My goal for this year is to renovate my house, which has been plagued by leaks during heavy rains and is in overall poor condition. To begin the renovations, I plan to buy iron roofing sheets and cement. I will use a combination of my savings and the transfers I receive to fund this project. Achieving this will provide me with much-needed peace of mind, as I am weary of being drenched by winter storms. This renovation will not only improve our living conditions but also ensure that my family and I no longer have to rely on seeking shelter from relatives. I believe this goal will significantly enhance our quality of life and bring us closer to a more stable and comfortable home environment.

I recently joined a merry-go-round initiative in my village along with my neighbours, intending to save enough money to support my six school-going children and renovate my house, which has been leaking for quite some time. Paying school fees for my children has been a constant challenge, as my husband and I have relied on casual jobs to make ends meet. Joining the merry-go-round is expected to significantly improve our situation; my children will be able to attend school without the constant threat of being sent home for unpaid fees, and I will be able to finally address the urgent need for house repairs. Over the past three months, I’ve managed to save $60 through this initiative, and I anticipate that the amount will continue to grow. I also used $30 from the transfers to pay school fees for my children, enabling them to sit for their end-of-term exams alongside their classmates. This was a major relief, and I’m delighted that they could complete their exams without interruption. Additionally, with the remaining $12, I purchased essential household items like food, which has been crucial for supporting my family during our ongoing struggles.

My goal for this year is to renovate my house, as it suffers from leaks during heavy rains, and the interior is in poor condition. To kickstart the renovations, I intend to purchase iron roofing sheets and cement. I will utilize both my savings and transfers to accomplish this objective. A secure and improved living space will give me peace of mind. I am genuinely thankful for the chance to enhance my quality of life through this opportunity.

I run a business selling traditional herbs, while my husband works as a casual laborer to support our family of eight. I am truly grateful for this project as it has empowered me to provide education for my children and contribute to our local savings club. From the transfers we received, I allocated $38 to purchase books, uniforms, and shoes for my son who was joining Junior secondary school. Additionally, I saved $30 in our savings club, allowing me to buy a bed and a mattress, improving our living conditions. Lastly, I spent $34 on seeking treatment and medication for myself when I fell ill, and I am relieved to say that I'm now feeling better. These transfers have brought me immense joy as they have positively transformed my life.

My primary goal is to repair the corroded roof of my house before it collapses completely. This will require 15 pieces of iron sheets and additional building materials like nails. I've been saving part of the cash transfers whenever possible to work towards this goal. Once the roof is repaired, I plan to purchase a new bed. This bed will be for my grandchildren, as they usually like to sleep with me. Currently, my bed is only sufficient for my husband and me, leading me to sleep on the floor whenever the children come in. Having a new bed will ensure that everyone has their space and improves the overall sleeping arrangement in the household.

The cash transfers have been a crucial support for various needs in the past three months, including paying school fees, buying food, acquiring livestock, plowing my land, and saving for future expenses. Before the school holidays, my six children had accumulated fee balances, and I used $34 to clear all the debts. This ensures that they will start the next school term without any outstanding balances. I also invested $34 in purchasing a goat for rearing. I anticipate that after the cash transfers end, the livestock will multiply, and I can sell them to support the education of my children. Additionally, I saved $10 through a self-help group, intending to accumulate enough money to purchase iron sheets for repairing my corroded roof. During the planting season, I allocated $5 to have a portion of my maize crops weeded, providing some relief from the labor-intensive task. The remaining amount was used to buy food as our household supplies were running low. The cash transfers have significantly eased the financial burden on my husband, who is our sole provider. I could never be happier. 

My primary goal is to ensure that my children's education is not jeopardized due to fees. I currently do not have a steady source of income and rely on the transfer to keep my six children in school. I have been selling charcoal, which is difficult to do on a daily basis due to its nature. It is time-consuming, and authorities forbid it. I only sell once a week and am occasionally unable to sell for an entire month. This made it difficult for me to pay school fees for my six children while also providing for my family's basic needs, such as food. Because of my financial situation, I may be unable to educate my children on my own. As a result, I rely on the transfer for my children's school fees to ensure that they meet their educational objectives.

