In the coming year, my biggest hope is to build a new house because the one I have now is very old and weak. I worry about my family’s safety, especially during the rainy season, as the house could collapse at any time. That’s why I decided to start saving money in a merry-go-round group intending to build a stronger, safer home. Each month, I save a certain amount in a merry-go-round group for this purpose. By the end of next year, I hope to have saved enough to start the construction.

I am a mother of seven, and six of my children are still in school. To support my family, I work as a nursery school teacher employed by the parents, while my husband runs a small kiosk. With the last three transfers amounting to $102, I took careful steps to ensure the money was put to good use. First, I saved $30 in a merry-go-round group, which is helping me accumulate funds to build a new house. The one we live in is old and weak, and I am determined to improve our living conditions. This savings plan gives me hope for a more secure future for my family. Since we didn’t get any harvests last season, I had to prioritize my family’s immediate needs. I spent $38 on food to ensure my children had enough to eat, and $30 went toward paying their school fees. Education is a priority in our family, and I want to ensure all my children stay in school despite the challenges we face. With the remaining $4, I bought a hen, bringing my poultry count to six. These chickens are slowly becoming a small source of income, helping us get by during difficult times.

I had hoped to build my own house this year, but with the current financial instability in our country, it's proving to be a challenging time. As the sole provider for my family of seven children, we currently reside in a one-room house that's not in good condition. Unfortunately, it was damaged during the rainy season. Given my job as a nursery teacher, where salaries are often delayed or unpaid for months, it's been difficult to save enough for construction. However, I have started working part-time as a tailor after teaching, hoping to supplement my income. My plan is to gradually save enough money, purchasing building materials like stones, until I can afford to realize my dream of a new home.

I am a mother of seven children, with five currently in primary school. I spent $18 to pay for their fees, and one of my children was selected for county education, which requires parental contribution. I paid $15 for his remedial fees so that he won't be sent from school and his education being interrupted with. I currently own fourteen goats, three of which I purchased using GiveDirectly's transfers, for which I spent $20. Investing in goats is wise, as they can easily be exchanged for cows. To ensure my family doesn't go hungry for weeks, I spent $24 on purchasing food. Currently, I have one house that needs renovation, and I have been gradually improving it while saving to build a new home. I spent $15 on buying a building stick and $9 on paying the person who helped me renovate the house that I currently have. Thanks to GiveDirectly for coming through for us!

My main focus is securing a better home for my family. Our current house is almost collapsing. I've had to resort to purchasing poles just to prop it up temporarily. My plan is to join a merry-go-round group and contribute the cash transfers from GiveDirectly towards purchasing building materials. With the rainy season looming, there's a sense of urgency to provide a safer home for my family. I'm determined that I will achieve this through the support of the cash transfers.

Life in our polygamous family has never been easy, especially with my husband's lack of support for our children. As a casual laborer at a nursery school, my income is irregular, and the last time I received payment was back in September last year. I have often contemplated quitting, but I couldn't fathom how we'd survive without any income. Thankfully, the monthly cash transfers from GiveDirectly became our saving grace. With six children to care for, including one starting high school education, I allocated $60 from the transfers to cover her school requirements for her to proceed to high school. Additionally, I spent $8 on school necessities for my other five children. My children's education has always been my top priority. Determined to secure a sustainable source of income, I invested $34 from the remaining transfers in buying a goat. I was lucky the goat was expectant, promising an income stream that will contribute to meeting our basic needs. Moreover, it will soon provide a solution to funding my eldest daughter's transportation costs to school. The GiveDirectly transfers have transformed our lives, enabling us to afford essentials needs such as medication and food that previously we could not afford. I'm grateful that GiveDirectly has given my family hope.

I currently reside in a single room with all seven of my children, and the space feels so small. My strong desire is to build a larger house to accommodate my family comfortably. To achieve this goal, I am committed to saving diligently from my vegetable-selling business and starting my own house constructing project. This will boost my confidence and give my family a spacious place to live.

I am a mother of seven children, with six of them currently attending school. When I received my transfers, I allocated $15 to pay off their school fees, as they had outstanding balances that needed to be settled to prevent any disruptions in their education. Unfortunately, I experienced a setback with my poultry as all my chickens succumbed to disease and all died. To restart, I invested $10 to acquire two new chickens. With the remaining $9, I purchased food to ensure my family's well-being.

Due to rust from years of use, the iron roof of my small two-room house has recently started leaking during rainfall. To address this issue, my plan is to construct a new, permanent two-room house as a replacement. I have already begun purchasing some timber to work towards this goal. However, considering my various responsibilities, including preparing for my daughter's enrollment in secondary school next year, progress may be slow. Moreover, my spouse, who would have otherwise supported me in this endeavor, has been unwell after losing nearly fifty cattle to drought and is currently undergoing treatment. Consequently, I am cautious about adding more burdens to their plate. Additionally, I have been working as a nursery school teacher without receiving a salary for a while now, as most parents are struggling to provide even basic necessities for their children, let alone school fees. Despite these challenges, I remain hopeful that I will be able to accomplish my objective of building a new house if circumstances allow.

I am fortunate to have been blessed with seven children, with my eldest recently completing a tailoring course and the others at different levels of education. Being from a polygamous family, the majority of household responsibilities fall on me, including providing for our basic needs and covering school fees, as my spouse supports both households. I used approximately $14 from my June transfer to purchase food for our family. Additionally, I allocated $10 towards my daughter's school fees, as she is currently a candidate and studies at a boarding school. Another $10 was spent on tilling a new section of my land, where I plan to cultivate more maize and green grams if the weather permits. I am optimistic that the crops will thrive this year, especially since I have expanded my planting area beyond what I have previously done. This increase in production not only holds the potential for selling surplus crops and generating income but, more importantly, it will help reduce our expenses on purchasing food.

The house that I am currently living in is in a dilapidated state and it had always been my wish to build a new one but due to the lack of funds, I had never managed to. My goal for the next one year is to have a good house for my family, and to achieve this, I plan to save part of my transfers and also use the money that I would be getting from table banking to help build my house.

When I received the transfers, I was in a difficult situation because I had not received my three months pay from the school where I teach and my husband is also currently in a helpless situation due to his health. I had no money to buy food for my family and upon receiving the transfers, I felt much relief because I managed to buy food worth KES. 2470 and also managed to pay school fees of KES. 1000 to my children. I was so grateful to GiveDirectly for the support.

Giving money to the less fortunate people in society is something that amazes me. I am always happy to receive this transfer.

I am a teacher at a nearby school with a salary of $70 per month. I am in a polygamous marriage. my husband is unemployed and I am currently servicing all the bills in the homestead. I have seven children that I am taking care of. Food has been a challenge due to the high price of food in Kenya. I need $100 every month for only flour which has always been the most affordable food in Kenya. This transfer has enabled me to pay school fees for my children as I save for food for the family.

I only realized that I had received the money when I was on my way back from church and was just about to get into my homestead and I that moment I felt a huge relief especially since I was struggling financially and barely had food in the house plus the kids were out of school so it was definitely a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

Personally I was very much relieved when I could finally provide a meal for my family because even for the kids it's very hard for them to go to school when they have barely had any and meal. Therefore nourishment has been one of our biggest challenges for quite some time.

Early that morning before I the transfers my children had actually been kicked out of school, so the following day I withdrew the funds from my phone and I ended up paying KES 800 in fees for my five children. After that I ended up using the balance that was left with and focused more on nourishment since we barely had a meal in the house therefore I bought two packets of maize flour.