"My greatest accomplishment will be building a new, spacious house for my family. With the monthly savings I am setting aside from a portion of my transfers, along with the ones I will continue to save from future transfers, I am optimistic that I will achieve this goal. God willing, by March next year, I hope to have my house in place. This goal holds immense significance for me because I have long desired to provide a larger and more comfortable home for my family, but financial constraints have always been a major obstacle. In addition to my housing goal, I run a kiosk where I sell household consumables. My plan is to invest a portion of my future transfers into my business so that it can grow and better support my family’s needs. Once the house is complete, I also intend to save more of my transfers to buy bulls that I can use to plow my farm. Currently, I rely on manual labor, which is very exhausting. Additionally, I plan to hire out the bulls to earn extra income that will further support my family. I am extremely grateful for the financial support I have received so far, as it has played a crucial role in transforming my life and bringing me closer to realizing this dream."

"I currently live in a small one-room house with my children, and my plan is to use the transfers I receive to gradually buy building materials until I have enough to construct a two-room house that can comfortably accommodate us. This new house will fulfill my long-time dream and bring me immense happiness. In addition to building our new home, I plan to continue saving a portion of my transfers. Once I have pooled enough funds, I intend to buy goats. I hope these goats will multiply, providing a valuable resource for the future. By selling them, I will be able to fund my children's education, especially as they transition to higher levels of schooling, which can be quite costly. I am excited about setting up this valuable asset that I can rely on, especially when this program comes to an end."

"Owning a large piece of land that I can call my own has always been my ultimate goal. To achieve this, I have been saving a portion of my transfers in our savings group. Once my funds mature, I plan to use them to buy small female cows. My hope is that these cows will grow, multiply, and increase in number, allowing me to sell some of them in the future to finance the purchase of the land I’ve always wanted. Having my own land will provide my family with security, unlike our current situation where we live on family-owned land. This dream brings me immense joy. In addition to this goal, I have been working on building a three-room house for my family, and I am pleased to see it progressing well. I only have the roofing left to complete, and I am hopeful that by the end of this year, my house will be finished. My plan is to continue using a portion of my transfers to buy the remaining materials needed for the house. I am excited for the day my family moves into our new home, as it has been a long-held dream of mine."

"With my children in school, my top priority is to ensure they continue their education so they can achieve their dreams. To support this goal, I plan to use a portion of my transfers to pay their school fees while also establishing a reliable asset that will help cover their educational expenses as they advance to higher levels. I have always envisioned this asset to be a livestock venture. My plan is to continue saving a portion of my transfers to buy more goats and chicken, with the hope that they will multiply and increase in both number and value. Eventually, I aim to trade some of these livestock for female cows, which will also reproduce. This way, I can rely on my livestock to support my children's education as they progress through school into higher education levels. I am truly grateful for the support that GiveDirectly has provided us. It is helping us realize that a better life is possible, even in our current living conditions."

"I currently work as a motorcycle taxi operator, but I don’t own my own motorcycle. Owning one has always been a dream of mine, as it would allow me to be self-employed. I am determined to make this dream a reality, even if I have to buy a second-hand motorcycle. To achieve this, I have been saving a portion of my transfers in our local savings group. My plan is to continue saving a portion of my future transfers until I can use them to purchase a motorcycle. This will enable me to manage my work more effectively and provide better support for my family. Once I have acquired the motorcycle, I intend to keep saving a portion of my transfers to invest in goats. My hope is that they will multiply, increasing in number and value. In the future, I plan to sell them to help fund my children’s education and create a safety net for emergencies, as I currently rely on my motorcycle taxi earnings to meet our daily needs. I am truly grateful for everything that GiveDirectly has done for me, and I am optimistic about the future that lies ahead."

"To improve and reduce the costs of farming on my farm, especially on land preparation, I opted to buy my own bulls so that I would not be required to hire from other people anymore, therefore cutting down the costs. To make this wish a reality, I took out a $300 loan from our local savings group to purchase a bull, which I plan to use for plowing my farm. My goal is to pay off this loan, and I intend to allocate a portion of my monthly transfers towards settling the loan, ensuring that I am debt-free by November this year. Once I have cleared the loan, I plan to take out another loan from my savings group to buy a piece of land along the road. My vision is to build rental houses in future on this land, which will provide me with a reliable source of income. This income will help support my family and cover my children's education, especially once this program comes to an end. I am happy and optimistic about the future that lies ahead for me and my family. I truly believe that a brighter and better future awaits us, and for this opportunity, I am grateful to GiveDirectly."

"I work as a conductor in Mtwapa, and I have hopes of investing in goats. To reach this goal, I set aside part of my transfers to buy goats, although not consistently every month. Currently, I own four goats, and my plan is to grow their numbers through breeding while also purchasing more. Ultimately, I aim to trade these goats for cows. My goal is to buy both ploughing bulls and a dairy cow. The bulls will be essential for preparing my land for agricultural activities like cultivation, and I also plan to rent them out to others for a fee. This will allow me to generate income for my family. The money earned from renting the cows will gradually accumulate, making it easier for me to pay my children’s school fees and meet other basic needs. I’m truly grateful to GiveDirectly for their financial support, as it has given me hope for a better future."

"I have two children who will soon be starting school, as they are approaching the age for enrollment. This is part of my plans for the upcoming year and beyond. To help pay for their school fees, I am saving $10 from my monthly transfer. I initially considered investing in livestock and bought three cows with my savings, but I changed my mind because our house is in poor condition; the walls have weakened from recent heavy rains. My spouse and I decided to sell two of the cows and use the money to buy twelve iron sheets. This has become our new plan. I’m also saving in our merry-go-round group, which will allow me to gradually purchase building materials until we have everything needed to start the construction. My spouse is supporting this effort by contributing his small income from daily work. As we prepare to build a new house, we plan to make it larger with three rooms instead of the current two. A bigger space will comfortably accommodate my family and provide a living room for our visitors to sit comfortably."

"Life is unbearable in our area, the weather is extremely hot and dry. We cannot farm our land and produce food for our families. I depend on food from the market to feed my family of nine. This makes our cost of living high, my struggle does not end there. I do not have a stable source of income, I rely on charcoal burning and honey harvesting to put food on the table for my loved ones. My daughter Phyllis is a first year student in Chuka University pursuing an undergraduate degree in Education. I am happy that my daughter will have a colorful life after her studies, my happiness is short-lived. I'm struggling to enjoy my sleep at night, I am worried about how to pay off my school fee arrears for my daughter and two children in Patkawanin and Kipcherere secondary school."

"In March 2024, my family and I fled our homeland Kosile due to insecurity. We settled here at Chebarisiat village courtesy of a well wisher who gave us a house to live in . It has been difficult to provide food for my family of six as we often depend on my husband Samwel , who is a goats trader to earn a living. At Chebarisiat, we pay KES500 monthly to the well wisher as a token of appreciation. Even though Kosile is productive, I am afraid I cannot go back there because of constant insecurities."