I have always wanted to fence my compound but not actualize it due to lack of income. My plan has always been to save the transfers to buy the materials, but this always failed to work out as planned because of poor planning. In the past four months, I have seen a lot of progress since I have managed to buy some materials and the fencing has commenced. This gives me hope that the project will eventually be completed, unlike before that it was just a mere dream.

For a very long time, I have always wanted to secure my compound by fencing. I have been buying some of the required materials for the fencing in bits over the past months, but I have not yet gotten enough till now. I will channel most of the remaining transfers that I will be receiving towards the purchase of the rest of the materials so that by the time the project ends, I will have bought enough to fence the entire compound.

There has not been a very visible difference in my daily life over the past four months other than the fact I have had an easy time raising money for certain needs or emergencies. If I was not receiving these transfers, I could have resorted to borrowing money from friends and relatives during certain times that emergencies such as funerals have come up because there would be nowhere else for me to raise the money due to my lack of income. The transfers have also saved me from selling my cereals to raise money during such occasions because this is usually my last resort and for that, I still have enough to last me many months.

Since I started receiving these transfers, there has been a lot of positive changes in my life, but having one more before the project ends will just make everything better. I wish to complete fencing my compound before the end of the transfers because I know that if I don't, I will not be able to complete it on my own owing my lack of stable income.

A few months ago, we ran out of maize which is usually our staple food and had to buy the commodity on a daily basis. This strained our daily budget especially after it increased in price due to scarcity and market fluctuations. A couple of months ago, my wife and I decided to pool together our transfers for a period of one month and purchased a sack of maize which has served us well and it this has helped reduce our daily budget.

I have no additional plans at the moment but to spend my transfers on personal and household needs. If need be, I will use some of the money to hire labourers to assist us in harvesting our farm produce in the month of August when they will be ready.

Life has been tough in the last six months due to the hike in the prices of the basic commodities such as maize flour, prolonged drought, and famine. With the help of GiveDirectly transfers, my family was not too much affected because we were able to buy the basic needs for the family and even had extra money to hire labourers to lend us a hand in our farms.

With the effort that we put in the farm this season through the help of GD transfers that enabled us to buy farm inputs such as fertilizer and hire labourers to assist in weeding, I hope that we will have a bumper harvest this season. This will be good news as it will give us a break from purchasing cereals for family consumption and even have excess to sell for income whenever we are in a financial fix.

The other difference in my life is that I have good clothing. I no longer put on the old clothes I bought when I was still employed. Since I retired five years ago, I have not been able to buy new clothes due to my small income from inconsistent casual teachings. Anytime I have to go for a journey, I would have to beg for clothes from my friends because mine were not presentable. They used to mock me because I was working but was not able to buy clothes for myself. With Gd transfers, I have been able to buy my own.

In the next four months, I wish to buy farm inputs such as fertilizer and hybrid seeds. I will use on my farms and I know I will have a good harvest that will help me feed my family well and I can also sell the rest to raise money to solve other family financial needs.

The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving these transfers is that I no longer miss some meals in a day as it was the case before the transfer. I used to struggle to get the three meals in a day because I am a retired teacher and I depend on casual teaching which has not been very consistent. The income was not much and I would add to the little income from farming which was not stable. This is the reason why I would miss some meals and in most cases depend on my wife for provision. Right now, I feel at peace because I am always there for my family. I am able to provide for their needs well even though not much but I have always had an answer for them.

In the next six months, I want to invest more in farming. I want to ensure any planting season I use fertilizer and hybrid seeds which I know will give me the best harvest. I will sell the surplus to raise income to support my family financially.

I have been able to install electricity in my house which is a big achievement considering that I never had this item before. Right now I can be able to lighten my house at night and I no longer have to rely on the paraffin lamps.

I plan to use the cash to help me in cultivating my farm especially with the use of modern day fertilizers and seedlings that will help me get a bumper harvest at the end of the season.

I now have money to buy food for the family in a much easy way unlike how I used to struggle so much before when I had very little cash that was never enough.

I plan to assist my grandchildren who needs school fees for their education which remains to be a high priority for me. I also want to fence my compound for security purposes so that my compound remains secured from robbers.