Now that I have my piece of land from the GiveDirectly transfers, I now intend to do onion farming. This will be a good source of income to cater for my family basic and educational needs.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well to give us aid in form of cash because everyone used it according to his family's needs. In our village, for example, some people bought water tanks for water storage. Others, who had grass-thatched houses have built Iron roofed ones. Better still those who had school fees arrears have cleared. Last but not least, every household was enrolled without partiality whether rich or poor.

I suffered asthma for seven years, some seven years ago. Due to this, I cannot do strenuous work and as a single mum, I have two kids to feed. This forced me to look for a that which is less strenuous and a househelp job was the available option. From this job, I normally get KES300 every week and this cannot sustain my two kids. Lucky enough, when GiveDirectly came in, I feel relieved. I, therefore, used KES 6,000 on two bags of maize this will sustain for a longer period unlike before when I used to buy daily. I also spent KES10,600, on payment of school fees, purchase of school uniforms, and processing of school birth certificates. This is because earlier on, from my job I was struggling to pay my fees, and my mother, would chip in to help me most times. In addition, for the past 15 years, I had desired to own my piece of land but couldn't afford it. So, recently, when GiveDirectly came, I topped up a part of my second with a part of my first transfer and bought a quarter an acre of land at KES60,000 and fenced it with KES 3000. This will not only act as a source of food but a consistent source an income for my family because I intend to focus on seasonal crops.

The excitement I got after receiving a message from GiveDirectly confirming the receipt of my first transfer was overwhelming. It came when my family was undergoing a sorrowful moment amidst other challenges as we had lost my uncle the same week. It was on the burial day when I received this message and unfortunate enough, I could not celebrate since I was still in bereavement. I just thanked God, felt relieved since it was a confirmation of another good thing in my household, and started planning the initiation strategy of the plans I already had.

With all that I have done after receiving the first transfer, I am proud of every step I have taken to ensure that I account for every coin out of my transfer. Even though I am still looking for a piece of land to purchase, I feel this is the biggest project I have dedicated myself to see complete in the next few weeks. I am grateful for the support from GiveDirectly that has finally given me hope of owning a piece of land that I can construct a new house for my two children.

As a single mother of two, providing for my family has never been that easy. I had been dependent a lot on my parents and uncles who were not always there for me since they also had their responsibilities of providing for their families. After laying my uncle to rest, I was eager to get back to my normal schedule more so after receiving the support I had been anticipating from GiveDirectly. I had a lot to do but first I had to obtain enough foodstuff for my family. I purchased two sacks of maize each going for KES3000 - this will serve us for the next two months as I work hard on the normal routine to raise other income that I will be using in sourcing other foodstuffs. I also ensured that both my children get a pair of school uniforms each, some extra pairs that they will be putting on at home, setting aside tuition fees, and buying them enough stationery. A budget of KES12600 spent in facilitating both children was a bit high, but I am glad that I finally provided all I had been pushing forward with the hope of getting enough money to buy all they needed. I also needed to buy a piece of land to move to with my children so that I can start small-scale farming and at least construct a better house where I can call home. I to save the remaining KES35000 as I await the second transfer that I will add it up and pay for a piece of land that I am currently searching for.