Even though I am relieved and happy that the enormous burden of school fee payment for the four adopted grandchildren has been lifted, I am concerned about how I will keep them in school once all transfers have been exhausted. At the moment, my only new goal is to focus on raising more money and saving money from the help I have been receiving from my daughter so that I can use it to pay for future school terms. I also want to provide enough food for my current family of six by starting a new subsistence farming venture and encouraging my grandchildren to look for casual labor on local farms when they get home from school.

I am the happiest person and consider myself extremely fortunate to be alive at this age with no active farming or income-generating projects. I was stressed and would occasionally find myself talking loudly to myself, wondering where I would get food and school fees for the grandchildren. GiveDirectly did an amazing job of lifting me out of my difficulties, and I am still hopeful that the remaining patch will have a significant impact on my household. Everything was done in accordance with the explanations we received prior to enrollment. This was encouraging and gave everyone confidence that the process was fair to everyone because we all received the same amount of money on a similar date.

My lastborn son died a year after we buried his wife, leaving me with six orphans for whom I have struggled to provide. At 77, I am unable to do anything on the farm or in business other than the small-scale livestock farming that I am currently engaged in. We used to have over 200 animals, but my husband, son, and wife's frequent hospital visits depleted the herd, leaving me with only three cows. It was unfortunate that none of them managed to come out of the hospital alive. One of the six orphaned children is mentally unstable and has hand paralysis; the elder completed his secondary studies and moved to his uncle's home; and the other four are completely reliant on me for their school fees and upkeep when they return home. It is unfortunate that I was unable to provide the mentally unstable child with special education, which is more expensive than the others. When I received the second transfer, I spent $370 on clearing their school fee arrears, leaving me with only $70 to spend on other household goods, of which I spent $40 on foodstuff and household consumables, including toiletries, and saved the remaining $30 for transportation costs when my grandchildren returned from school. Gladys, my daughter and helper, has been an incredible source of support for me. She always contributes to the purchase of food, as well as other household expenses.

For us, Christmas came early this time. I cannot recall the exact dates and time due to my old age but, all I can remember is that my daughter broke the good news to me which gave me so much happiness for the entire day. I was lost in happiness and excitement. I knew that my grandchildren would be saved from going to bed on an empty stomach. I am forever grateful for the support that brought so much happiness into our lives.

The biggest difference in my daily life today is that I was able to purchase a goat and also pay school fees for my grandson. Receiving the unconditional transfer has been a blessing in our lives thus we are grateful.

Upon the receipt of my initial transfer, I saw it fit to use my transfer in purchasing a goat worth $35 to save my money and also have something that I would use to remember the existence of the aid that we got. I live together with my grandchildren who are total orphans. They were left under my care because they had no place to run to. Due to my old age, I am no longer energetic to do the farm work, thus I depend on my daughter Sylvia who works as a casual worker at a hotel in Marigat. Additionally, a used $30 on my grandson's school and lastly used the remaining amount on foodstuffs and bedding. I am forever grateful for the great support that changed my living standards.