My heart was broken when my two children dropped out of college due to a lack of money for their tuition fees. Would I have afforded these fees, they would still be in school as we speak. This is why am motivated to start a small kiosk business of selling sardines and other fast-moving goods. I believe the earnings will allow me to support my children’s education and cover other household needs like food. 

The most significant job that Give Directly does is giving aid in the form of cash, as this can solve a wide range of problems. Honestly, the money saved me from hardships that I never thought would be possible to alleviate. Even though my children dropped out of college, at least the cash transfers allowed them to set foot in college and kept them there for a few months. My only wish is for the transfers to come back and help them get back to class. My husband and I have hit a rock bottom in raising their school fees. 

The cash transfer helped me to enroll my two children in college who had just completed their high school studies. For his admission to carpentry school, I paid $40 for my son. I spent $35 on my daughter who was joining a hairdressing college. Then, I bought them two mattresses and two school bags for them and spent $84. From the time they joined college to December last year, I would send each $10 for their school fees. Am sad that the money was depleted before they could graduate, which made them drop out of college by December. My husband, who is our breadwinner, has had challenges in raising money to take them back to school. Also, I used the remaining funds to buy food for the family. I can attest that the last months of 2022 were the happiest in our lives because our household never lacked food. 

I was at home preparing dinner for my family at around 7 pm. I was with my family members my 2 kids and my spouse at home. I was intending to call my daughter who was away to know how she has been. I handed over my phone to the helper to search for her number, he notified me that there is a mpesa message on my phone. After verifying it, he informed me that I had received my transfer. It was such a great moment in our life for obtaining aid. We rejoiced and thanked GiveDirectly for honoring their promises by sending us the cash transfer.

Owning comfortable beddings after purchasing mattresses with the help of my transfer is the biggest difference in my life. We are currently enjoying our nights unlike before when we could frequently complain of pains all over our bodies due to the hard surfaces. In addition, I am no longer afraid of getting visitors since I have enough proper beddings for them something that has restored my confidence.

I had a huge fee balance for my children who were always staying at home due to fee arrears. I spent KES 2500 to complete their fee balance for my two boys. They were in class 8 and at the moment they had completed their primary education and are ready to join secondary education next month. I also bought 3 mattresses for KES 9500 for the family. Previously, we were sleeping on the floor using sacks as our beddings that were very hard and uncomfortable. I also bought 15 bags of cement which I am currently using to renovate my house by putting up strong pillars to make it more durable since it was collapsing. I used the remaining amount to purchase enough food for the family of 5 members because we are encountering famine in our area at the moment.