At the moment, I have three children in different Universities and have always struggled to settle their school fees. I am grateful for the huge support from GiveDirectly that cleared at least a semester for each of the three. I am still working hard to ensure that I meet their timelines in payment, and all my concentration at the moment is raising more money before the new semester starts. I don't have a new goal but working hard on this recurring course until they are done.

In my opinion, everyone worked hard to transform their household's living standard after receiving the transfers from GiveDirectly. Many constructed new houses that have really changed the village outlook and this is fully attributed to the freedom that we were given on spending decisions. Sending money directly into everyone's account was also a great idea as it minimized losses and conflicts that would have been witnessed between the recipients and the authorities. I am thankful and like any other person who received the transfers from GiveDirectly have no complaints at all.

Livestock farming has proven to be the easiest and most rewarding investment in our community for a long time. In every household that receives the transfers, you will hardly find one that never considered buying at least a heifer. Even though I had a prolific dairy cow that has been providing us with enough milk for my household use, I also spent KES 15000 on adding another heifer to the herd. I am looking forward to more milk production in the future that I will in turn sell to earn some income. I also equipped the new house that I had constructed with part of the first transfer with new pieces of furniture worth KES23000. The seats in the house are very comfortable with a finely designed cupboard used in storing utensils. I spent the remaining KES 16000 on settling the pending arrears for my son and daughter in the university to make them comfortable as they prepare for their end-of-semester examinations. I feel relieved at the moment knowing that the pressure I had on the school fees timelines has been lifted.

It was still early in the morning when I had just woken up when I received a life-changing opportunity from GiveDirectly. Upon reading the Mpesa message, I became so happy and thanked God and GiveDirectly for sending the cash at the moment when I needed it most. I called out my spouse, informed her about the good news and that we were not going to take a loan to use in paying school fees for our daughter anymore.

Financial constraints have been my biggest challenge as I am a subsistence farmer. I mostly rely on the money I get after selling my farm produce and from supplying milk to the nearest cooler plant. This is usually not enough to meet our daily basic needs and to pay school fees for my children on time. Recently, I was in a dilemma on whom I would request to lend me some money to use in paying school fees for my daughter who was joining university and I am grateful to GiveDirectly for making this a success. Being able to achieve this without taking a loan or selling any of my assets is the biggest difference in my daily life.

I have a daughter who was joining university to further her studies and my transfer came in handy as I was able to spend KES 32000 to pay for her school fees and to buy some items that were needed. Also, I spent KES 15000 to purchase a heifer as a way of investing this money. When it reproduces, I will be selling milk and use the money that I will get to meet our basic needs and to pay school fees for my children. Using the remaining KES 7000, I bought a cupboard after topping up KES 3000. I decided on this so that my spouse will always have a safe and secure place to use in keeping her utensils to avoid them from breaking.