I am now focusing all my efforts on building a one-room house for myself. I've been fortunate to have stayed with my brother for the past few years, but having my own place will bring me a sense of security and peace. I am deeply thankful for the financial transfers from GiveDirectly, which have made it possible for me to work towards this goal despite not having a stable source of income.

I left my marital home quite some time ago, although I can't recall the exact date. This decision came after experiencing irreconcilable conflicts and disagreements with my husband. Along with my two children, I found refuge with my relatives in my birthplace, where we were warmly welcomed. To make ends meet, I take on casual labor jobs such as digging up tree stumps and producing charcoal for sale. However, life has been challenging, particularly since there are currently no trees or stumps available for making charcoal. The financial assistance from GiveDirectly has been crucial in ensuring our survival during these difficult times. Since leaving my marital home, I have been living in my younger brother's house because I couldn't afford to build my own. Earlier this year, I joined a savings group where I set aside $30 each month. My primary goal is to accumulate enough funds to purchase iron sheets, building poles, and finally begin constructing my own house. With the remaining $12 from my savings, I purchased personal essentials such as soap, detergent, and sugar. I am grateful for the financial transfers I've received and remain hopeful that soon I will achieve my dream of owning my own house.

My primary focus is to have built a house by the time the cash transfers conclude. Since my separation from my husband, I returned to my maternal home and have been staying in my brother's house. Throughout this period, generating sufficient funds through my charcoal-making business to build a house has been challenging. The cash transfers present an opportune moment to address this need. I have been saving the majority of the money to purchase building materials for a one-room house. Once the house is complete, I aspire to venture into livestock keeping, particularly goats. With a stable source of income lacking, selling the livestock in the future could provide financial support for my basic needs, such as food.

Last month, I lost my mother, and the cash transfers played a crucial role in facilitating my contributions to her burial arrangements. There were debts related to the funeral preparations, and I allocated $34 to contribute towards settling those financial obligations. In a positive turn, I managed to save $60 from two of the cash transfers through a self-help group, to accumulate enough funds to build my own house. Since separating from my husband, I have been residing in my brother's house, who resides in town and visits the village occasionally. While there are fewer challenges in occupying his space, I desire to have a place of my own. Since I rely on making charcoal occasionally to sustain my needs, I am afraid the earnings will not support the construction of the house. That is why I have been saving the cash transfers for this project.

At present, I do not possess my own dwelling and am residing at my brother's residence, as he is currently employed in a distant location within the town. In the upcoming year, my foremost objective is to assemble the necessary financial resources to embark on the construction of my personal abode. In addition to the housing project, I am eager to venture into livestock investment. By doing so, I will be realizing a long-held aspiration of mine – becoming a livestock owner.

I am the primary provider for my household. My main source of income involves working as an informal laborer, primarily engaged in selling charcoal. However, due to the persistent heavy rains in recent months, I made the decision to return to farming. This move back to farming comes after a hiatus of three years, during which I had shifted my focus to charcoal sales due to the prevalent drought and challenging weather conditions in our region. My earnings from selling charcoal are not substantial, leading me to face difficulties in meeting fundamental requirements such as purchasing food and even basic clothing. At times, I find myself compelled to acquire food on credit, resulting in accumulating substantial debts that I struggle to repay. In the month of July, I allocated $14 from my transfers to cover food expenses. The availability of nourishment purchased with the transferred funds has thankfully prevented me from experiencing hunger. Moreover, I managed to save the remaining $20 by contributing to a local savings group that we established. This collective effort aims to enhance our savings practices and facilitate the realization of significant ventures that demand substantial financial investment. By consistently pooling our monthly transfers into this group, we are able to amass a noteworthy sum of money in a relatively short span of time.

The construction of a lovely permanent home for myself will be my greatest achievement at the end of this year and moving forward. I currently live with my younger sibling, who moved out of my marital home a year ago. Once I finally build my own house and move in, I will be content and happy. This will ensure both my privacy and my son's.

