First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude for the transfer and my conviction that I will gain more as a result. My daughter finished her basic education last year and will start secondary school in one month. We would not have been able to send her to secondary school if it weren't for the organization, and we had no plans to do so. In exchange for a tiny charge, my husband, who is the primary breadwinner, assists others by carrying their baggage. He works in the city, therefore the rent on his home is covered by part of the same income.To increase our revenue, I burn charcoal on the other side. Most of the time, our earnings is insufficient to cover a full day's worth of meals. Going ahead, I will utilize all of my upcoming transfers to pay for our daughter's educational fees while using other funds to cover everyday living needs. One of the biggest things a parent can give their child is education, and we will be pleased parents to see our child follow her dreams

My family had made it a culture to buy new sets of clothes during every Christmas festive season. At first, I only bought a pair of trousers for my only son, Anderson, while my girls had none because I had insufficient cash. As soon I received my transfer, I spent $15 on buying new set of clothes for my three daughters; Shamim, Stella, and Loice. They were very excited to have received the Christmas gift. The rest I spent on maize flour, wheat flour, and chicken for the festive celebration. I am indebted to GiveDirectly because, courtesy of the transfers, we had a good Christmas celebration. It helped me a lot since I did not have money. I heavily rely on charcoal making to earn a living, a venture that has low returns, while my husband has no source of income. He only looks for casual jobs that have become rare and hard to get. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for its charity work.

Personally I applaud the project and the programs that the organization has died so far back in the village and this is because they have given us a sense of hope. For instance my children are constantly getting kicked out of school and nutrition was definitely a big challenge. Luckily life has been made much more easier with the money because I can always send my kids back to school and we barely miss meals as much as we did before.

It had actually been a week since my two children had actually attended school because I had failed to settle their tuition debt for the term. Therefore upon realising that I had actually received the transfers I ended up using KES 1,000 on paying school fees for them both. Afterwards I decided to buy two hens which also cost me KES 1,000 because I was planning to invest in poultry farming. I also used KES 400 in seeking medical attention because at the time I was ailing. Lastly I used the remaining KES 600 by purchasing six packets maize flour because there was barely any food in the house.

At 3 pm, my daughter handed me my phone which had been charging all day long. Immediately after I powered on my phone, I received a text message. I was taken aback when I realized I had received my first transfer after reading the message. For a moment I stopped cooking the late lunch and started ululating at the top of my voice. I called my husband and shared the good news with him. He was very happy too.

The money from the transfer made an enormous impact on the eldest life by helping her go back to school. I was struggling to get money to pay and get her back to school. I am glad she is back in school and learning well, with no interruptions.

Both my husband and I are casual laborers and earn a living through the sale of charcoal. I sell charcoal locally, whereas my husband sells charcoal in Mombasa. We have both struggled to sell charcoal to our customers in the past few months because they opt to use cheaper fuel, e.g. firewood. Tough rules against cutting trees from the forest have collapsed the business too. Because of this, we have earned no income to pay our bills (buying food and paying school fees). Therefore, when I received my first transfer of KES 1200, I paid school fees arrears of KES 500 for my elder daughter who is in primary school to go back to school after spending an entire week at home without going to school. In addition, I bought two hens at KES 500 for future investment. Once they multiply, I will sell some and use the money to take care of my most pressing needs.