As I sat at a burial in the nearby village, I felt anxious after hearing some people say they received cash from GiveDirectly. I had left my phone at home, and I couldn't stop thinking about whether I had gotten the money too. After the burial, I walked straight home, and on my way, I heard neighbors excitedly talking about the cash. When I got home, I quickly checked my phone and was overjoyed to see that I had received the money as well! I ran outside to tell my neighbors, and we all celebrated together. At that moment, I knew my daughter would finally get her secondary school certificate.

For eight years, I felt completely helpless as a mother, watching my daughter unhappy. She couldn’t collect her secondary school certificate because of $150 in unpaid school fees, and it pained me deeply to see her miss out on both college and job opportunities that required that certificate. I tried everything I could. I engaged in crop production to raise the money, but it only led me deeper into debt as I kept losing crops to drought. This year, when the rains finally came, I had a glimmer of hope, but then the floods hit, wiping out all my maize crops on an acre of land. I truly believe God answered my prayers through GiveDirectly. When I received my first transfer, I cleared my daughter’s arrears, and now she has her certificate and is happy. And because of that, I am finally at peace. Thank you, GiveDirectly, for restoring hope in my home.

My daughter finished high school eight years ago, but she had never picked up her KCSE certificate because we owed $150 in school fees. We had reduced the debt from $180 to $150, but clearing the arrears was challenging since I rely on crop farming, which can be unreliable during the dry season when water is scarce. For many years, we lost our crops, leading to debt accumulation because I had to take loans to cover production costs. This year seemed promising with the rains, and I planted maize on my half-acre land, but unfortunately, I lost all the crops to floods. When I received my first GiveDirectly transfer, it restored my hope, and I decided to pay off the $150 debt to finally get my daughter her certificate. For eight years, her dream was shattered; she couldn't join college or take advantage of other opportunities that required a secondary school certificate, which was heartbreaking for me as a mom. Seeing her receive that certificate brought her so much joy, and she is now planning to look for job opportunities, although I am unsure if she still wants to join college after such a long delay. I also spent $30 on food, especially maize, since we hadn’t harvested anything. Lastly, I took the remaining amount to church to thank God for this blessing, as I had been praying for so long; just when I thought my prayers wouldn’t be answered, God came through for us through GiveDirectly.