My partner sells second-hand clothes, and I run a coconut business to support our four children. My main goal for the upcoming year and beyond is to ensure that our children are able to attend school without any obstacles. This means being able to pay their school fees on time to avoid the frustration of them being sent home due to outstanding balances. It's important because during this time, some students continue with the syllabus while those at home miss out. I really want to manage our finances wisely by ensuring that I pay my children’s fees on time and provide them with the necessary basics. Additionally, I aim to build a three-room house. Currently, we live in a two-room house that is on the verge of collapsing; its foundation is damaged, and during rains, we are forced to stand on one side until it stops. Therefore, my plan is to gradually save and purchase building materials, such as timber, to construct a larger, more spacious house that will provide us with proper shelter. This is a significant step towards ensuring my family's well-being and security for the future.

I have two school-going children, so when I received my most recent transfer, I spent $13 to pay their school fees because I did not want them to be sent home for the fee balance. I also bought food worth $19 for family consumption. Additionally, I save $10 every month because I know these transfers will soon come to an end. I believe that through savings, I will be able to acquire goats for my goat projects. This project will enable me to have a better financial future and also support my children's fees. I also spent $30 to pay a loan I took from our merry-go-round group. I bought a goat worth $30 because I wanted to expand my goat project, as it is the only project I am eyeing that will support me in the future once these transfers come to an end.

I am a mother of four children and currently work as a house help to make ends meet. My ultimate goal is to build a comfortable home for my family. Currently, we live in a two-room house that is poorly maintained; its foundation is damaged, and during rains, we are forced to stand on one side until it stops. My plan is to gradually save and purchase building materials, such as sticks, to construct a larger, spacious house that will provide us with proper shelter. This is a significant step towards ensuring my family's well-being and security for the future.

I am a mother of four children; two currently attending school and two who are not yet of school age. With the transfers I receive, my top priority is ensuring I clear my children's school fees to prevent any interruptions in their education. I allocated $49 towards their school fees, and I believe when I invest in their studies, they will help me in the future when I am old. Additionally, last year I joined a merry-go-round with the aim of saving up to purchase poultry and livestock. Currently, I have saved $30 towards this goal. With the remaining amount of $23 I purchased food for my family, ensuring they do not go hungry for days.

I am a mother of four and currently only engaging in farming as my source of income. My husband has no job and has moved to the city yesterday to try find a job. I used to have a grocery stall but I closed it due to the animals as they would devour my stock and I would end up making nothing. I want to find an alternative way of ensuring my family is provided for. I am saving to facilitate the purchase of animals from which I hope to gain an income from by ensuring they procreate so they can multiply in number.

I started preparing for the festivities early to ensure I would not be worried in December. In October I bought a clothe at $4 and some lining material at $5.5 which I would use to make clothes for myself and 3 daughters. I paid the tailor $6 for the girls to their dresses. I got chicken at $5. In November I saved $25 to my savings group and bought shoes for my child at $2, I also bought toiletries at $3 and flour at $4. I saved my entire December transfer to my village savings group.

Despite facing financial challenges, I pursued my education until the sixth grade. Now, with a strong determination to improve my prospects, I aspire to attend a tailoring school, enabling me to start my own business. While currently selling vegetables to support my family, my goal is to save diligently for my education and to invest in a substantial cow, taking steps towards a brighter future.

As a mother of four children, I diligently prepared for the school reopening. I allocated $10 to cover the school fees for three of my children, ensuring their educational needs were met. Additionally, I participated in a merry-go-round, contributing $20 to our savings pool, fostering financial stability within our community. The remaining $4 was thoughtfully spent on providing nourishing food for my family, ensuring their well-being.

When my oldest child, who is 11 years old, starts junior secondary school in 2024, she will typically need to bring a lot of school supplies with them. In order to ensure that we have the funds necessary for him to begin his junior secondary school, I have already begun saving for this course. The remainder of the savings will be used to add another goat to the three I already have for rearing. Every time I need money, I may sell one of these goats, and the money from that sale will enable me to take care of my needs.

