"Previously, I had a plan to start a dried fish-selling business, and I did venture into it. However, after a few months, I realized that I was not making much progress with the business, so I had to stop it and take another course. My plan for this year and beyond is to continue saving a portion of my transfers in a merry-go-round group. When I receive the pooled funds, I plan to use them to buy more livestock, especially goats and some chickens. I hope that these animals will increase in number and value so that, in the future, I can trade them for cows, particularly for milk. The milk will be for my household consumption, providing nutrition for my family, and any surplus can be sold. These milk cows will also multiply and increase in number and value. I plan to sell the cows in the future to support my family. This livestock investment strategy is my new focus, as I believe it will be more successful and sustainable than the dried fish business I previously attempted."

"The recent flash floods that invaded our village brought a lot of destruction to my family I lost my 1 acre piece of land which I planted Maize like one months before the floods all the plants was swept away, my poultry business was brought down because all the chicken died and some were swept away by the floods my house was also destroyed iam now living in a small mud wall house with my family due to lack of finance to renovate the other house. I am now struggling to cater for my family of 7 single handedly depending on casual labour and charcoal burning which is very uncertain because the wages are not enough for my family."

"My goal is to acquire goats. Currently, I don't have any goats, but I believe saving through my merry-go-round will help me purchase one. I also have ten chickens, and I can sell them once they multiply to raise funds for a goat. Investing in goats seems wise to me because they multiply easily, providing a reliable source of income that I can use to support my children."

"I am a mother of five children, and my greatest joy is seeing them prosper and achieve their goals in life. From the recent transfer, I allocated $20 to clear their tuition fees, ensuring their education continues uninterrupted. I made strategic investments in purchasing a goat for $50, believing in their ability to multiply and provide a stable income during challenges. Additionally, I invested $23 in four chickens, considering their potential to multiply and be exchanged for goats in the future. With the remaining amount, I allocated $9 to purchase food for my family, ensuring they do not go hungry. These investments and provisions are part of my efforts to secure a better future for my children and myself."

"These transfers came in at a time when we needed them the most, as they arrived when I was at the hospital with my daughter-in-law, who was unwell. She had stomach complications and had undergone surgery to rectify the issue. I therefore used $68 to clear the hospital bill, and I am happy that we were discharged, and she is now progressing well, although not fully healed yet. Additionally, I have been saving in our local savings group for livestock farming, and therefore, I saved $10 of my recent transfers so that when it matures, I may be able to use the money to buy goats, hoping they multiply and increase in number and value, and sell them in the future when in need. Still on livestock, I spent another $10 to buy chicken, hoping that they too will multiply and increase in number and value, and I can sell them to buy more goats. Also, to ensure that we did not go hungry, I spent $10 to buy food for my family to stay healthy. Finally, I spent the remaining $4 to buy soap for cleaning ourselves and maintaining hygiene and neatness."

"My house is in a very poor state where the roofing is made of nylon covers, and this is really depressing. I want to improve the roofing from nylon to iron sheets. My plan is therefore to keep saving my transfers in a merry-go-round savings group where we pool funds together so that when it is my turn, I may use the pooled funds to buy the iron sheets and give my house better roofing. Having a better-roofed house will make me very happy, and I am hopeful that this will come true. In addition to improving my home's roofing, I also plan to keep using part of my transfers to buy more chickens and, if possible, goats with hopes that they will multiply and increase in number, and I can then sell them and use the proceeds to buy small cows. These cows will be a great source of income in the future, as once they grow and increase in size and value, I can sell them and use the money to provide for my family."

"I have always wanted to have something sustainable to take care of my family's and my children's education, especially when this project comes to an end. I therefore ventured into livestock farming and used $55 of my recent transfers from GiveDirectly to buy goats and $20 to buy chickens. As I was buying these animals, I had great hopes of them multiplying and increasing in number and value, thereby providing us with some income in the future. Additionally, I have five school-going children, and to ensure that they attend school and continue with their studies, I paid $8 for school fees and bought them uniforms for $12 because their old ones were worn out and not presentable. Finally, I spent the remaining $7 to buy food for my family, supplementing what we already had. I am happy and grateful for the assistance from GiveDirectly that has given us a chance to secure our future."

"I am able to keep my children in school thanks to Givedirectly. My transfers have played a key role in paying school fees for my 5 school going children. I have one child in secondary school and four in primary school. The secondary school fees is about $150 annually while the younger ones require about $100 annually. This is a burden that I would have been unable to bear had it not been for the transfers. I spent $50 paying school fees for my children. I have also been able to make some small savings to cover them incase they get chased from school at $30. I bought a chicken at $6 and used some money to buy food at $14."

"Having an emergency fund is my goal. I cannot do this by any other means but through the purchase of animals I hope to buy and breed goats and chicken until I have enough goats to sell and buy a cow. I want a dairy cow which can be milked for milk to sell and consume but also can give birth to more cow. This was I build my emergency fund and do not need to depend on handouts or loans for basic needs."

"My personal goal is increase my animal. I have 3 chicken and 2 goats which I purchased using my transfers. Having animals changes my finances completely. I sell charcoal, this means I go into the bush to look for tree stumps, dig them out and the burn them, Most times its difficult to have sufficient charcoal to fill a sack. My plan is to start breeding the animals for sell. This way I can focus on increasing their numbers so that we are able to sell them for money."