In the coming year and beyond, my primary focus is to invest in cattle rearing. Owning a cow is a great idea because it provides a significant source of income, which can be used for meaningful projects. I am pleased to share that I have already purchased a male cow with my previous savings. My goal now is to buy a female cow, as this will allow me to have a steady supply of milk and also benefit from the cow’s ability to reproduce. I enjoy rearing cows because they are relatively easy to manage and not overly expensive to maintain. I am truly grateful to GiveDirectly for enabling us to form a savings group, or "chama," which helps us save and share ideas that contribute to community development.

I have two school-going children, so I used $15.50 to pay their school fees. This ensured they wouldn’t be sent home due to fee balances and could focus on their studies. I also invested $34 in purchasing a goat, knowing that goats multiply quickly and are a profitable asset. They are easy to manage, adapt well to our environment, and provide a reliable fallback in case of future financial challenges. Additionally, I bought soap for $1.50 and two chickens for $5 for domestic rearing. Finally, I spent the remaining $25 on food for my family's consumption.

After realizing that buying cows directly from my savings wasn't feasible due to their high cost, I opted for a more gradual approach by investing in goats. My hope is that the goats will breed and multiply, eventually allowing me to trade them for cows or sell some to fund my children's education in the future. Additionally, I plan to use the cows for ploughing and possibly rent them out for ploughing services, providing an extra source of income for my family. This decision fills me with determination and optimism, as I'm determined to find creative ways to secure a better future for my loved ones, despite the challenges.

In pursuit of my livestock rearing goal, I've been diligently saving portions of my transfers, both through a savings group and independently. From my transfers, I set aside $37 as savings to invest in livestock and for personal use. Prioritizing my children's well-being, I allocated $15 to ensure they have enough food to eat, because their health and happiness are paramount to me. Investing in livestock, I spent $12 on a goat and $2 on chicken feed, taking steps toward building a sustainable source of income for my family's future. Recognizing the importance of education, I addressed my children's needs by purchasing uniform materials for $5 and sewing them myself as a cost-saving measure, ensuring they attend school confidently. Additionally, I bought them books for $4, believing that access to educational resources is essential for their growth and success. Securing their education, I allocated $15 for my children's school fees, allowing them to continue their studies without interruption. Amidst the excitement of expecting a new addition to the family, I allocated $12 for medical expenses, ultimately welcoming a healthy baby boy into the world. I'm incredibly grateful to GiveDirectly for their support during this journey; their assistance has been instrumental in overcoming challenges and achieving milestones.

As I had mentioned earlier I am a part of a merry go round group where I save $20 monthly. We are 12 of us so that means it runs a year long and that when you receive the cash its abut $240. My plan is to use this money when I receive it to buy two young calves. I want young male calves specifically because of their profitability in our community. If I plan to allow them to grow into bulls who I can hire out for land preparation as many people hire ox ploughs whenever they are engaging in any farming activity. This will make an income which will help me take my children through school seeing that now I have another child on the way.

I joined a merry go round in the village made up of 12 of us, we save $20 monthly, I am also part of family savings group, this one has no limits you save whatever you have on you. I saved to the group in November and January $20 where in November the whole amount went to the merry go round while in January $15 went to the merry go round and $5 went to the family savings group. The money left in November, $1.5 bough shoes, $2 went to milling of the maize we had harvested, and $2 went into buying a bar of soap. The $8 remained unused until December where I added another $8 to it and bought my three children clothes for the festivities. I used $12 for food and the $14 was carried forward to January. In January the $14 was used to pay school fees for two of my children. I am now headed to the millers to mill some maize at $1.5 and the rest is still at hand waiting to see if my children are sent out of school due to the unpaid balance so I can pay for them.

Now that I own a sawing machine, I need to expand this business by bringing in materials for sale and for making trendy dresses that I can sell at a decent price. This does not require a lot of money and with my next transfer, I can start by bringing 2 pieces of the required materials and increase the stock with time. With this improved business, I anticipate that my income will greatly improve and with this, I can now afford to dream of expanding my house which is very small. Having only one bedroom, my children have to sleep at their grandparent's house and I am always scared whenever someone wants to visit because I am always worried about where they will sleep. This is why it is paramount that I expand the house so that I can keep a close eye on my children, especially the older one who is now in his teenage years. My plan is to save as much as possible from the transfers and the business in order to achieve this goal.