I went back to my birth home to restart my life after divorcing my husband a year ago. I rely a lot on part-time work, like selling charcoal, to make a living. My eldest son is currently in his senior year of college. Despite the difficulties I face every day, I was able to educate my son to that level. The change in climatic conditions that prevents us from growing crops on the farm is making life more difficult by the day. I spend a significant portion of my monthly allowance on buying food and water. I am unable to sell any charcoal because so many customers choose to use other fuels. When I got my March transfers, I spent $1400 on food and water. The high cost of food presents a significant hardship for my family and I. Along with purchasing food, I paid off a $10 debt that I accrued from purchasing food on credit in the middle of the previous month. Since I was short on cash, the shopkeeper was kind enough to give us food with the understanding that we would pay later. We never went to bed hungry because of the food we purchased with credit, which makes me happy. Finally, I made a $10 home savings contribution. When I have enough savings, my main goal is to be able to construct my own home.

When I started receiving the transfer, my goal was to build a one-room house for myself. I stay in my brother’s house and am worried I might deprive him of privacy when he marries and starts a family. To date, I have not been successful in building the house since I channel every cent I receive toward food. Aside from the cash transfers, I do not have any other source of income. Though it has been difficult to save, I wish to properly budget the upcoming transfers to begin accumulating materials like iron sheets and building poles for the house.

Hunger and water scarcity is the greatest hardship in my household. To properly feed the family of 14 (4 adults and ten children), the breadwinners need to spend at least $7 on food and $1 on water. However, earning this amount is never guaranteed from the charcoal-burning practice, which is our main source of income. Sometimes when things get tough, I persuade the shopkeeper to give me food on credit with a promise to repay later when I get money. By the time I received the transfers, I owed the store $10 and I had to clear it. Also, my family had been starving for the previous two days and I had to use the remaining amount on food and water. Am glad that we have not missed meals to date courtesy of the transfers. 

We have never had a project like this before where transfers are given unconditionally. The transfers have greatly improved our living standards compared to when we had not been enrolled. We are subsistence farmers and we were not buying food since it was available in plenty from our farms. When drought struck, we were unable to do farming hence we were paying dearly for foodstuffs. We could not afford to take three meals a day since it was expensive to buy the foodstuffs. When GiveDirectly came, we were able to fend for our basic needs especially food which in my opinion is what GiveDirectly does well.

I have been relying on subsistence farming which would ensure food security in my household. However, farming is no longer doing well due to a prolonged drought that has taken almost three years now. I am now forced to buy foodstuffs daily which is expensive to me since I do not have a source of income. I cannot engage in casual jobs since I am weak and aged. My children who could have helped me relocated to towns and the support I get from them is really minimal. No one helps me and my wife who is also aged. I appreciate GiveDirectly for the monthly support because it's been my only source of money. Through the transfer, I managed to do enough shopping on foodstuffs which include a bale of maize flour and vegetables that could serve us for some months.

I arrived home from the field where I was loading the charcoal into sacks, ready for sale. No sooner had I entered the house than my phone started ringing. I was very surprised when I learnt I had received my first transfer. I was overwhelmed by emotions and tears rolled down my cheeks. My son was in the house when I shared the good news.

The money from the transfer helps me buy food. I have struggled to put ends meet because of the low demand for charcoal. I did not have any food left in the house, and it stressed me. There is plenty of food in the house, which is a motivation for me to work harder.

I live with my two children after I separated from my husband one year ago. I work as a casual laborer selling charcoal. The farm I used to work on is no longer productive because of the drought. I rarely find customers to sell charcoal to because of the low demand caused by the harsh economy. Often, I am forced to sleep hungry for a minimum of three days, surviving on water and wild fruits. The shopkeepers do not sell food on credit because the high prices of food commodities are an inconvenience to their business. Therefore, when I received my first transfer, I bought three packets of 2kg maize flour, ½ kg of sugar, 1kg of beans and 500grams of tea leaves. Buying the food in bulk gave me the assurance that I would not lack food to eat for the next one week.