Previously I could struggle to pay school fees for my three children who are in secondary school and buy food for my family at the same time. I had no job and depended on farming which is seasonal and sometimes affected by droughts. I spent part of my first transfer and started a business of purchasing milk from my neighbours and selling it at a nearby town at a fair price. Through this business, I have been able to earn profit which I can spend on food for my family and save some to pay school fees for my children. This business acts as an extra source of income alongside farming. Being able to meet my family basic needs without strain or worry is the change I have seen in my life, and honestly were it not for GiveDirectly, I could have never realized this.

GiveDirectly operations are transparent. I have seen that all those who were enrolled and promised some transfers received on time as it was communicated. What GD is not doing well is that they give out the same amount of money to every household in a selected village. I would recommend that GiveDirectly should give transfers in relation to what recipient intend to spend on.GiveDirectly should give different amounts depending on someone's needs. Those with most needs to be given more than those with fewer needs.

I spent KES 24000 to pay school fees for my three children who are in secondary school. I had a huge fee balance which I had not cleared and I spent part of the money on paying for their school fees. I also bought two heifers at KES 20000 for rearing. I believe that when they mature they will produce milk which I will sell to earn money for supporting my family. The remaining amount KES 8800 I spent to buy maize for consumption and other foodstuff like sugar, cooking oil and tea leaves.

I have been depending on dairy farming as a source of income for a very long time. I was forced to do some casual work at times when I do not have enough money to use in paying my children's school fees. I am glad that I no longer do them since I was able to pay all their first terms fees with my transfers. Because of this, I have started concentrating more on my dairy farming project unlike before and this has made my income to increase.

It was around 7 am in the morning in the morning when I received two message notifications. At first, I thought it was Safaricom promotional messages and I wanted to delete without reading them. After opening my message application on my phone, I realized that the messages ware from GD. After reading its contents, I became so happy as it indicated that I had received the money I had anxiously waiting for. I then whispered a word of prayer to thank God for His blessings upon my family.

When I received my first transfers, I spared some amount and used them to pay school fees for my children who are in high school. I did not want the pressure of looking for money to use in paying their fees to overwhelm me when the school opens. I used the remaining amount in buying some timber, barbed wire and nails which I used in fencing my farm where I have planted my animal feeds. Some timber remained which I am planning to use them in constructing a cowshed.