I have been operating a tailoring business using a hired machine for ($8) a month which really affected my earnings as I do not earn much from the job. My biggest dream has always been to purchase a machine and I am happy that I have finally achieved this goal. I have been saving some little amounts monthly from the tailoring job and the transfers, even though not as consistently as I would have wished due to household burdens. With the 2 transfers I received in the last 2 months, added to my savings, I was finally able to purchase the machine and earned myself an extra $8 monthly which I would previously use to pay for the hired machine. Owning a machine has not only boosted my earnings by saving me the leasing costs, but has also boosted my confidence and made me believe that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. Now I aim at expanding this business by moving from a low-ranking tailor who was only known for mending torn clothes to a fully certified designer who can make new clothes in the current trends. Part of this month's transfer was however channeled towards another dream of owning several goats. I purchased a little goat bring the current number of goats I own to 3. The multiply really fast and I know that very soon, they will have doubled in number. I saved part of the money in preparation for school reopening next week.

My children are now home since I had not paid their school fees recently. I do not want a repeat of this in the future. I am saving in an informal savings group to buy goats and cows. My aim is to rear this animals and since they multiply when well taken care of. I hope to have a good number of animals that I can sell in such situations to have enough to settle my children's school fees balance. I hope to ensure that my children finish school and get a good chance at life through getting a good education.

I had learnt how to sow clothes and had really wanted to get a sewing machine to this. I have been making monthly savings towards this and in April I got the machine at $120, I spent $2 from my transfers that month for this. I have four kids in school in March I spent a portion of my transfers $13 to pay for them school fees. I used $11.5 in March to buy food as well as chicken feed at $2.5. In may I spent $7 on food and $7 on clothes for my children. In the month of May my land was dug at $20 and I bought $2.5 worth of seeds for planting. I needed some utensils in the home too and I used about $45 for this.

My goal this year is to buy my own tailoring machine. I hope to save my three months transfers to buy a machine at $90 as I have seen the price range is between $90 and $120. I am also foreseeing a situation where I can expand my house a bit. My house is not sufficient we live in a one room house with my three children. I would like to build a house for them to live in. they also currently sleep on the floor and have no bed or mattress.

I am a mother of three with two children in school. My husband is a casual labourer in Mombasa and I am a tailor where I borrow people's machines to do business. It was difficult to pay school fees, or buy food for the children and myself. I am now able to sort this needs with the GD transfers. I have also been able to get some bonuses such as being able to buy chicken and goats. I now have 3 goats and 12 chicken in my pen which is a joy.

In comparison to other NGOs, I believe GiveDirectly operates in a unique and superior manner. It performs admirably in terms of visiting and enrolling all deserving households in its program. As a result, it has provided us with the opportunity to receive the transfer, which has improved my lifestyle. Furthermore, it enhances our security by sending transfers through Mpesa, a safer and more secure platform than giving physical cash. As a result, when the transfers are sent, we witness harmony and peace. However, there is nothing GiveDirectly does not do well. All of our community members continuously praise the GiveDirectly programs.

We live in a region prone to drought, which results in low crop yields. As a result, my family suffers from famine every season, which has been causing me concern. My family's struggle is too great, and we are sometimes forced to go to bed hungry and emaciated. I prioritized spending KES 500 on maize flour for my family's consumption as soon as I received my recent transfer. I am so grateful that we have had some food to last us a few days while we struggle to make charcoal for sale. Furthermore, I saved KES 1,2OO because I knew that when schools reopened after a short vacation, I would be required to pay school fees for my child before they are sent home to collect fee arrears.

It was one evening while at home preparing supper, when I heard my phone beep. Since I thought it was just a normal message, I did not give it much attention until when I had settled down. To my surprise, my heart leaped with joy upon realizing that the message that I did not give much attention was indeed a confirmation of the good tidings. Since it was already late, I retired to bed and woke up the following day happy and ready to face the day noting that my over heads bill were going to be cleared. Thank you GiveDirectly.

The biggest difference in my life is having settled my child's school fees therefore enabling him to fully concentrate with his studies. Initially, we would experience difficulties in raising his school fees on time due to my husband's not only delayed but also meagre income that has never ever met all our basic needs

Having experienced a dry spell of cash for sometimes, it was a prayer answered when the cash transfer Mpesa message came popping on my phone. I therefore, prioritized my child's school fees by clearing up the arrears owed in school for he had been sent home to collect the fee. I am grateful for GiveDirectly's cash intervention just at the right time. We could not have raised the school fees as soon as it was needed. Since my husband works as a house manager and I am a mere housewife, meeting our family obligations have always been an uphill task but GiveDirectly cash transfer program has made it better. Furthermore, I bought some packets of flour and some pieces of bar soap for my family of five courtesy of GiveDirectly. Thank you so much GiveDirectly.