I intend to join a merry-go-round and save money which I will later on use to purchase a dairy cow. I feel that with such an investment, I will get a guaranteed source of income from selling milk at the dairy and be able to provide for my family with much ease.

I feel that everyone was treated fairly, a reason that no one complains to date but thankful for the generous support. I have nothing bad about the whole process and everyone in the village is still praising GiveDirectly for the generous support they gave us.

Since my husband passed on, I have been left with the responsibility of looking after my seven children two of whom are still schooling. To cater to our basic needs, I do casual jobs such as burning and selling charcoal. After receiving my second transfer, I deposited $150 in the school account for the two children. I did a few repairs in the house that cost $10 and replaced our old, ripped mattress and bed with new ones costing $100 and we no longer wake up with bodily aches. I also had a land debt of $150 that I cleared. The remaining $50 I used to purchase foodstuff that would last us for a couple of weeks.

While at a family gathering for a meeting at around 11 am, I received a message on my phone. I did not react to the message since I do not know how to read; instead, I waited till my helper came in the evening to check for me. Before checking, he asked me whether I had received the GiveDirectly transfer since other people had received it in the early morning. I handed over the phone to him and upon checking he told me that I had not been left out of the transfer plan. I felt so happy to an extent of wishing I had wings to fly for a few meters. This happiness was brought by the fact that my two children had been sent out of school due to school fees and they were just at home.

Sincerely speaking, my life has been full of challenges as far as school fees and food is concerned. I used to run up and down to make ends meet but sometimes the efforts were not bearing any fruits. I am glad that I received the first transfer from GiveDirectly. This transfer came right on time. My children had been sent out of school due to school fees and accumulated fee arrears. As of now, I am thankful to GiveDirectly for enabling me to pay both the arrears and the required school fees. My children are now happy in school.

The first thing after withdrawing the money was to settle the fee arrears my children had and also pay the needed school fees so that they could go back to school. Therefore I paid the fee arrears of KES 10000.00 for my form two child and KES 11000.00 for my form four child. After settling the arrears, I paid KES 5000.00 and KES 6000.00 school fees for them respectively. Thereafter, I opted to buy two plowing bulls for KES 22000.00which would serve as a source of income once I plow someone’s piece of land.