My primary focus remains on securing a bright future for my children. With the Givedirectly cash transfers I receive, my goal is to ensure that all my children continue with their education to highest level possible. In addition to investing in their education, I've joined a merry-go-round savings initiative. The plan is to accumulate enough funds to purchase more goats, expanding my small livestock venture for income generation. The support from these transfers has been a game-changer, and I'm sincerely grateful for the positive impact they've had on my family.

With four of my children in school, majority of the Givedirectly transfer are dedicated to covering their education expenses, ensuring that they have the opportunity to study and build a their future. The burden of school fees has always been my stressor, and the support from Givedirectly has allowed me to breathe easier and focus on providing for my family. In a surprising turn of events last month, I decided to invest a portion of the transfer on buying a goat, spending $38. The idea is to generate additional income for the family when I sell them in case of a need. It's a small step towards financial independence. Being the sole breadwinner since my husband and I separated 14 years ago, every opportunity to secure our financial stability is invaluable. Thanks to Givedirectly, our family is experiencing a positive shift, and I can now see a more stable and hopeful future ahead.

At the moment, I am not at peace because I am yet to clear my children's school fees for the previous terms and am scared that the debts will spill into next year which would be unmanageable for me as a single parent. I hope to clear the pending amounts for all three of them before the end of the year so that I can lessen my burden for the coming year. Starting a new year with no debts gives me courage that I will manage to somehow pay their fees and keep them in school. The tough times I faced over the past few months have also taught me to have an emergency plan for such times. My most ideal plan is to have savings that can cushion me during such times, but since this has proven impossible due to low income, I want to invest more on long time investments such as having more goats. Yes I do have a few goats at the moment and if was forced to sell them all, I would be devastated as the thought of having no livestock would make me feel even more vulnerable. My aim is have a good number of goats so that when I have to sell some of them during emergencies, I would still have some left. Having 3 children in secondary school and the forth one almost joining them, I have to find a means that can help me raise some decent amount fast when need be and goats fit the bill in this case.

The last 4 months were very tough as we faced a serious famine season that we have not experienced in a long time. Food prices especially maize which is our staple food spiked and was not easily available. Due to this, most of my transfers within those months were entirely spent on foodstuff and other basic household items. The situation was worsened by the fact that I could not engage in other income generating activities as I had to spend most of my time cultivating my farm hoping for a bumper harvest after multiple seasons of failed rains and poor harvests. I was also forced to purchase foodstuff on credit leaving me with a lot of debts which I have been struggling to clear. With part of my most recent transfer, I paid part of the debt ($10) then saved the rest which I will use to pay part of my children's school fees when schools reopen for the next term. I have 3 children in secondary school and due to the tough economic times I experienced in the past months, I have not been able to pay their school fees promptly. For this reason, when they resume school next week, I know they will be sent back home, so I plan on giving them a small amount each for their fees to allow them stay in school while I do my best to raise the rest of the money. This is why I saved part of the money which added to some savings from my business, will go along way in ensuring my children remain in school.

During the time that I will be in the program, I intend to educate my children. I have four children, two of whom are in high school and the other two in primary school. Paying fees hasn't been a problem because I know I'll get a transfer every month, allowing all of my children to continue their education. I also sell palm wine in the village, where I earn about $18 in a good week, despite only selling twice a week. With this income, it would have been difficult to adequately support my family while also paying children's fees. Since the transfer sorted out my children's fees, I can easily provide food for my family, unlike when I had to rely solely on my income. My main goal is to see my children achieve their academic goals, as I am a single parent with no other support from my husband, who left me to care for the children.

My most recent transfers were used to purchase a goat, pay fees, and purchase food for my children. I had been saving a portion of the money for a few months, added it to my personal savings, and was able to purchase a goat for $38. I now have five goats and intend to buy more because they help to fund my children's education. In the event of a financial emergency, I can easily sell to meet my needs. I also have four children who are currently enrolled in both high school and primary school, and the transfer has ensured that they will continue to attend school. Raising fees, especially for those in high school, has been a difficult task for me as a single parent with no support from my husband, who neglected us. I run a palm wine shop where I sell twice a week and make about $18 per week. This was insufficient to cover my children's tuition while also meeting other basic needs, such as food. I'm at ease because once the transfer covers the fees, I'll be able to budget for other necessities like food. As a result, aside from the fees, I am relieved that my household has not gone hungry.

My ultimate priority even prior to their transfers coming in, was definitely concerned with matters of nutrition This was due to the fact that Christmas was around the corner and I really needed to prepare for the celebrations. That is why when I noticed the arrival of the transfers I immediately went ahead to spend about KES 1,900 on matters concerned with meals. I ended up buying five packets of maize flour, two packets of wheat flour, two kilograms of sugar and tea leaves. Lastly I spent the remaining balance of KES 1,500 in purchasing clothes for my youngest child. This is because I knew that if she did not get an outfit like the other kids, then she would be devastated.

GiveDirectly is one of the many organizations that has given me hope to start all over again and the only hope of my children having the education they have always wanted. If they did not enroll me in the support program, my plan to educate my children would have been inconceivable

Recently, I separated from my husband and went back home with my four children. It has been quite a struggle to raise the children on my own, especially now that my grandmother is old to support me and I don’t have a stable job. Give directly funds has been the only source of income that comes to me every month. My biggest challenge is paying school fees for the two who are in secondary school. As soon as I receive the funds, $26 was used for school fees, and we used the remaining for food. I have developed a trend to budget for part of the cash to settle the outstanding balance of school fees. I am grateful because the funds have enabled me to have quite a reasonable and understanding relationship with my children’s school.

My phone buzzed with a message notification at 4 pm while I was still supervising the palm-wine business. No words can express how excited I was when I realized my first transfer from Give Directly had arrived. Given that we had no food at home for the day, the money would take a lot of weight off my shoulders. Am still happy till today. 

Prior to the transfer, I struggled to meet the basic demands, like food and school fees, of my four children due to a lack of funds. My palm-wine business was unsuccessful on most days.  The ability to cover these costs through the transfer is the most significant difference. My children have never been dragged from class to collect money since then. Also, the family has never lacked meals. 

One of my family's primary concerns is hunger. My palm-wine business, on which I mostly rely for a living, barely earns enough money to provide food daily.  As a result, it is also difficult for me to pay my children's school fees on time, forcing them to miss lessons owing to unpaid amounts. Therefore , when I received the transfer, I prioritized meeting these two needs. I paid KES 1,400 in overdue tuition fees for my two elementary school children, who had been sent home that morning to collect the funds. The remaining KES 1,600 was spent on food to last at least a week and buy me time to raise funds through my business.