Previously, I had to rely on burning charcoal and selling it to make money that I could use to purchase food. Since Givedirectly's financial transfer has assisted me in meeting some of my demands, I currently do not entirely rely on it. I bought food for my family with $20 from the May transfer. In addition, I paid $10 for the tuition for three of my school-age children. Additionally, I saved $5 on a savings group that I have belonged to for the past four months. I normally strive to save as much money as I can and I have a specific objective for the savings in the near future.

I want to buy two cows this year to raise them. They are very helpful because I will have more of them once they give birth, and we will have enough milk for the whole family to consume, so we will consume more frequently than we do now when we can not afford it. I joined a savings group where we all save $10 each month and each month we give a member shares worth $230, so I think I will be able to do this. I'll use them to buy the cows when it comes time for me to get my share.

Of my most recent transfers, $28 went toward buying food for my family, namely beans and maize flour. Since the kids started going to school right after I got the money, I paid $20 for their tuition so they could start the new school year. My son broke his leg after falling, which is tragic, but I'm glad that $34 allowed me to pay for his medical bills. I invested the $12 I had left to buy two hens as a long-term investment. We appreciate being a part of the program because it has helped us out financially. While my husband operates a small restaurant in the village, I sell groceries through a business I started when I first started receiving transfers. Both of these ventures are doing well since we are careful with our money because we also earn additional income through monthly transfers.

I own a grocery shop where I sell sardines, cabbage, eggplant, and bananas. Lately business has been good. I make $5 a day and I can take care of my four children. I also have a supportive husband who takes care of the family. My third born fell off a tree and broke his hand, I spend the last transfer to take him to hospital.

In my view, GiveDirectly does well in ensuring a fair process of enrolling our community members into its program. It does not practice discrimination hence all that have attained the age of majority and had a national identity card are benefiting from its program. This has greatly contributed to promoting the living standards of our people. Those who at first were struggling with fee payment and had difficulty in obtaining food are feeling relieved. Since GiveDirectly champions poverty eradication, I have not so far witnessed what GiveDirectly does not do well.

I am the mother of four children, two of whom are in school. Because I do not have a regular job, I rely on charcoal burning to supplement my income, which I use to buy food and pay school fees for my two school-aged children. When I received confirmation of my transfer, I considered spending KES 1,000 on school fees, which has relieved my financial strain. Second, I spent KES 600 on two chickens, with the remainder going towards buying food for my family. I am grateful that I have not had any financial anxiety this month, unlike the previous months before I was enrolled in GiveDirectly's program.

Though I was hesitant to believe in the GiveDirectly's program at first, once my transfer was sent, I had no doubts. It was late at night, and I was just finishing my supper before retiring to bed. I first heard an SMS notification. I never wasted a moment but instead reached out for my phone. It was a Mpesa message, which was a pleasant surprise. When I learned that my transfer had been sent, I was delighted. As a result, I intended to buy flour the following day because I had run out of the stock I had.

As a result of the transfer, I have experienced some relief on how to obtain food for my family. Initially, I was no longer certain about my sources of income. I was mostly depending on casual jobs such as making and selling charcoal which has been raising very little income. I am glad, that with the transfer, the food I acquired is still supporting my family. In addition, it had been easy for me to obtain some required text books for my children when they resumed school. Before the transfer, my income from the charcoal was insufficient to cater for part of my children's school fees. Thanks to GiveDirectly for the financial support.

We are a family of six, but neither my husband nor I have a steady source of income. We both decided to make charcoal for sale to keep providing for our children. At the very least, this business provides me with inconsistent income. Unfortunately, we only make KES 1,800 each month from 6 sacks of charcoal. This gives a rare instance when all of my family's basic needs are met. As a result, when I received confirmation of my transfer, I spent KES 600 on maize flour. I did not have any money on hand then, so receiving the transfer was a welcome relief. Finally, I was able to feed my family of six.