I am grateful to GiveDirectly for their monthly assistance because it would have been difficult for my husband and me to provide for our family while also paying for my six children's school fees. As a source of income, I have been burning and selling charcoal, but the little I have is insufficient to meet the many needs of my family. In addition, my children were frequently sent home because I was unable to pay fees on time. I am relieved that the monthly transfers have greatly relieved my family. I was able to pay for my six children's school fees, and they are now happily enrolled in school. They are no longer sent home because I paid the fees on time whenever I received a transfer. Despite our financial difficulties, I am glad that the transfer is assisting them in achieving their educational goals. I am also grateful because, prior to the program, I was a member of a savings group but was unable to save enough money. I have been able to save at least $2 per month despite having many household needs because I know I will get the transfer every month. I also used the transfer to buy enough food to feed my family of eight. I bought maize flour and other cereals that lasted for several weeks.

My goal for the coming year and beyond is to ensure that I have enough resources to generate school fees for my children. I am confident that rearing livestock is the surest chance I have of raising money to support the education of my kids. Currently, I have four goats which I secured through previous transfers. My goal is to buy more and increase the herd to at least ten by the end of the year. 

Receiving cash transfers has transformed my family for the better and I could never be more grateful. Courtesy of the money, my six children nowadays stay in school longer without being pulled out to collect fees. Besides, on most days our table never lacks food as compared to before the cash transfers. Although my husband has been struggling to raise enough cash through his business of making and selling knives, am glad that our basic needs are partly covered by the money from Give Directly. Recently, I spent $22 to buy school uniforms for two of my children who were joining Junior secondary school and spent $9 on food. I also saved $3 through a self-help group, which I can later withdraw the money from to cover tuition fees for my children. In January, I covered a $30 school fee debt that had cost my six children few classes; am glad the case has never repeated itself to date. 

Before the launch of GiveDirectly's program, we had a lot of challenges. Missing meals and having children stay at home due to a lack of fees were rampant. However, I can attest that GiveDirectly has done well in sending us direct cash transfers with no strings attached. As a result, several people have prioritized how they spend their money. We have mostly spent it on food and school fees for our children. It is a big relief to us at this time. On the contrary, there is nothing GiveDirectly does not do well.

I prioritized purchasing a young goat for $14 as soon as I received my recent transfer. I only had two goats at the time, despite my desire to keep more livestock. I am glad I have three goats right now. Because I am unemployed, I make charcoal for sale while my husband works on house construction jobs, which are always rare to get. As a result, my family of eight members has difficulty obtaining food and attending school. As a result, I spent the remainder of the transfer, $10 on fees and $6 on maize flour, ensuring that we had enough food for a week.

It was past nine in the evening when I was awoken by a message notification. I was hesitant to check on the message because I had a long day that got me exhausted. Upon checking it, I was shocked to get Mpesa notification of the receipt of the first transfer. That was one of the happiest moments of my life. My night was made and I thanked both God and GiveDirectly for the blessing.

I have young children who require proper nutrition for their growth. Our poor family background could not allow us to provide them with nutritious food. Skipping meals and in most cases, eating non-nutritious food to fill their tummies has been the norm. I am glad through the transfer, we have been able to afford nutritious meals. We relied on my spouse who does construction work but it is not reliable and whatever he earns can not sustain our needs. I believe that moving forward, we shall be able to provide them with a balanced diet and their health will improve.

I bought food worth KES 970 enough to sustain my family for some period before budgeting for more while the remaining KES 200 I spent on a chicken for rearing. I settled for a chicken because we did not have any, yet they are of help whenever an urgent need arises. Besides, chickens reproduce faster and have ready markets and thus, I will invest in more of them whenever I receive my transfers. My husband struggles to meet our family’s needs and so the income from them will be a boost to his construction work.