I am a widow and despite my status and low financial capability, it has always been my dream to educate my children so that they can achieve their goals in life. With this in mind, I have always struggled in paying their school fees since I do not have a stable source of income. I majorly depend on burning and selling charcoal in our locality aside from farming which has never been reliable due to unpredictable climatic conditions. One of my sons will be joining form one next year. Due to this, I am planning to use GiveDirectly transfers in paying for his school fees. Though this will not be enough since one of my children is in college while another will be in form two, I know that my son who is in college will help me in sorting some of our bills. This is because he usually looks for some work to do during holidays in order to help me with the household bills.

With my recent transfer, I bought a goat worth $ 50, spent $10 to pay for my sons hospital bill since he was sick when the transfer was sent and we had not sought for any medication. Using the remaining $42, I bought some food items that would last my family for some time. I settled to invest on the goat since it increases in number over a short period of time hence they will increase in number quickly. With this investment, I can educate my children without straining so much since I'll be selling either one or two after some time in order to use the proceeds in paying school fees.

In the upcoming year, my primary goal is to acquire a minimum of three goats. The preceding months have presented significant financial challenges, as a substantial portion of my income went towards covering the educational expenses of my three children, who are enrolled in college, secondary school, and primary school, respectively. However, with the current bountiful harvest from our farms, I am excited about the prospect of investing in livestock. I take immense satisfaction in the fact that I can now afford to purchase a bull, which will not only aid in cultivating my land but also serve as a source of additional income through the sale of goats as they multiply.

I have been dealing with a persistent eye condition causing significant pain, which has made it impossible for me to continue working. My doctor strongly advised against engaging in labor-intensive jobs due to the eye pain. To support my family's expenses, such as school fees, groceries, and other essentials, my eldest son has stepped in. In August, I used $10 of the funds I received to purchase medication for my eye to alleviate the pain. Given my health situation and my inability to work, I found myself in a situation where I had to obtain food on credit to ensure my family didn't go hungry. Thankfully, I managed to repay the $10 debt once I received my August transfers. I decided to set aside $10 for the future to buy a goat at the market. Additionally, I used $1 to cover my youngest son's exam fees so he could sit for his end-of-term exams, while the remaining $3 was allocated for purchasing soap and detergent. I am truly grateful for the financial support from the transfers, especially now that I am the sole provider for my family following the passing of my husband.

It is really difficult to be a single mother and have everyone else depend on you. In the process of moving up and down to make ends meet for my family, my leg was injured and I developed a growth in my eyes. This condition is getting worse by the day and it's also painful, limiting me to go to work and make ends meet for my family. Currently my first born child who is in college is the one who works hard and sends us something to keep us going for the month. She is really struggling with studies and at the same time working and it makes me feel pain but I have nothing to do other than just pray to the Almighty God to help me get well. With the amount she sent, I was able to go to the hospital and get my eyes checked and I was given some medication that I was told to use and when I finish and I do not get well, I book for an operation to remove the growth from my eyes. The only thing I hope and pray for is that I can recover and get better so that I can give my children the life they deserve.

When my husband passed on, I was left to take care of my five children. Life has not been easy ever since he left us and I have really struggled hard to make ends meet. Lucky enough, I got a chance and was selected to be part of people who will be benefiting from GiveDirectly's transfers and I was really happy and thanked God for his remembrance. The moment I received my transfers, I spent $20 on paying for my children's school fees and I also gave my child who is in class eight $4 so as to be able to pay her own examination fees. The remaining amount of $10 I was able to buy food and stock it in the house so that for that month we will not lack anything to eat. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for everything, we are where we are today because of your generosity.

I make charcoal to supplement the monthly transfer from GiveDirectly.  I currently have two children in college, another one will soon begin secondary school, and the youngest is in primary school grade 8. Paying their school fees has been challenging, but I am grateful that the charcoal business has always provided me with extra income to help meet some of their obligations. Even though I am currently unproductive due to an eye ailment, I hope to recover in the coming year and double my efforts in charcoal burning to keep my children in school.

Every time I receive cash from Give Directly, I usually budget it to meet the most basic needs like school fees for my children and food. I purpose to do this every month because I cannot actively work to provide for them because there is a painful growth in my left eye that hinders me from seeing or working in that case. Although schools had closed for the holidays when I got the transfer, I saved $14 for three of my children for their tuition when classes resume. I was also relieved to repay a $10 debt at the shop that had been billed for that month when I took food on credit. Doing that put the shopkeeper in a more confident space to assist me whenever am stuck without questioning my repayment ability. Finally, I spent the remaining amount to buy food for the new year so that my children and I would celebrate and make merry. 

I have four children who are currently studying, one is in college, two are in class seven and one is in standard eight. They have become my sole responsibility after their father died last year. Their education is my top priority because it is only through education that one can succeed in life. I have since then dedicated 2000 KES for their school fees whenever I get the transfers to avoid overwhelming balance. I, therefore, used 6000 KES of the last three transfers on their School fees. Thanks to GiveDirectly all the fees arrears for the four are cleared. The remaining 3000 KES we spent on foodstuffs for the family. I developed an eye infection early this year which has since then thwarted me from carrying on with the charcoal business I had before. We have of late been relying on my son who is a priest for most of our needs. I am glad the transfers have been of great support.

In my view, GiveDirectly is good at sending money via Mpesa. This allows recipients to withdraw money whenever they wish, of free will, and save some in Mpesa if they wish so. Furthermore, this has improved our security because no one can tell when we have money in an Mpesa account. GiveDirectly also warns us about how to keep our money safe from fraudsters. Everyone in my village admires GiveDirectly, and they attest that there is nothing this NGO does not do well.

From my most recent transfer, I spent KES 1,000 on buying food. I did not have any food for my family of four on that particular day. We were to go without food because on that day I had no cash at all. In addition, I used KES 2,000 to pay for my daughter's tailoring course. Her fees were accumulating and it was becoming hard to pay fees because whatever income I was getting was not even sufficient to cater to my household's basic needs, (food, and clothing). I am a widow who solely depends on making charcoal to raise money for my family's fundamental requirements, such as paying school fees and purchasing food. Nonetheless, the charcoal-making business is unprofitable since a sack of charcoal costs KES 300. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for coming to my aid when I was at my lowest point in life.

I was just at home doing some house chores, when my son who had my phone came out of the house and told me that I had received an MPESA message of KES 1200. This was surprise that I did not expect on such a day. After finishing with the house duties, I hurriedly went to the nearest agent and withdrew the money.

I am so glad that my son resumed his studies after paying for his tuition fees. This had been one of my greatest worry that he would not be able to continue with his studies, but GiveDirectly came to my rescue and for this I will forever be thankful. I am also happy that since receiving the transfer, we have not lacked something to eat with my kids.

Being a widow with four kids, life has not been easy providing for my family basic needs. I usually sell charcoal and the proceeds that I get from it (KES 300) on a good day are sometimes not enough to cater for everything. On receiving my first transfer of KES 1200, I spend up KES 700 on buying food since we had non in the house. Atleast this major basic need was sorted immediately, thus a confirmation that my kids and I would not sleep hungry. With the remaining KES 500, I paid tuition fee for one of my sons who is in college and had just been sent home due to arrears.