I have been baking and selling doughnuts in my community to help my husband provide for our four children's needs. Given my strong interest in business, my vision is to expand the practice to a food kiosk where my customers can access a variety of locally prepared dishes. I wish to begin saving through a self-help group and then seek a loan to serve as my initial capital for the venture. I am convinced that operating this small business will boost my earnings and allow me to fund my children's education. Besides, it would relieve my husband of the huge burden he currently bears. 

In my opinion, giving money to needy people in society is the greatest work that Give Directly does. More so, the organization lets the beneficiaries choose how they spend their cash transfers; we are allowed to spend the money on anything. They are so incredibly generous that there is nothing they can improve on, according to me.

When I received the transfer, my husband had been involved in an accident, where he fell while he was constructing a house and injured his waist. He was in intense pain as there was no money to take him to the hospital for proper treatment. Receiving the cash from Give Directly was a huge relief as I immediately requested his younger brother to accompany him to the hospital, where they spent at least $50 on scanning procedures and medication. Though not fully recovered, am grateful that his condition has drastically improved and he has resumed work. I also cleared a $65 tuition fee debt for my four children in primary school, which had remained unpaid since the academic term began, consequently costing them a number of classes. Am glad they have never missed classes ever since. After that, I spent $150 on three wooden beds and $135 on fitting mattresses. These were such an incredible upgrade from the sacks my family had been using as bedding on the mud floor of our house. Next, I used $98 to buy three goats. My aim is to let them multiply and grow the herd, as I could sell them to raise funds for my children’s education in the future. I spent the remaining amount on food to serve my family until my husband recovered well enough to go back to hustling. 

I had attended a political meeting in my village that afternoon the transfer was sent. While at the meeting, many villagers were surprised by the message alerts on their phones which many described as not a normal occurrence. A friend informed me that the messages were about the money that GiveDirectly had promised to send. I went back to my house to check on my phone and to my surprise, I had also received my first transfer. I felt happy and rejoiced with my family since I could now fulfil my financial needs with ease.

I am grateful to GiveDirectly for uplifting my living standard through the transfer. I lacked many essential things in my household and I could not change this situation on my own had I not received the support. I was sleeping on an old, worn-out mattress that did not offer a comfortable sleep. This was the same situation even for my children who were sleeping on a traditional bed with used sacks and rugged clothes as their beddings. I also did not have a single piece of furniture in my house, I was even afraid of welcoming visitors into my household. I am happy that I can now afford to sleep soundly with my children since I purchased two beds and two mattresses and replaced the old beddings. I also bought four chairs and a table which has changed the appearance of my house. This has given me peace of mind whenever a visitor comes unlike before when I did not have these items in my house.

Before the coming of GiveDirectly, I did not have a single piece of furniture in my house. I was not at peace having visitors around since I had to borrow chairs from neighbours. When I received the transfer, I purchased four chairs and a table for my household. I have also been unable to replace my old and worn-out beddings for many years and my priority was to change them. I thus spent Ksh. 18000 on buying two beds and two mattresses, for me and my children. I am now sleeping on comfortable beddings unlike before. My children were also having fee arrears and they were frequently sent home because I could not pay on time. I thus took Ksh. 7500 and cleared the fees and they are now in school courtesy of the transfer. I am happy because they are now going on with their studies without any interruptions on fees. I also purchased a goat which I am currently keeping on my homestead. I expect that it will reproduce and increase in number. It’s an asset that I can rely on in case I am faced with a dire financial need.