I am a mother of six children, striving to support them and improve our living conditions. When I received my transfers, I spent $68 to pay my children's school fees so they wouldn't miss classes. Education is crucial for their future, and I am committed to keeping them in school.Our current home, with only two rooms, is too small for all of us and doesn't protect us well during the cold season. We often feel like we're enduring the weather rather than living comfortably. With the remaining $34, I bought building materials; sticks and metal sheets, to start expanding our house. My plan is to add another room to give us more space and make our living situation better. Thanks to GiveDirectly, I can now focus on improving my family's life and providing them with a more comfortable home.

I produce and sell charcoal. Right now, I own twenty chickens, four goats, two cows, and four sheep. Seeing my business struggle, I took time to think and concluded that investing more in poultry and livestock is the best move. I see it as a smarter choice than holding onto cash, which could easily be spent on ongoing expenses. Animals can easily multiply and I can sell them when I encounter difficulties, providing a more stable finance for my family.

Together with an additional $13 contributed by my husband, I allocated a total of $68 to purchase a new wooden bed measuring 4 by 6 feet along with a mattress. Previously, both my husband and I endured nights on the bare floor, using old, torn mattress pieces and sacks to shield ourselves from the cold. This arrangement proved uncomfortable and often resulted in back pains due to the uneven surfaces. Acquiring the new bed and mattress promises us a more comfortable sleeping environment and relief from these discomforts. The remaining $34 of our funds went towards purchasing a goat. Owning livestock has long been a dream of mine, but as a casual laborer selling charcoal and with my husband working as a hawker selling local toothbrushes, we struggled to accumulate enough savings from our respective incomes to afford livestock. Our earnings were primarily dedicated to supporting our family of eight members. The financial assistance provided through transfers has played a crucial role in realizing my aspiration of owning livestock, for which I am profoundly grateful.

With a family of eight members, our current one-room dwelling feels cramped, lacking sufficient space for all of us. Looking ahead, my focus in the upcoming months is to allocate a significant portion of my transfer towards purchasing additional iron sheets, supplementing the 18 pieces already acquired by my husband. Subsequently, I plan to procure building poles and hire a mason to initiate construction on a new house. Upon its completion, my husband and I intend to relocate to the new residence, while our current abode will be left for our six children. I am deeply grateful for the financial assistance provided through transfers, as it empowers me to embark on this transformative journey towards improving our living conditions.

This quarter, I finally managed to achieve my long term dream of owning livestock. I Combined my transfers for the months of June and July which I managed to use to purchase 2 goats. I also used part of my August transfer to purchase a sheep bringing the total number of livestock I own to 3 and hopefully, this number will soon increase as my goats are already expectant. The desire to own livestock was driven by the need to have a back up plan in times of emergencies. It is also a good investments as such animals are easy to manage, reproduce very fast and also have a readily available market. I am relaxed now because I know that whenever I have an urgent need for cash, the goats can easily be sold to raise the money within a very short period. With the livestock dream now accomplished, I also decided to join hands with my spouse in the construction of a new house by purchasing 3 iron sheets with part of my most recent transfer. The rest of the money helped in paying part of my child's tuition fee.

Our current house is very small which is not able to accommodate our huge family of 6 children. For this reason, we had to separately construct a temporary room where my husband and I could sleep so that the children could share the two-roomed house where the girls share one room while the boys share the other. To keep our sheep safe from wild dogs, we unfortunately, have to share the tiny room with them which is not only unhygienic but also uncomfortable. After realizing that it would not be possible to save enough money to construct a decent house, we decided to purchase the required construction materials in bits and commence the construction once we have all that we need. This is why I will be channeling most of my transfers to the purchase of the materials and any other items or resources required for the construction of the new house. Having a separate house will bring us a huge joy as we will have a decent, private, comfortable and hygienic place to sleep. What would top not having to share a room with your sheep? The current structure will exclusively serve as a sheep shelter which will also give room for expansion should the flock increase.

