It has been a long since my region was blessed with enough rain to sustain crop farming. The persistent drought has impaired crucial activities that could have allowed me to produce food in my field. As a result, the only way my family can survive is by buying food, which is expensive. I wish and pray for the rains to commence in the next year for my family to cultivate enough food and water. At least this will allow me to spend any money I earn on other things, like school fees. 

In order to provide for my wife and ten children, I make and sell charcoal for an income. However, the scant earnings from this practice can only secure food and nothing beyond that. As a result, sometimes am in debt for my children's tuition fees at their schools. Spending Give Directly’s cash transfers on school fees is something that I have been deliberate about over the last three months. From the latest three cash, I directed a total of $82 towards clearing the fee balances of my two sons. I am relieved to have settled that, which has freed my mind to concentrate on other things. The remaining funds, amounting to $20, went toward food to ensure the household had enough meals as I sought more money. 

I spent the whole of my recent cash transfer on paying school fees for my two children who are in primary school. This has been the hardest challenge for me considering that I have a family of eight who has been depending on me. It hasn't been easy at will because I have been earning very low profits from the charcoal business. Therefore my children have always been at home almost every moment which has been affecting them academically and psychologically. I feel relieved now because the monthly cash transfer will empower me enough to settle their arrears timely.

Over the last few months the cost of living has gone inconsiderably high which has extremely impacted us negatively since we could barely sustain ourselves prior to changes.Not forgetting the ongoing drought which has not made less difficult but worse since we have any harvest. So as soon as the funds arrived, I used KES 2,000 and purchased four packets of maize flour and two kilograms of beans that would allow my family and I to have a meal. Then I used the balance which was KES 1,000 and paid school fees for my three children because they were literally on the verge of being kicked out of school.

Now that I have received the funds, I am financially empowered, and this has opened my mind to stop the destruction of the environment in the name of earning a living. This is something that I credit to GiveDirectly and soon our problems will be over when the weather is favorable for us.

With no permanent job, I have had to depend on casual jobs for survival. I currently cut down trees, burn the logs, make charcoal and sell to potential buyers. The little I earn from the sale of charcoal is very little and is only enough to buy food for the family for few days. They all depend on me for their school. The eldest is currently in form three and requires money for rent, food upkeep and school fees. The rest are in primary school and they also need stationeries to facilitate their learning. For a long period now, I have been struggling to provide for them what they need. Upon receiving my second transfer, I spent KSH 1000 on my eldest son to pay rent and also buy food while in school. I also spent KSH 1000 to pay school fees balances for my two children who are in primary school class 8 and 6, respectively. I also bought some examination essential materials for my son who is about to sit for his final exam. Finally, I spent the remaining KSH 1000 to buy food for the entire family because we had any left in the house.

When the transfer came in, I was doing my usual routine, which is, cutting down trees for charcoal manufacturing. . So, I finished what I was doing and went to pay my children's school fee arrears since they had been sent home from school due to it. Receiving it made me feel blessed as I had no idea where I would get the money from.

There's not much difference I have noted so far since this is my first transfer. Even so, I can at least say My debts have been reduced, I am more at ease and I can work better.

I am a father of seven children, two of whom are yet to join school. In my charcoal manufacturing business, I only make KES1,200 bi-weekly. This has helped me in providing for my family. Even so, I have been struggling with school fee payments for my five children. Before the transfer came in, I had arrears of KES700 so I used KES600 from the transfer to reduce the arrears. The other KES600 I used to buy five packets of maize flour