With jobs scarce in the village and the weather making farming impossible, it is becoming increasingly challenging to earn an income. I am forced to buy food from the shop, where prices are high, which adds to the difficulty of meeting my family’s needs. My goal in the coming year is to use the support to ensure we have enough to eat. Until things improve, my focus will remain on providing food for my family through the transfers. I am truly appreciative of this assistance, which is helping me take good care of my family despite the challenges.

As a casual laborer, I earn a living through small jobs like fetching water and occasional farm work for others. However, these jobs are hard to find, especially now with the unfavorable weather for farming. To support my children and my five nieces and nephews, I used a large portion of my transfer of $94 to buy food. This purchase has helped us get by, ensuring that we have enough to eat even during this tough time. I also bought two hens for $4, and I am happy to see that they have multiplied, giving me about ten chicks. Once they are grown, I plan to sell a few to cover our most urgent needs. Additionally, I spent $4 on school fees so my daughter could sit for her end-of-term exams. I am very grateful for the financial support, which has helped me take care of my family and given us some stability.

The house I am currently living in is in a dilapidated condition. Given the many responsibilities I have with my family, I plan to carry out a few renovations every month until the house is in good condition and safe to live in. To achieve this goal, I plan to save a portion of my transfers in the coming months, which I will channel towards repairing the house. I am grateful for the financial support, as it is helping me take steps toward improving our living conditions.

My brother and I depended heavily on my mother, who was a casual laborer and peasant farmer. She passed away last month after a brief illness, leaving us shaken and responsible for the care of six young children in the family. I spent $34 to make some essential repairs to the house we lived in with my mother, although more repairs are needed, which I plan to undertake in the coming months. Our recent planting season yielded almost nothing, so I spent another $34 on food for our family of eight. Additionally, I spent $34 on school fees for my nephew, niece, and granddaughter. I am grateful for the financial assistance from the transfers, which helps me meet the basic needs of my family. Finding casual jobs has become increasingly difficult, and farming is challenging due to harsh weather conditions. The financial support is crucial in helping my family and me live a better life.

In the next few years, my biggest goal is to build my own house. It's a dream I've been holding onto for a long time. I've come up with a plan to make it happen: buying just one iron sheet every month. It's not much, but it's a start. However, it's tough because most of the money I make from my casual job goes towards food and other basic needs, leaving very little for savings. Still, I'm determined to see my dream come true because it would make me incredibly happy. Alongside building my house, I also want to help my niece get a good education. Even though I don't have much to spare, I hope to support her with whatever little I can manage. It's important to me that she has opportunities to succeed in life.

The monthly transfers from GiveDirectly have been a lifeline for me and my family. With $30 of the previous quarter, I invested in a goat, seeing it as a long-term investment to secure our future. Another $34 went towards buying iron sheets for the house I dream of building; while I'm still gathering materials, I'm determined to turn this dream into reality. Currently, I share a cramped space with my mother, but I have a plan to buy one iron every month after receiving the transfer, slowly working towards building my own home. Additionally, I used $10 to pay off my niece's school fees, relieving her of his debt and enabling her to focus on his studies with excitement. With the remaining $20, I bought essential items like food and soap, especially since our recent harvest wasn't as plentiful as we hoped. As a casual farm worker earning about $30 a month, these transfers have been a Godsend, and I don't know how we would have survived without the support of GiveDirectly.

For years, I've resided in my mother's house, even though I have my own family and grandchildren. I've consistently tried to save funds to realize my dream of constructing my own home, but my efforts have not borne fruit. The transfers have rekindled my hope of owning a house where I can comfortably live with my children and grandchildren. To make this dream a reality, I'm strategizing to purchase the essential building materials like iron sheets and building poles. In the coming year and beyond, I aspire to achieve the goal of having my own house, thanks to the ongoing support of these transfers.

