We used to live a happy life with my family until three months ago when everything took a different turn. My husband who is the sole breadwinner of the family had gone for a casual job to earn a living for the family. This turned out to be tragic, he was lifting a 90 kg bag of maize to a lorry when he felt a sharp pain on his back and paralyzed him. He was rushed to Marigat for medical attention where he was diagnosed with blood cloth in the vein. He was later referred to Eldoret for specialized treatment. He was required to have KES 250,000 for treatment. It is unfortunate that we were not able to raise that amount of money and we decided to come back home. I am now struggling financially to provide for my family and put food on the table. I am also feeling sad when I see my husband in pain and his health worsen each and every day.

We made the decision to try our luck into butternut farming in January. Butternut farming is lucrative but involves a lot of risk. Our biggest fear was making a loss, happily we had a bumper harvest and it earned us KES 120000 which was huge. We bought a 5000 liter plastic water tank which helped us harvest rain water.

One week ago a violent wind blew off our kitchen, I am using open air to cook food for my family. I am planning to build another kitchen and this will cost me KES 15000 of my first transfers from GiveDirectly. We are required to raise KES 200,000 for my husband to receive his specialized treatment. I will set aside KES 70,000 for his treatment. I am now left to work hard and provide for the family, I intend to invest KES 20,000. I will start a kiosk in the village as it will help me earn money and support my family of eight.