My immediate goal in the coming year or so is to graduate from tailoring school and set up my own tailoring business. This would be a crucial start for me in the journey towards financial independence and stability, as a house hold. In the long term, I would like to see my children complete school and have good jobs, which will in turn translate to better lives for them, than me and their father have had.

GiveDirectly are ,to me, above reproach! I have seen how they have transformed both mine and others lives ,and those of their families. All I could ask is they keeping doing this for many years to come and that they try to include as many worthy recipients as possible.

Having received the funds from GiveDirectly, I proceeded to buying mattresses for the family, seeing as new ones were needed, and also spent some of it on installing solar powered heating and lighting for the house. I have 4 kids and a husband, and while I am pursuing a tailoring course at Giriama academy, it was only prudent to spend some of the money on both theirs and my tuitions. My eldest is in Grade 5 at Kavunzoni Primary, my second and 3rd are in Grade 4 and 3, respectively, also at the same school. My youngest is 1 year old and was only a beneficiary of the groceries I bought in the house, though the others got their tuitions of KES. 1,000 each for the two eldest and KES. 600 for the third born, per term, thanks to GiveDIrectly.

It was around 11 AM when I was in my garden watering my vegetables when I saw the message notifications. I was so curious and without wasting time I had to check who could have sent the message during that time. I was overexcited after realizing that I had finally received my cash transfers. I remember leaving the task I was handling and going back home. I shared the news with my family members and from the look on their faces, they were all happy. We knew that we would accomplish all our heart's desires through financial support.

The biggest difference is that through the cash transfer, I was able to purchase goats. It has always been my dream to keep them but because of my financial status, I couldn't afford to purchase even one. I opted for goats because they mature very fast and reproduce twice a year. Also, as compared to other domestic animals they require minimal supervision. I plan that once they reproduce and increase in number, I will be selling the offspring and catering to all household needs, and save the remaining cash for my children's education. Currently, my children are still in primary schools and by the time they will be transitioning to secondary schools or even colleges I would have saved a lot to fund their schooling. My biggest challenge has been the issue of fees since my spouse is the breadwinner with a low income, it hasn't been easy even for our daily needs. I am now hopeful and happier that all my children will get a better education hence a brighter future and that of their generations courtesy of GiveDirectly. Also, I will no longer have to strain like before in making the ends meet.

I spent part of my first transfer on paying school fees of KES 5000 for my two children who are still in primary schools. I had to pay in advance because they have always been sent home severally because of the arrears. Also, I bought some stationery such as books and uniforms which were to replace the old ones. In addition, I cleared my college fees since I had joined recently and I was stuck because of the financial hardships. In addition to that, I bought three goats at a total of KES 10000. These will now be the only living assets that I can rely on in case of any emergency. With the remaining amount of money, I bought foodstuff for my family that would take us for at least two months.