It pains me a lot that I never got a chance to get an education. I pray my children never know such pain. My goal for the transfers that I am still receiving from Givedirectly is to educate my children. I believe when all the 8 of them have gotten a good education and have the ability to depend on themselves then I will get a chance to rest from this hard labour of burning charcoal which has some bad effects even to my own health and allow them to support me in their capacity.

My life has seen a reduction in the struggle I underwent paying school fees for my children since I got enrolled in the Givedirectly program. My husband is a fisherman while, I make and sell charcoal. Our combined income biweekly is approximately $20. This is not sufficient to pay school fees for all our children. Our oldest requires $30 per term to clear her school fees and our income could only cover for her school fees while her other five siblings will be forced out of school which was the case before we started receiving transfers. Now all of them are back in school. $64 from our transfers has been used to pay school fees for our 6 school going children. Last year during the festivities we were able to buy some clothes for four of my youngest at $25 and some food also at $9.

My primary objective is to provide education for my children, guiding them through to college level. I firmly believe in the significance of education, viewing it as the key to securing good jobs and ultimately fostering a better future. To ensure my children have the necessary funds to achieve this goal, I plan to save upcoming transfers. I am grateful for the support provided by GiveDirectly in facilitating my children's education, and this assurance allows me to believe in a brighter tomorrow for them.

Sustaining my large family of ten has been a considerable challenge, given the limited income from selling charcoal and the insufficient earnings from my husband's job as a fisherman. Meeting the financial demands of school fees, clothing, and food was exceptionally difficult in the past. The intervention of GiveDirectly has been a welcome relief, marking a significant positive change in our lives. Combining our transfers, my husband and I use the funds to settle outstanding bills. To ensure the uninterrupted education of my children, I allocated $48 to clear a school fee debt. The remaining $58 was utilized to purchase food and make preparations for the upcoming holiday season. Participating in this program brings me a deep sense of fulfillment, knowing that it has played a crucial role in improving our lives.

My ultimate goal is to ensure that all my children receive a good education. Although I did not have the opportunity to study myself, I am determined to provide the best educational opportunities for my children. I firmly believe that education is not only about having financial resources but also about investing my heart and zeal into their learning journey. As my husband continues to support the family through his fishing, I will do everything in my power, including saving through self-help groups, to secure a bright future for our children. My greatest wish is to see them graduate from high school, at least, and excel in life.

Receiving the cash transfers has allowed me to prioritize the education of my children, which is of utmost importance to me. As the sole breadwinner in our family, my husband relies on fishing from the river to provide for our eight children and myself. To ensure that our children's education is not compromised, we have made an agreement that my husband takes care of the daily household needs while I use the cash transfers for their tuition. Upon receiving the recent transfer, I immediately allocated $20 to pay school fees for my son in junior secondary, and another $14 to cover the tuition fees for my other children in primary school. I am grateful that my children have never been sent home due to unpaid tuition, and this brings me great joy and relief.

My personal goal this year is to get my children through school. I do not want any of them to miss out on school because of finances. I had mentioned earlier that 8 of my children are in school. The 6 in primary school require $4.5 a month for school fees while the one in secondary requires $100 fees. My child in junior high school is the only one we are yet to start paying school fees for. This is to say our largest budget in the house is school fees. I would like to spend the money we get making sure these amounts do not accumulate which will lead us to debts.

I am a mother of 8 school-going children who are at different educational levels. I am a small businesswoman selling fish and other small items locally to get some money. My husband is a fisherman, he is the one we depend on entirely. His work is very unsta, on some days he makes money on other days he makes nothing. We usually need to pay school fees for the children on time to ensure they can sit for the exams. The GD transfers made this happen for us. I have used all my transfers for payment of school fees. In January I paid school fees and exam fees for 4 of my eight children. In February I spent the entire transfer buying items such as uniforms and books for my child who joined junior high school. In March the money also sorted school fees for five children.

My oldest son, who did well in his final primary exams, will start secondary school in February. I don't make much money from the occasional jobs I work, so my financial situation is currently poor. The rivers are drying up, which is making it difficult for my husband to do his job as a fisherman. My plan is to buy stationery, pay school expenses, and purchase new school uniforms for my son, who will be starting secondary school, with the money from my subsequent transfers over the course of the next three months. He is a diligent young man who is eager to succeed, so I will be happy to see him go to school.

The schools are currently taking their final exams in order to wrap up the current academic year. I am fortunate to have six children, four of whom are in primary school and did not pay the $34 examination fee. They are currently completing their examinations due to Give Directly because I used the entire recent disbursement to pay for the exam fees. Additionally, I invested $30 in a goat for breeding with the intention of selling some of its young ones in the future to make money in the event of an emergency. I spent the remaining $30 buying food that would last my family for a significant amount of time. The money has been quite helpful because my husband's income from selling charcoal is insufficient to cover our household's expenses.

My children were literally on their third day being home before I had luckily received the transfers and this was because I had failed to settle the debt in tuition fee that they had. So as soon as I noticed the arrival of the payment I went ahead and paid KES 1,500 for four my children so that they could finally resume class like the other children. Afterwards I was left remaining with KES 1,500 which I opted to use on food because starving was the order of the day for me and my children at times abd on that particular day there was barely any food in the house. I ended up using the money by purchasing eight packets of maize flour.

I am thankful for the unconditional support we are receiving from GiveDirectly that comes with the freedom to spend on anything we see is fit for our households. We have never received non-refundable money before which made it hard for us to believe that this was a grant, but constant communication from the field officers made us aware that it is a free cash transfer meant to change our lives. In my opinion, the process was fair to everyone since the officers visited each household, and the receipt of the transfer happened on the same day for everyone. I don't have anything to complain about, but thankful that I was part of the project.

I do not have a reliable source of income. The farm activities I relied on for pay are scarce due to the prolonged drought which has discouraged people from farming. This has made life challenging to even meet the most basic needs like food for my family. We had slept hungry the previous night before receiving the transfers. By God's grace, the money was sent the following day in the morning. This was a lifesaver because I had no money with me, and I was not sure how I would get for my family. I, therefore, spent KES 2500 of the first transfer on enough foodstuffs o take my family for quite some time. KES 500 I spent on school uniforms for my two children who are in primary school. They had torn school uniforms and since they are soon going back to school, I did not want them to use the same old torn school attires.

I was at home cooking lost in my thoughts wondering how I was going to pay for my children's school fees as they had been sent home due to school fee arrears. So, when I received the message, I felt happy and peaceful. I withdrew the money and the next day I went to pay their fee.

Before I started receiving this money, my children would frequently be sent home due to school fee arrears. This has since stopped as I can now pay their fee on time.

My main goal is to school, my 7 children. Currently, only four are in school. To support them and also help my husband with the bills, I used to work as a charcoal manufacturer. But I took a maternity break in January and I have not yet resumed work. Therefore, when I received the KES1200, I prioritized it on school fee payment. So, I used KES1100 to reduce the KES3000 school fee arrears. and the remaining amount I used on the food bill.