More than anything, I want to own goats. I have been hoping to buy livestock ever since I started receiving the cash transfers, but there has been no chance to do so. This is because I am mostly constrained by the school fees of my three children, who look up to me to provide for them. I still hope that I will be able to save to buy goats and start creating wealth. I also wish to build a house. I currently share a one-room structure with all my children, and I feel that sharing the space will prove inappropriate as they grow older. I would be glad if I built a two-room one. To achieve these goals, I have been saving $10 every month through a savings club, and I hope to accumulate a significant lump sum next year to get started.

Things became tough after my husband passed away, especially because I was left with four school-going children to take care of. Sometimes I engage in charcoal-making practices to raise funds, put food on the table, and run a small sardine-selling business. I am happy that cash transfers have relieved me of some of the challenges that I used to experience, such as the physical demands of producing charcoal. From the recent cash transfers, I saved $30 through a savings club. I anticipate collecting a lump sum savings next year to start buying goats. I believe that owning goats will stabilize my financial situation, as I could sell them in the future to provide for my family. There was also a time when my children had spent a couple of days away from school due to unpaid tuition, and I had hit rock bottom in raising the money. The transfers came just in time, and I paid $32 to their school, enabling them to resume their studies. I also spent $18 to boost the stock of my sardines, as I had dipped into the stock money. The remaining amount went towards buying food, ensuring that my family did not have to go to bed hungry.

Looking ahead, my goal is to build a new house. The current structure that my children and I occupy is a single room, which is too cramped for all of us. I have been saving some funds from the previous cash transfers whenever I get the chance, to build the new house. I anticipate receiving a lump sum of cash next year around April, and I plan to use that money to buy building materials for the new house. I also want to use some of the savings to buy at least two goats for rearing.

As a widow, my children rely on me to provide for their needs, including school fees for my four children and food. I am happy that the cash transfers have alleviated some of the hardships I used to face when I relied on making charcoal to support my family. I saved $50 through a self-help group to accumulate enough money to buy goats. I plan to receive a lump sum next year to make this purchase. I used $10 to buy sardines and $4 to pay school fees for my child who had been sent home from school. I had to spend the money I used to run my sardine business on my children's school fees, so I bought sardines to revive the business. I also used $4 to buy two chickens for rearing. Additionally, when one of my children fell ill and missed school, I spent $20 to pay for his hospital bills, and he received appropriate medical treatment. The remaining amount from the cash transfers was used to buy food, ensuring that my children never missed school.

I would love to establish an income stream by engaging in livestock rearing, specifically goats and cows. Currently, I rely on seeking assistance from friends or working on other people's farms during times of financial difficulty. However, this has not proven to be convenient. With the two goats I currently have, I plan to continue saving through the merry-go-round club to accumulate enough money to expand my livestock venture. This will build sustainable wealth for my family and reduce our reliance on external support.

Upon receiving the cash transfer, I contributed $10 towards a merry-go-round club. My objective is to accumulate enough funds to purchase either goats or cows for livestock rearing. As these animals reproduce, I can sell them to meet the needs of my family, such as paying for my three children's school fees. Currently, I run a business selling sardines, but before receiving the cash transfer, I had already used some of the capital to cover the school fees, which reduced the stock. So, I spent $10 to restock more sardines and keep the business running. Additionally, my children had missed two days of school due to an outstanding debt. To fix this, I used $4 from the cash transfer to settle the debt, allowing them to resume their studies. Also, hunger has been a challenge in my household. There have been times when we would go without food for several consecutive days. With the remaining amount from the transfer, I prioritized purchasing more food to alleviate this issue and ensure that my family enjoyed at least one meal per day.

Since I am a single mother, I would always want my children to have a better life and also continue with their education, therefore my main goal in the next one year is to save part of my transfers every month and by the end of the year, I would want to start up a greengrocery business so that I have a source of income to support my children.

Ever since my husband departed, life had never been any better for me, getting money for food and other necessities had been quite a challenge and with the ongoing drought, the situation is getting worse. GiveDirectly had been helpful to me in terms of financial support and with the most recent transfers, I managed to pay school fees worth KES. 1000 because my children had been sent home, I bought food worth KES. 970 and saved the remaining amount of KES. 1500. I now feel happy because my children got a chance to go and continue with their learning.

I spent $20 on paying school fees for my three children in primary. They are now studying well without being sent home. This was affecting their performance since they would miss some lessons whenever they were home. I am so happy and this has given me peace of mind to do my daily activities well. I spent the rest of the money on food for the family.

Two days prior to receiving the funds from GiveDirectly, my children had actually been kicked out of school for my failure in paying their tuition fee but this was because I had no money. So immediately I noticed the transfers had been sent out, I quick went ahead to pay KES 2,000 in school fees so that they would not have to spend another day staying home. I also used KES 1,000 and invested it in my business where I sell sardines from my home. Lastly I was left with KES 1,000 which I left on savings account because I planned of eventually building a house for me and children because the one we lived in at the moment was the shed where the goats used to stay previously.

Give directly has done very well when it comes to cash donations. This has helped me to support my children and improve my life. I now have a stable business and I have added ducks to my farm. I have not seen any area where give directly has not done well.

Being a widow has not been an easy journey for me. To fend for my children, I sell fish on the street. This business has not been earning me much. Whatever I get, I mostly use it to cover the food budget. When it comes to paying the children's school fees, I am forced to pay in installments. Currently, I have arrears of KES2,000 that I plan on settling using the profits I make from my business. So, when I received my first transfer, I bought two ducks. As for my second transfer, I saved 1500 in the Chama and the remaining KES1,500 I used to improve my business.

All through my life I have been longing to get a reliable source of income. When GiveDirectly enrolled me in its program, I was convinced that my prayers had been answered. From then I anxiously began to wait for my first transfer. When the transfer was first sent, I was so excited. It was late in the evening at around 5.00pm and I was just resting at home with my children. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for it's support.

The biggest difference in my life since I began receiving my transfer is having peace of mind after I had begun buying round poles for building new house. This has given me an assurance that I shall be able to finally build a new house. I am glad I shall finally be able to finish building a better house. I shall no longer live under such an extreme hard condition which I have persevered for some years. This will help in restoring my self-esteem.

I spent all of my very most recent transfer to buy 25 round poles. I am planning to build a new house. I have been living in a very old but small house that cannot accommodate all my household members. Whenever it rains, the current house leaks thus it becomes very uncomfortable. I shall be glad when my house is completed and I finally begin to live in it.