I currently do not possess my own house, despite having a family and grandchildren to care for. My parents had been kind enough to allow me to stay in their house, although it was in a deteriorating state, with one side close to collapsing, causing great concern about the house's overall stability. Recently, we've had heavy rainfall, which added to the urgency of addressing the situation. Upon receiving my recent transfers, I allocated $30 to purchase building poles and repair the damaged wall. I also covered the labor costs, and now I have peace of mind as the house is stable and I no longer worry about rain. Additionally, I used $20 to pay for my grandchildren's school fees after they were sent home due to unpaid fees. Taking care of their education is a top priority for me to ensure they can continue their studies. The remaining portion of the transfer was spent on buying essential food items, including maize flour, beans, and other cereals, enabling my family to have three meals a day. This marks a significant improvement, as we used to struggle with food shortages and only had one meal per day. I'm pleased that my family is no longer facing food-related hardships as before.

While I await the maturation of the maize crops for harvesting, my intention is to utilize the funds from my transfer to purchase food. Due to the difficulties my mother and I face in finding sporadic employment, there are occasions when we lack the necessary funds to buy food. Once we have successfully harvested the maize and acquired an abundance of food, my plan is to invest in livestock. This strategy will provide a reliable fallback option for me in the future.

Despite my mental illness, I rely on my mother for support and care. Whenever my condition allows, I work on other people's farms to earn a living. However, the amount I earn is insufficient to provide for myself, my daughter, and my two grandchildren. Currently, I am residing with my mother after separating from my husband. When I received my June transfers, I decided to invest $3 in purchasing a hen. My plan is to raise the hen so that it can reproduce, providing a potential source of income in case of future emergencies. Additionally, I used some of the funds to purchase a bale of 2kg maize flour for our sustenance. Thankfully, we had an abundant food supply that lasted us more than three weeks, ensuring that we never went to bed hungry.

I would have loved to invest the money by tilling the land and growing maize, cereals and vegetables which will ensure we have enough food in our home. However, this is an impossible goal given that the past three years have been dry due to extremely hot temperatures brought on by the effects of climate change. I want to put money in and purchase goats. Before the year is over, I intend to have acquired six goats. I have faith that once they proliferate, I will have a source of income if I ever find myself in need.

I thank the organization for their kind offer to send us cash; it has been very useful in helping us cover our daily expenses. Personally, I am unemployed and single. I must therefore take care of myself. Without a job, it's getting harder and harder to even buy food. I urge the group to keep doing good deeds and supporting the poorer members of society.

Back in the village, I'm having a difficult time getting by. We share a home with my mother and I. I don't have a job, so I can't help my mother. I relied heavily on farming to make a living back in the village, but that is no longer the case. Our attempts to cultivate the land, grow crops, and have an abundance of food have been thwarted by the harsh climatic conditions that have persisted for more than three years. My older brother, a watchman, provides the majority of my mother's financial support. Given that he has a family of his own, including a wife and children, his salary is insufficient to support us all. I'm happy that after my second transfer, I lessened my brother's burden by buying food that we shared with my mother. I am very appreciative of the financial assistant because there were times when we had to go without eating or, worse yet, skip meals because there was no money to buy food at all.

I was woken up by a knock on the door from my niece, saying that her mother had received her first transfer from Give Directly. Given my inability to read, I requested her to check if my account had been credited as well. I could not hide my happiness when she confirmed that I had received the funds; I danced with excitement. That was by far, the highest amount I had ever received on my mobile.

Prior to the transfers, eating regularly was a luxury in the household. Most of the time, the children spent consecutive nights on empty stomachs, which made them cry the entire time. I am incredibly grateful because this situation ceases for a week after I received the transfer. I hope that future transfers completely eradicate the hunger in my household.

Sincerely speaking, hunger is currently the biggest problem facing my family.   Although one of my brothers, who works as a security guard, occasionally helps us out with food, it hardly lasts the entire week. Most of the time, my mother and I take on odd jobs, such as working on people's farms, to get money for food. Such tasks rarely come by, which makes it hard to afford daily meals for the children.   I considered receiving the cash transfer as a relief and I used every penny to buy food. Despite the fact that the food was only enough for a week, I'm glad the children got to eat regularly then.