Yes, I have new goals that I did not have before which was to purchase dairy cows. I have been wining to have them because they have so many benefits. Since my children are still in secondary schools, I was hoping that having the cows will empower me to pay their fees with ease especially once they transition to universities. This will be after selling the milk.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly is one of the best organizations that I have ever come across. All the stages are fairly conducted, especially during the registration period. Every needy household was enrolled without any discrimination. Therefore I do not see any sector that deserves change.

I spent part of my second transfer on buying bedding such as a mattress at KES 4300. I have been sleeping on some old mats for years which was uncomfortable and caused me back pains. I now feel relieved because I sleep in a better place with lots of comforts. Also, I cleared schools fees of KES 24000 for my two sons who are in secondary schools. It has been stressing me for a long because they have always been at home. In addition, I bought a water tank of 240 liters at KES 2200. I can now comfortably harvest and store water for my domestic usage. Also, I bought iron roofs at KES 12000 and a labor charge of KES 3000. I had the desire to renovate my current house which had an old roof. With the remaining amount of money, I bought foodstuffs for my family.

While baking some chapatti for sale at around 5am, I heard my phone ringing. It was unusual thing getting messages at that time but I didn’t hesitate to check. My eyes protruded after seeing the money message from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy that I was energized and in a hurry I completed frying my chapattis and I left for sale. I usually go door-to-door selling and luckily those chapattis were bought in good time and I returned back home.

Sleeping hungry was not a strange thing to my family. My children were used to that, once they don’t see any signs that cooking was going to take place they just go to bed knowing that their mother was stranded. But since the day we received the transfer from GiveDirectly, we haven’t slept hungry. In fact I did some sopping for them and we have enough maize and wheat flour in our house. Sometimes we even take tea in the morning instead of porridge.

Upon receiving the money, the first thought that came to my mind was my 2 secondary school boys who have been in and out of school due to school fees. Initially I used to fill bursary forms for them which weren’t a guarantee for them to get the funds. At a time, I remember taking my goats to the school to be converted for money so that my children are retained in school. For me to have peace of mind and also for them to perform well, I took KES 16000.00 and paid the arrears plus the current school fees that was needed; KES 8000.00 each. Also looking at the status of the roofing of my house which was full of holes because the iron sheets were worn-out, I bought 10 pieces of iron sheets for KES 10500.00 fearing that my living state will be pathetic during the rainy season if I won’t work on the roof now. Having been sleeping on sacks and torn mats for a while I decided to buy a mattress for KES 4000.00. I also bought a water tank with a capacity of 240 liters for KES 2000.00. I saved the small amount that left for my family upkeep.