My greatest aspiration is to provide education for my children. Over time, I have worked towards constructing my own house, and now I have successfully built a two-bedroom house with a sitting room. Constructing the metal sheet house brought great joy to my family. To achieve this, I purchased metal sheets monthly and accumulated them, with support from the transfers I received each month, facilitated by GiveDirectly. Currently, my main focus remains on ensuring my children receive a quality education, believing it will secure a bright future for them.

I am a mother of seven children, with four currently attending school. Recently, I spent $30 to ensure their school fees were paid, believing strongly in their education and ensuring it remains uninterrupted. One of my children needed a new uniform, which cost $9. Seeing how happy it made him was truly rewarding. Currently, I am part of a merry-go-round where I save $45 each month. This savings plan is aimed at accumulating enough funds to begin constructing my own house. Additionally, I own eleven sheep, which I believe is a wise investment due to their ability to multiply and provide a source of income when sold. Recently, I purchased another sheep for $9, contributing some extra money from my own pocket. With the remaining $9, I purchased food for my family for the week, ensuring everyone is well-fed and taken care of.

My goal in the coming months is to buy all the necessary materials required to build a new house. A spacious, two-bedroom house will make life easier for my family to live in. I am out of words to express my gratitude for the financial support. The money will help me achieve a long-term goal. I am very happy that very soon I will be able to achieve this dream with the help of the transfers and this makes me very happy.

I recently joined a savings group with some friends, locally known as a chama, and there are five of us forming the group. We each put in $15 every month. Over the past three months, I've managed to save up $35. The good thing is, we can take out the money whenever we need it. I'm saving up to buy new iron sheets for a bigger house. I've already bought a few with some money I had before. Right now, we're all crammed into this tiny one-room house with eight of us, and there's just not enough space. A bigger house would be much better for all of us. As an investment for the future, I used $10 from my transfers and added $20 from my savings to buy a sheep. I bought two hens for $4. Once the sheep starts having babies, it'll add to what I've already invested, so I'll be able to make some money off of it. I also made sure to pay $35 for my four children's school fees. It's really important to me that they stay in school and keep learning. With the remaining $18, I bought some different things. I got some second-hand clothes for the kids for $5, some stationery for $7, sugar for $4, and soap and detergents for $2. I'm thankful for all the support I've received from GiveDirectly so far.

In the upcoming year, my primary achievement will be the completion of the new house to facilitate my family's relocation. I hold a strong sense of optimism regarding the realization of this objective, primarily attributed to the forthcoming financial support. A mere year ago, the notion of owning a commodious dwelling seemed unattainable due to financial hardships. I am elated that these funds have enabled me to sustain my children's education and procure food during periods of drought.

I accumulated savings of $30 within a close-knit savings group comprised of relatives. My intention is to utilize these funds to procure iron sheets and construct a spacious two-roomed dwelling capable of accommodating my family of eight. Our current single-room residence is inadequate for our needs. Furthermore, I disbursed $20 for the school fees of my four children at Mnazimwenga Primary School. I am delighted that they completed their studies and participated in their end-of-year examinations without any hindrances. Prior to the maize harvest, I allocated $42 towards purchasing food. This ensured that our family never went to bed hungry, despite the challenges of acquiring food at inflated prices from local stores. Additionally, I acquired a sheep for $37, viewing it as a prospective investment due to its potential to multiply, providing an opportunity to sell some offspring and generate income. I am genuinely content with the financial assistance, which complements my income from charcoal sales and aids in meeting my family's needs.

I currently have a one-roomed that accommodates my family of 8, the house is pretty small and we do not have enough space, in addition, I do everything including cooking under the same roof, something that is hazardous to my family. My goal was therefore to get enough money and build a two-roomed house and leave the current one to my children and I would achieve this by setting aside part of my monthly transfers to a certain amount that would help in starting off the construction.

I received the transfers at a time when I was in dire need of financial support. Four of my children who are currently in primary school had been sent home for school fees but I had no money to take them back, a situation that forced me to stay with them at home for three days. I also wanted some money to buy food for my family because we had nothing left in the house. But upon receiving the money, I felt a sigh of relief; I managed to take my children back to school upon paying $12. I also bought food worth $12.70 and since my monthly savings contribution was due, I remitted $10 to the group savings group’s kiti. I felt so happy for the support.

In the near future, I hope to build a new house for my children. I have lately been thinking about putting up one because mine is small. This has forced some of my children to shelter at their grandfather's house, which is not very spacious. I feel that once I succeed, they will have their privacy and there will be no more humiliation.

I spent $10 of my recent transfer on paying school fees for my four children, who are in primary school. Their exam was fast approaching, and I was so worried that they might miss it due to the arrears. I am so glad that GiveDirectly has restored my children's joy and hope in life in general. Also, I opted to save $20 on the merry-go-round. This money will be helpful once my children are in high school. I would have saved enough cash to fund their education. Also, I spent the remaining cash to buy food for the family and other household needs. Getting my daily bread has been a challenge since I rely on odd jobs. 

GiveDirectly is doing well by providing support through cash transfers, which is one way of eradicating poverty. Through cash transfers, many families have been able to afford food and education for their children. The funds have also enabled different people to venture into productive investments. For instance, I am investing in building an improved home for my family and the funds have met some of the basic needs we were struggling to meet, like food and school fees for my four children at school. Others have bought livestock and even opened small businesses, which has improved their lifestyle. I only wish that GiveDirectly would continue enrolling more people from other neighboring villages. Poverty has catalyzed a high number of illiterate people in most of the Kilifi county environs. Drought has also affected this area and at the moment many children have dropped out of school due to school fees and food is a major challenge. The funds would bring a difference in many homes and with more children enrolled in schools, the higher chances of having an educated generation, which eradicates poverty as well.

My husband has been working as a charcoal burner. Lately, it has been a struggle to actually support our family of six children. I also work with him but we hardly make enough to sustain our family. In a week, we only make less than $4 from one bag of charcoal. The business has been on the low and it has been hard to survive and meet all our financial obligations as a family. I live in a one-roomed house that has a leaking roof and have always wanted to expand and build an improved house to fit my family, but with the current situation; it is merely a dream yet to be turned into reality. I spent my transfer of $10 to pay school fees and bought a piece of iron sheets with $10. The remaining $10 bought two chickens and food for the family for two days. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for the support it has given my family

I felt happy when I received the first transfer. It was a few minutes past six in the evening, worried about how we would raise money for our dinner since we had not taken any meal since morning. The money was a saver, and I was thankful for it. At least we did not sleep hungry.

Having purchased four chickens for rearing is the biggest difference in my daily life since I received the transfer. They give me the hopes of a better future since the income from them will be an additional income for our family. It is a lucrative business since they reproduce faster and have ready markets thus I will purchase more of them with the subsequent transfer. The profits we shall make from them, added to the small income from charcoal sales will be enough to sustain our needs and even save some.

My spouse and I burn charcoal for sale as the main source of our household income. The meager income we earn from it can not meet all the needs of the eight of us. We have six children in school and seeing them being sent back home frequently because we cannot afford their school fees is devastating. Therefore, with the first transfer, I bought four chickens for rearing worth KES 1000 with the hopes of selling some of them in the future to raise money for our household needs. I paid KES 500 in school to clear the arrears for two of my children and used the remaining KES 1500 to purchase enough foodstuffs to sustain my family for some time.