My family relies on my husband, who earns a living by cutting and selling chewing sticks in Mombasa. In addition to my husband's work, I engage in charcoal burning to support our household. Sadly, these activities can barely put daily food on the table, let alone pay fees for our five children. I have always wanted to own livestock as a wealth generation practice and am happy that the cash transfers finally allowed me to afford some. This is why I used part of the recent cash transfer, amounting to $30, to purchase a sheep. The vegetation resulting from the ongoing rains in my region presented an ideal opportunity for livestock rearing, which motivated me to secure the sheep before anything else. At present, I am the proud owner of three sheep, all of which I acquired through previous cash transfers. I believe they hold the potential to become a stable source of income for my family. I am confident that this livestock will play a crucial role in covering the school fees of my children, particularly my son who is currently in grade eight and will be transitioning to high school next year. It is of utmost importance to me that I can provide him with the necessary financial support to continue his education at the secondary level. Once I bought the sheep, I used the remaining amount to pay the examination fees for my four children who are in primary school, as the schools had just reopened.

I would love to continue building on the progress I have made through the cash transfers. With the acquisition of three sheep, I am excited about the opportunity they present to generate emergency funds especially school fees for my children, when needed. Now, my focus shifts toward building a new house for my family. The current house is in a deteriorated state, with one side of the roof exposed and it allows water to leak inside when it rains, dampening the living space. Through future cash transfers, I aspire to construct an entirely new and improved dwelling. Once I have accomplished this goal, I intend to keep on acquiring more livestock as a means of growing our wealth and securing a stable source of income for my family.

At the enrollment stage, I was living in a small old iron-roofed house. With my four-month transfers, I have been spending a portion buying building materials such as building poles with anticipation to initiate a project of building a spacious and better house. From the most recent transfer, I bought 10 round poles for $10 every month, and this has given me hope that it is a doable undertaking. Because I do not have a reliable source of income, I always feel overwhelmed with the obligation of taking care of my children's school fees. I, therefore, spent $24 on paying school fees for my five school-going children. I am glad that they have been able to attend their classes comfortably. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly.

With my monthly transfer, I have developed a goal of capitalizing on livestock keeping. I consider this a long-term investment as well as an ideal saving plan. It can help my children in terms of raising their fees in the long run. This will help reduce my stress of raising my children's school fees as they progress with their studies since I have a dismal income. Although my parents were too poor to educate me, I always regret why I missed formal education. However, I would not wish my children to experience the same situations. Therefore I go out of my way to ensure that they get the advisory and other support a mother should give. Thanks to GD for the cash transfer that has awakened my dreams.

I spent part of my recent cash transfer on paying fees of $20 for my three children in a nearby primary school. I am happy to receive the cash in good time because they would miss their exams which were just around the corner. I knew this would demoralize them as well as affect their academic performance. They have finally been able to continue with their studies without any hiccups like before. To add to that, I bought a chicken which I am currently rearing in my household and I am positive that in a few months to come, I will have many of them. Also, I used the remaining $5 to buy a lamp which has been of help, especially at night. Initially, we were using candles which were quite expensive and sometimes we would stay in the dark.

In my opinion, I do not see anything that GiveDirectly did not do well so far. The officers were so transparent throughout the enrollment process which enhanced unity and peace among ourselves. Also, the unconditional part was the best because we were all given equal chance to choose what to purchase.

My son spent three days at home without going to school because of school fee arrears. My husband, a small business man selling toothbrushes in town was going through a rough time. He unsuccessful sold the toothbrushes for three days. I help my husband by selling charcoal in the village. I did not sell any charcoal because my customers preferred to use cheaper fuel such as firewood. When I received my first transfer, I spent KES 500 on paying the school fee balance that my son owed the school. I am and at peace knowing he is back in school studying together with his friends. Besides paying the school fee balance, I bought three packets of maize flour. The food stock in the house was depleted and I was got worried about my family starving.

Paying school fee arreas for my son to go back to school, is the biggest differnce the transfer has made in my life. I was in a dilemma on where I would get money to take him back to school.

I was on my way home from the farm at 3 pm. I spent the whole day packing charcoal in sacks ready for sell. I was very hungry and exhausted as I walked slowly towards my house. My phone rung loudly and upon checking, I was surprised to know I had received my first transfer. I smiled from ear to ear and hurriedly walked home to share the good news with my family.