We will continue struggling to pay school fees for our three children in time. My husband works in tea estate while I do subsistence farming as well as livestock keeping here at home. The little amounts that we make has always provided us with enough to feed our family and pay school fees for our children. We had a house that we were building but had to be halted when two of my children joined secondary school. We could not afford to raise enough money to pay school fees and progress with the building as well. We are so happy that with GiveDirectly transfers we have been able to bring the house to completion and that we can now focus on paying school fees for our children alongside other important investments that we may want to implement. A long term goal that we are thinking about is to buy an additional dairy cow. We have one that is only helping us get just enough milk for consumption within the household. Getting an additional one will increase our income as a family and make our lives better as a family. We hope to achieve this once our children are done with school.

In my opinion GiveDirectly does very well by making sure that every household within a selected village is enrolled. This to me was very well thought out and the officers were very keen not to leave anyone behind in their enrollment. Giving the support in form of cash was also a very brilliant idea. Looking at how different people were able to spend the money differently makes me very happy. I am so happy seeing my house that had stayed fir years without completion now completed.

When we received the second transfer we used $300 to complete the construction of a house that had stalled for quite sometime just because we did not have enough money to compete it. This money was used to cement the floor of the house. We had earlier used the first transfer to buy some building materials and when we received the second transfer, we used it to buy cement and to gather for labour costs that came with it. We are so happy that the house is now fully complete and we will be moving in shortly. We then used another $200 to pay school fees for one of our children who just joined college. The money came in a timely manner when he had just joined college and we were still figuring out where we could get the money to pay his school fees. Being a mother of five who relies on subsistence farming to make income, I have had to rely on my husband who works in the tea estate to pay school fees for our children as I struggled to meet other needs of the family. Getting this transfer was a major boost to me and my family and quite a relief to my husband too. I was left with some little extra amount which I used to buy food and other needs for my family. We will always be indebted to GiveDirectly for the timely support.

It thrilled me when I first received a message from GiveDirectly that confirmed the receipt of the first transfer. I was on my way to attending a burial function within the village when I got the notification. I could not believe it at first and had to keep reading, trying to be before reporting to my husband, who was in the same function. When I got to where he was, I passed the phone over for him to read the message. He was very excited when he was giving back the phone and advised me to take good care of it till we collect.

Completion of the payment of the school fees for my son would not have been easy without the transfer and getting the construction materials that I needed to complete the house have brought the biggest difference in my life. At the moment, I am at ease and thinking ahead as I wait for the second transfer. I am grateful that the transfer came at the time of need and cleared all the challenges I had.

My elder child was joining college just a week after the receipt of the first transfer. It was a blessing to us as it made all the preparations easy after spending KES 30000 on all the purchases and tuition. Alongside preparing my son to start his first semester, I also had to complete the construction of my current house. The floors were unfurnished yet and had to spend KES 13200 on obtaining gravel, sand, and ballast that I am looking forward to using soon. I am glad that the repairs I had been doing on the muddy floors will end and the cleaning of the cemented floors will be easier. I spent the remaining KES 12000 on obtaining two sacks of maize and other household goods that we are currently using with my family of seven. When I receive the second patch, I am looking forward to a great transformation, thanks to GiveDirectly.