Upon the completion of my new house, my intention is to utilize my future transfers to invest in procuring livestock. I am particularly inclined towards acquiring goats, as they have a propensity to multiply rapidly, thereby enabling me to realize a twofold return on my initial investment. I am elated that the transfers have facilitated the funding of my children's education, especially considering the limited earnings from my occupation as a casual laborer engaged in charcoal sales.

In early October, my dwelling developed significant wall cracks, and despite my attempts to salvage and mend the structure, heavy rains thwarted my efforts, resulting in the house's collapse. Presently, I am in the process of constructing a new residence while temporarily residing at my son's house, as he is away working in Mombasa. I partially settled the school fees for my four children, making a payment of $15. Although there remains an outstanding balance, I am pleased that they were able to complete their end-of-year examinations without any disruptions. Additionally, I procured food amounting to $19 for my family of five, ensuring that we never experienced shortages. I am genuinely grateful for the support from the transfers, as it has significantly enhanced my quality of life.

My foremost objective by the year's end is to construct a new two-room house capable of comfortably accommodating all my family members. In conjunction with this house-building project, I am eager to make astute investments in acquiring livestock. The eventual multiplication of these animals will provide an additional source of income, complementing my current earnings from selling charcoal. By diversifying my income streams, I will attain financial stability and ensure that I can adequately support my family.

I allocated $20 from my July transfers as savings to our four-member savings group. The aim is to accumulate enough funds to construct a spacious and sturdy house. Currently, my existing house is in a dilapidated state, with the iron sheets riddled with holes that allow rainwater to seep inside. The one-room dwelling fails to provide ample space for me and my four children. The prospect of sleeping in a secure and comfortable home fills me with happiness and excitement. In addition to saving for the house, I also spent $10 on purchasing food to feed my family. Unfortunately, my income from charcoal sales is quite meager, and as the sole breadwinner, it falls short of meeting all our needs. To ensure my children could sit for their midterm exams, I set aside $4 for the required fees. I take immense pride in my children's academic progress, and thanks to the financial support from our monthly transfers, they have never faced the risk of being sent home due to outstanding school fees.

Currently, I do not have any viable investment that my family can depend on. Whatever wages I get are always little hence unsustainable to my large family. I, therefore, hope to invest a portion of my transfers in acquiring some goats since I aim to venture into raising livestock. I want to buy five goats before the year ends. I consider this a lucrative venture that will heavily reward my family. Consequently, when my herd increases, raising additional money from the sale of goats will help me to pay school fees for my children.

My husband does casual jobs, and so do I hence we do not have a stable income. For the past three months, I have been spending my transfers on building up my savings and buying food. It has therefore made it easier for me to take care of my five children. Paying their school fees and ensuring they have at least a meal a day has not been an issue for me. With my recent transfer, I spent $20 on food for my family of seven members. We had depleted whatever we previously had. I also saved $10 on a merry-go-round. I want to build those savings so that I can start buying goats. I do not have any livestock though I am working towards obtaining some as the year progresses. I also bought some books for my five children.

I am my family's only source of income (three children). I don't make nearly enough money from selling charcoal to support the entire family. My health is being negatively impacted by the enormous responsibility of caring for my children alone. It's a very laborious process to make the charcoal, and it frequently makes me feel ill. My three children who are in primary school were my top priority when I received my transfer. They were able to concentrate on their studies without fear of being sent home after paying the school fees. Along with paying the school fees, I spent $15 on family food. We have to go to bed hungry so that we can save and eat the next day because the little money I make from selling charcoal is only enough to purchase one meal for the entire family. The remaining $10 went toward the purchase of two hens. I plan to sell some hens once they start to multiply. This is one way I'll be able to make some money to support my family.

Give Directly is doing an excellent job of providing unconditional cash transfers to the most vulnerable communities. I am able to meet the needs of my children through the money, such as food, school fees, and shelter. I hope that the organization will continue in the same spirit and even expand into other locations.

Three months ago, I began a project to build a new house for my son, Amani, who is training to be a mechanic in Mombasa. As a young man, I believe he is entitled to personal space and privacy whenever he visits. After all, my one-room house, which also serves as a kitchen, barely fits our family of eight. Therefore, three pieces of iron sheets were required to complete his new structure, which I purchased with KES 2,250 from the transfer. The remainder was spent on food. This is because my family had gone two days without eating before the transfer and were starving. At least the food would last us a week. 

That morning, I woke up stressed, with no hope of finding money to buy food or pay my children's school fees. Imagine how I felt when I received the transfer. I was overjoyed because my family would finally eat something after a night of going hungry.

Prior to the transfers, my children would miss majority of their classes due to outstanding fees. Things have changed now that they have stayed in school after paying the arrears with the transfer. Supporting their education is my top priority because it is their only hope for a better future.

The day I received the transfer, my four children had been sent out of school to pick up outstanding fee balances. My charcoal burning business had failed to generate enough money to cover the fee arrears up to that point. So, I deducted KES 600 from the transfer to pay these balances, and the kids happily returned to school. Furthermore, the household had run out of food for the previous two days, such that we had slept hungry the night before. This prompted me to buy food with the remaining funds to last for the next few days.