In the coming year and beyond, I plan to return to college to further my education. As a teacher by profession, I've already completed my Level One certification and now aim to pursue a Diploma, which offers greater benefits and will enhance my employment prospects in the education sector.Teaching has been my passion since primary school, which motivated me to enroll in a teaching college and earn my first certificate. To work toward my goal of returning to school, I’m saving a portion of my monthly income. While I haven't established a specific amount, these savings will help cover my college admission costs. I also hope to receive financial support from my spouse and parents. I am confident that once I complete the Diploma, I will secure stable employment with a reliable income, enabling me to support both my needs and those of my family. This will make it easier for me to pay for my children's education and provide for their basic needs. Currently, I teach part-time at a nearby school, earning a modest income to support my family.

When I received my most recent transfers, it coincided with our planting season, and everyone was rushing to make the most of the little rain we had. In our area, the soil isn’t very fertile, so failing to use fertilizer means expecting low yields. I used part of my transfer of $34 to buy fertilizer for my seeds, ensuring a better harvest when the time comes. Farming is essential for our livelihood. I also have a poultry project with 20 chickens. I spent another $34 on chicken feed since we were running low. I wanted to make sure they had enough to eat, as I sometimes sell chicken for income during financial difficulties. This project is very important to me. With the remaining $34, I bought food for my family, as our supplies were running low.

I studied teaching with the goal of enhancing my skills by obtaining an upper-grade diploma. This qualification will significantly improve my chances of securing employment in the education sector. Teaching has been my passion since primary school, and this passion led me to enroll in a teacher college in 2017, where I successfully completed my studies in 2019. My immediate plan is to secure stable employment that provides a good source of income. This will not only support my current needs but also help me save towards my future goal of starting my own school. Establishing a school is a dream I aspire to achieve, as it will allow me to create a positive learning environment where I can impart knowledge and nurture young minds effectively.

As a teacher currently seeking employment, I have turned to farming to make ends meet. I decided to plant maize, which I will sell at harvest time. To prepare for planting, I spent $60 on fertilizer and $8 on seeds. This investment is crucial because it ensures the maize grows well and yields a good harvest later on. As a mother of two, balancing farming with family responsibilities is challenging but necessary. The income from selling the maize will not only help sustain us but also support my children's education and well-being in the long run. In addition to investing in my farming venture, I allocated $34 to purchase food for my family. This expenditure is essential to keep my loved ones healthy and well fed for the week.

My dream is to obtain a Diploma in teaching. Although I am not practicing at the moment, my passion for teaching remains steadfast. I plan to utilize my forthcoming transfers, along with the earnings from selling my harvest, to finance this goal. Attaining this diploma will enable me to teach and earn a livelihood from it therefore improving my financial stability. I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to pursue my passion and enhance my career prospects.

I am a trained teacher, but I have not been able to practice, so I turned to farming to support my family of four. Previously, our village faced numerous household conflicts stemming from financial struggles, but with the introduction of these transfers, the situation has improved significantly. Now, everyone receives their own money, fostering harmony within the community. Personally, I have been able to invest in farming which has resulted in a bountiful harvest that has also enabled me to sell the surplus. From the transfers, I allocated $34 towards my husband's medical treatment after he suffered an injury from falling from a tree. Thankfully, he has fully recovered. Additionally, I invested $34 in purchasing a pig, a profitable venture in our area that promises good returns once it multiplies. Furthermore, $15 went towards seeking medical treatment for myself, and the remainder was used to purchase essential household items that we were running low on. I am genuinely grateful for this assistance as it has significantly improved my life.

My goal is to attain a diploma in education. As a teacher by profession, my current qualifications are not competitive enough to secure a job in the face of stiff competition. During interviews, individuals with higher qualifications often secure the positions, motivating me to pursue further studies. The cost for the entire diploma is currently $900. However, it is challenging for both my husband (also a teacher) and me, to raise this amount at once, as our income sources only cover basic household needs. Therefore, I plan to save a portion of future cash transfers, just enough to enroll in college. Subsequently, I will gradually source funds to settle the fees as time progresses.

During every planting season, I make use of manure or fertilizer to enhance the yield of my crops. Aside from subsistence farming, I also cultivate vegetables like kale, which I later sell to support the needs of my two children. From the recent cash transfers, I invested $28 in fertilizer for a half-acre of my farm. I am pleased that the maize crops are thriving and are now at the flowering stage. Additionally, I diversified my poultry holdings by purchasing two guinea fowls for $10, and I spent another $24 on feeds for the poultry. Having poultry has also ensured that I can contribute to household needs like food. There was also a time when I was not feeling well, I had to allocate $34 for treatment. Although I have not fully recovered, the medication has significantly improved my condition, allowing me to resume my daily tasks.

