"Illiteracy contributes greatly to poverty in the society because uneducated people often do not have stable sources of income. I would not want my children to languish in poverty and my biggest ambition is to educate them for a better future. In order to achieve my ambition, I will reopen a shop business that I used to run earlier before it collapsed due to insufficient funds. I will also purchase oxen which I will not only use to scale up farming but also hire them at a fee. This will enable me to attain a stable income that will finance my children's education besides meeting other needs such as food, clothing and healthcare."

"Currently, the biggest difference in my daily life is that I have been able to save money for my children's education. Therefore I pay school fees for my children on time unlike before where they could be sent home to collect school fees and this was affecting their performance."

"The transfer came at a time when I was troubled as a parent who wishes the best for her children in excelling in their education. Seeing the notification early in the morning brought much happiness and I rejoiced with my son when I realised that the message had some good news for us all, for the money I have been anxiously waiting for had finally been sent. I now felt peaceful and thankful in my heart for financial support from GiveDirectly, for my son would soon join college."

"I got married in 1974 and at that time my husband was a drunkard.I have lived with him in this condition for all those years until four years ago when he stopped taking alcohol.His behaviour cost us a lot moreso the education of our children.I have eight children and five of them could not join secondary school because my husband was not responsible enough to cater for the basic needs as well as their education.For all those years he left me a burden of trying to satisfy the basic needs of the family alone.I could not raise enough money for school fees.I thank God that he quit alcohol and the difference can now be felt.My last three children joined secondary school and my last born is now in form three."

"On receiving my first transfer, I bought two bulls and two goats. It has always been my desire to own livestock in my life but because I had no money, I could not acquire them. To me, this is a good investment in the area and I will keep them as my own assets and which I will be able to sell at a profit in the near future. Through them also I will be able to meet my financial needs like school fees for my children's education and other basic needs for my family. I am expecting the goats to increase in number and have many of them in my herd. On the remaining amount, I did shopping for my family on clothing and other basic necessities for my family for this was a good moment to have food that will be lasting longer for the family's consumption. I spent the remaining amount of the transfer to buy two bulls and two goats, which I am hoping they will increase in number and be"

"I spent part of my transfer to buy seven goats that I can rear and keep as my assets. Apart from them being my assets, I know through them my children's education will be catered for in the future and in cases of financial constraints, then I will be able to sell some so as to get out of such crisis. In addition to the goats, I also bought a new bed and a mattress for my children since they were sleeping on old mats spread on the floor. I was not capable of improving their bedding but I am satisfied that they now enjoy a healthy and comfortable sleep. I paid a portion of the transfer to cater for my children's school arrears and now they are happily staying in school. They are no longer being sent home for school fees. On the remaining portion of the transfer, I bought enough food and clothing to cater for the basic necessities for my family."

"I have been using handy farming tools that were tiresome and inefficient and through them, I could only manage to till a small piece of my land. To achieve a bigger piece then I would hire from neighbours which were costly for me. Through the transfer, I bought a pair of oxen that would boost my farming since with them I will be able to increase my acreage and manage early and timely cultivation and planting. I also bought seven goats which to me, is the biggest investment that I have acquired and I am hopeful that they will increase in number and some years to come I will be having many of them. Through them, my children's education will be catered for. I also used a small percentage to pay for my children's school fees in order for them to be allowed in school and continue with their studies comfortably. I spent the rest of the transfer on food and for the basic necessities for my family."

"I had a huge school fee arrears for my children in high school and one who is in college and because my financial status was no that good, I was unable to clear the fees for all of them. On receiving the transfer, I paid a portion for each of them in to reduce their arrears. I am happy that GiveDirectly has at least relieved me the burden of some costs. I also bought a sewing machine for my grand-daughter who had gone through a polytechnic in tailoring skills but because finances were not enough she could not acquire her own machine but instead hired our neighbour's. Now she has her own machine and operating her own shop and earning a good income. I also bought five goats to keep as assets and for security for my children's future education since they will be reproducing and increasing in number some years to come as my children will be progressing in their education. I also acquired a solar panel on hire purchase terms and spent part of the transfer to pay for the deposit and some months' instalments in advance. The solar helps in lighting my household and also charging my mobile phone and other peoples phones at a small fee, which is a source of income to me."

"I expect my life to change in the next six months in that, I will have started saving towards my child's education. Saving for me has been difficult but with the assuarity of the monthly payment, I am certain that I will manage to achieve this goal. This will change my life because I will see the dream of taking my child to high school becoming a reality."

"Receiving this money is an assurance that my children will be able to continue with their education.I am a widow without any stable source of income and for a long period of time,I have really been struggling with getting money to educate My children.I am very passionate about education because I have seen how the educated children of my friends have thrived in life after completing school and getting good jobs and I want the same for my children.With this money, I plan to start a general shop within our local market to generate for me enough income so that I can afford paying for my sons driving course and my daughter's secondary education."