that we can cope with the sharp increase in essential commodities such as food.

I earn a living by selling charcoal. The past three months have been tough for me because I lost my loyal customers. They stopped using charcoal because it is expensive and they prefer to use cheaper fuel, e.g. firewood. The low demand has forced my family and me to scale down the number of meals from three to one meal a day. My husband, who is a casual laborer, has failed to get a job adding to our suffering. When I received my transfer, I paid school fees arrear for my son, amounting to KES 500. This ensured that he remained in school and continued with his education with no interruption. I saved KES 2000 to buy a goat in the future. Besides saving and paying school fees for my children, I bought food for my family worth KES 500. The food was enough to feed my family for three days as my husband and I figure out where to get money to buy more food.

I was excited when I received the transfer, as it brought hopes of getting a meal for my family. I was out sweeping the compound early in the morning when my daughter came running towards me holding my phone and informing me that I have a message. The smiles on my face could not be hidden the moment I realized that it was a notification message that I had received money from GiveDirectly. We had no foodstuff in the house nor did we have any money. I was worried about how I was going to raise money for my family's meals and this was a savior.

There is not much difference in my daily life so far but the excitement of knowing that I am assured of 3500 KES monthly transfers. I burn charcoal for sale but it takes a whole week to get half a bag of charcoal that goes for 400 KES. This has limited me from fully providing for my family, especially with the current rise in prices of commodities. The monthly transfers will be a boost to my household income. I am already thinking of a lucrative business idea to invest in so that we can have a reliable source of income moving forward.

I was given a phone at the enrollment stage so 1850 KES was deducted from my first transfer for the phone. I, therefore, spent the 1200 KES on both three tins of corn flour and some foodstuffs for my household. I burn charcoal for sale to earn a living but it takes a week for the whole process to be ready. We had no money at the time when the transfer was sent nor did I have an idea of how to raise money for my household's meals as I waited for the charcoal to be ready. I am great full the money was sent right on time.