I am a teacher by profession; I did my certificate level but I had never gotten the opportunity to further my studies. My goal is therefore to have a diploma certificate. I plan to enroll for diploma classes in the next two years because I currently have a small child who I am still taking care of. I would therefore be saving part of my monthly transfers and together with part of the proceeds that we would earn from the sales of the vegetables.

I would forever remain grateful to GiveDirectly for the support I have been receiving. I wanted to boost by husband’s farming project by channeling some money so that we could buy seeds, fertilizers and also pay some of the workers who were helping us out with the work, but due to financial limitations, I could not. Luckily GiveDirectly came to my rescue and I felt a sigh of relief. Upon receiving my transfers, I managed to buy a sack of 50kgs of fertilizers by topping up the little amount that I had to the whole $34.70 that I received and we finally commenced the project where we planted a variety of vegetables that would help us generate income in the near future.

Since I have not gotten the placement in school, I resolved to do poultry and horticulture farming. Even though it looks promising, the current drought situation poses an adverse challenge to that venture. Therefore, when the year began, I made a goal of investing in horticulture and boosting my poultry farm. From these ventures, I have been able to get some steady income, hence supporting the family's nutritional needs is not much of a struggle. I do this with the ultimate goal of advancing my academics to allow me to be easily employed.

I had a baby, one and a half years old who was unwell when I received my transfers. Since I did not have some savings to help me meet her medical cost, I spent $20 to pay off her medication expenses. She is doing so well, and I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for the timely financial support. Because we are a family of three members, I spent $14 on food that lasted us for three weeks. The transfer helped us since we had no sources of reliable income. Unfortunately, my husband and I do not have formal jobs even though we are both trained teachers.

I am a teacher by profession and recently got married and moved out of my parent’s house to a different town. My husband is also a teacher, but we are both unemployed. When I got to my home place, the land and climate differed from the one back home. Since I was unemployed, I started farming vegetables like kale, spinach, spring onions, and cabbage. Receiving the funds from Give directly enabled me to not only farm vegetables but also rear chickens. Whenever I received the funds, I would buy seeds, manure, and chicken. Recently when I received my transfer, my small brother who is at school visited me when schools were closed. I used all the $12 as transport for my brother to go back to school and bought him some of the school requirements, like textbooks, exercise books, and some of his items to be used while at school, with the remaining $18.

In my view, GiveDirectly does well in giving the transfers without any condition attached to them. As a result, families that could hardly get meals are nowadays in school. It also does well in doing prompt follow-ups, a situation that boosts the trust recipients have in GiveDirectly. Personally, I have not so far observed what GiveDirectly does not do well.

I had been in deep thought of where I could raise some money for enrolling my little daughter in school. I had the plan to do so although the income I was expecting had been delayed. Therefore, as soon as I received my transfer, I spent KES 500 on paying the school fee for her. I am glad that she is currently doing pretty well in school. However, the rest of the transfer, KES 2,500, was in handy in terms of acquiring my very first ever owned goat. I long to see it reproducing and through it, I shall raise a flock. As a result, I shall be able to sell some to either buy a cow or supplement my household income in the couple of years to come.

It was around 10 pm in the evening just after taking supper and I was having a chat with my mother when we both received a message. Upon checking I found out that I had received the transfers and my mother as well. We couldn't hide our joy as we all ran towards my father who was relaxing at the fireplace and told him to check if he had received his transfers. It was such a beautiful way to end our day as our dim hope had been rekindled after the three of us received the transfer. We were happy that finally we couldn't settle our debt provide for the family.

They say health is the greatest wealth and that's all I needed. I was able to recover after taking medication and I'm now able to fend for my family. The fact that my parents and I received the transfers, we have been able to afford three meals per day compared to previous when we could only afford one meal per day.

Being away from school for two months made it difficult for me to support myself and my family ( parents and 5 siblings). I'm a trained teacher but I haven't been lucky to be employed by the government therefore, I'm paid a salary of KES 7000 by the parents- teachers association. I have been very supportive to my parents who are basically charcoal burners as I have been paying school fees for my sibling who is in college and two others who are in high school. When schools closed for two months to allow national examinations to take place, I became broke because I didn't have savings as I usually spend three quarter of my salary to pay school fees and the balance to cater for my basic needs . I spend KES 200 to buy drugs since I was sick prior receiving the transfers and couldn't afford to pay for my medication. I also spend the balance to buy four packets of maize floor to feed my family because didn't have any left and we thought we would sleep hungry that day. I'm grateful that the transfer were very helpful to me and my family.