I am currently relying on transfers to educate my five children, two of whom are in high school and three in primary school. If it wasn't for these transfers, raising the required amount of school fees would have been a challenge for me. As the breadwinner, I rely on menial construction jobs, which haven't been paying well due to their unpredictable nature. Sometimes, I can go for weeks without securing a job. However, I am at peace knowing that the transfers will take care of my children's education. Therefore, my current goal is to educate my children, and I don't have any other goal apart from that. This program has been very helpful, and I believe that my children will realize their aspirations for the time that I will be in the program.

Despite facing many financial challenges, I am happy that my children can attend school thanks to this program. I am the sole breadwinner in my household and depend on casual construction jobs to earn a living. However, it's been hard to get such jobs lately, and sometimes I can go weeks without finding one. This makes it difficult for me to support my family. But I'm happy that when I can't find work, the transfers I receive from the program help me out. With the most recent transfers I received, I was able to spend over $60 to pay for my children's school fees. I bought them new uniforms and all the necessary stationery for their admission. As a parent, I'm relieved that I can pay for their education on time and avoid disruptions to their studies. I consider educating my children to be my biggest achievement, especially since my financial situation is not great. In addition to paying for my children's education, I've also been saving $10 every month to cover emergencies and be able to get credit from our local savings group when I need it. I also received part of the transfer when it was time to plant my crops. I thus used some of the transfers to hire oxen for $20 to plough my farm. This helped me get a good harvest and ensured that my family had enough food to eat. Finally, I used the remaining amount to buy household items that we needed and toiletries for my children.

My goal is to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a farmer, specifically focusing on green gram cultivation given the favorable climate and soil conditions in our region,. Despite financial limitations being a longstanding obstacle, I am determined to overcome them. I am planning to comence on this farming venture and aim to have everything prepared by the onset of next year's long rains. To ensure the realization of this goal, I am committed to setting aside a portion of my resources and diligently working towards making my dream of becoming a successful green gram farmer a reality.

I received the GiveDirectly transfers at a time when I was facing significant financial challenges, particularly with my children's education. My wife and I lacked stable sources of income, and four of our children had been sent home from school due to unpaid fees. The transfers arrived as a much-needed lifeline. I promptly used a portion of the funds to reduce the school fees balance, paying off $15, ensuring that my children could continue their education. Additionally, I invested $10 in purchasing essential educational materials such as books. I also took the opportunity to clear some debts by paying off $5, and wisely saved $4.70 for future needs. The relief and gratitude I felt upon receiving this support are beyond measure.

I would love to continue supporting the education of my children who are still in primary school. I want to ensure they have the opportunity to study until they graduate from their desired level of education. Even though I engage in house construction jobs to accomplish this, I believe that the cash transfers will play a crucial role in supporting their education and helping them achieve their goals as well.

Last year, I used to work as a motorbike taxi, but the business became stagnant, leading me to take up house construction jobs to provide for my family. However, these jobs are scarce, resulting in limited earnings. In the past three months, the cash transfers have been instrumental in covering important expenses such as school fees, and food, and contributing to the merry-go-round savings. Unlike before the cash aid, I have gained the ability in supporting the education of my children, ensuring they have enough to eat, and saving for the future. During this period, I allocated $20 from each transfer to partially clear the school fees for my three children. Although the debt is not fully settled, I am relieved that they are no longer at risk of being sent home from school as they used to be. Additionally, I spent $9 on purchasing food to replenish our limited stock. This has ensured my family remains fed as well as bought me more time to find work to buy more food. The remaining funds were allocated towards the merry-go-round savings, which will contribute to my financial stability in the event of an emergency.

I have four children currently enrolled in school and the transfers have been helping me to clear their fees on time. My expectation is to see them achieve their education goals despite the financial challenges I am facing. My objective is to ensure that they continue with their studies without any interruption concerning school fees. I believe once they excel, they will bring a change to my household. I am also planning to save some money every month to enable me to renovate my house which is in a bad condition. I began saving some years back before GiveDirectly's transfers, and I am hoping to save more to achieve this goal. I am aiming at replacing the roof with new iron sheets since its dilapidated and rebuilding the walls with stones to be a permanent house.

I used the funds from the transfers from September to December to either buy food or cover my children' tuition. I'm the father of five primary-aged students who attend school. I operated a "Bodaboda" motorcycle taxi service for the entire four months. Fuel prices during these months reached a record high, which had an impact on our business because few of our clients preferred motorcycles as a mode of transportation. Being unable to provide for my family's needs, particularly their food, made life difficult. I therefore spent a whopping $72 on food for my family over the course of the four-month period. The high spending on food was also attributed to the significant increase in food prices; for example, a 2 kg packet of maize cost $2.5, which was a lot of money. The remaining $56 I had was used to cover my children' tution fees in Mnazimwenga Primary School. My tardiness in paying their school fees frequently had an adverse effect on children. They would frequently be sent home by the headteacher, which had an impact on their ability to focus in class. They hardly ever get sent home, so I'm glad that has gradually changed over the past four months. They now have the chance to put in extensive study time and pass their exam.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well by ensuring that each one of us received the cash as promised. Also during the enrolment period, they did not discriminate against anyone regardless of their tribe or even religion. I can not single out anything that they did not do good, all went perfectly well.

I spent part of my recent transfer on paying fees of $1500 for my four children in primary children. Seeing them waking up every morning and going to school with their colleagues has always been my dream as a parent. Also, I am certain that this is the only way that their future shall be greener together with their generation. Additionally, with the remaining amount of money, I settled to buy foodstuffs for my family which is comprised of eight members. Ever since GiveDirectly came into our lives we hardly miss food like the way we used to do which has enabled my children to be very active in school.

I was at home around 8.00 p.m. relaxing on my bed when I received an M-PESA message. I felt so happy when I realized the money was from GiveDirectly because I was not expecting any money then.

The biggest difference in my daily life is the reduced financial burdens. Paying part of my kids’ school fee arrears helped reduce my financial obligations making me have a stress-free life. In addition, buying food for the family enabled us to enjoy a balanced diet that day thereby increasing our happiness.

I am a motorcycle taxi driver and casual laborer. I have a family of seven; my wife, five children, and I. Four of my kids are school-going while one has not yet started schooling because he is still very young. GiveDirectly transfer was a big boost because it enabled me to buy food worth KES 600 and pay part of my kids’ school fees. I had fee arrears of KES 2500 and was not in a position to even settle part of it due to lack of money. Repaying part of the fee arrears helped reduce my financial burdens making me to have peace of mind. I thank GiveDirectly for the support.