As a high school student, I cannot access my phone during the weekdays due to ongoing learning. However, being a day scholar, the weekend is the only time that I can use my mobile phone. I switched on my phone one Saturday and a message popped up confirming that I had received my first transfer from Give Directly. At first, I could not believe it was real until I called my friends back home to check if they had received money as well – they confirmed it to be true. I was excited because I had been anxiously waiting for the funds to help pay my rent.

Before the cash transfers, paying my rent of $10 was a challenge. The little money my mother made from selling charcoal would sometime not fit all the basic needs, which include food, my sisters and my school fees, and my rent. This made rent accrue for three consecutive months, which attracted some eviction threats from my landlord. Gladly, the cash transfer allowed me to pay the fee. Am relieved that I no longer get eviction notices from the property owner. This is the greatest difference I have seen so far.

When I joined high school three years ago, I stumbled on many obstacles in my learning journey with a lack of school fees topping the list. Since my father passed away, my sister and I have been solely depending on my mother for provisions. To take of us, Mum takes on casual jobs such as making charcoal, which hardly puts food on the table let alone settle our school fees. To reduce the school accommodation costs, she rented out a single room near my institution where I would stay as I studied. Sadly, paying the rent has equally been a tussle. By the time I received the transfer, I was in debt of three months’ worth of rent. I spent $10 to reduce the debt so that my landlord would not evict me. I deposited the remaining amount to my school to reduce the tuition fees balance that had remained unpaid for at least a year.