At the moment, my entire focus is on my four school children, whose school fees continue to be a source of concern. In the coming year, I hope to improve my farming activities and make fewer purchases. The extra produce will also help to cover a portion of the school fees for my four children, who are currently in secondary school. If everything goes well, I may consider purchasing a dairy cow to provide milk for my household as well as a surplus for sale.

The enrollment process and receipt of all transfers went so smoothly because they were handled by a well-organized team from Give Directly. I am glad that everyone in their household was given the opportunity to listen to and understand the program after asking questions that the visiting staff answered well. Since then, no one has complained, but everyone thanks the organization for its generous support and hopes that it will return once everyone has received it.

Life has never been the same since my spouse died four years ago, not only for me but also for my four children, who are now completely reliant on me for all of their needs. Prior to receiving the first transfer, I relied on subsistence farming, which was not always dependable due to adverse weather conditions that reduced productivity. The support was a relief because a lot had changed, including the purchase of a dairy cow worth $480 from the second transfer. It was wonderful to have a plentiful supply of milk for three months before the cow died of East Coast fever, forcing me to resume buying milk from the community.  The remainder was spent on food for my family of five. We had been reliant on agriculture, but the harsh weather conditions destroyed our crops, which would have provided us with a good harvest.

It was around 4:00 pm when I received a message from GiveDirectly that confirmed the receipt of the first transfer. I was very excited and anxious since I had to wait till the next morning to withdraw. At that moment, I was alone at home since my children were still in school. I had all plans set and only left to collect the transfer before picking on the set goals.

My children had no house and constructing one for them is the biggest difference in my daily life after ensuring that I fully settled their school fees. I now feel relieved - my sons will no longer be moving to the neighborhood, but sleeping in their house within the compound.

My two sons had been seeking a place to sleep every night in the neighborhood since the small house we had could not accommodate everybody. Receiving the first transfer was a breakthrough for my family after spending KES 23000 to buy construction materials for a new house. I bought 20 iron sheets, building poles, and also nails that I believe will be enough to complete the construction work. From the remaining amount, I spent KES 20000 on paying school fees for my two children who are currently in secondary school. I am happy that they got ample time to revise for their examinations and attend their classes every day without being disturbed. In addition, I purchased two sacks of maize at KES 8000 that I am still using for foodstuff. In most cases, I have been alone at home since all my children are in school. I am glad that I also cleared a KES 3000 debt in the nearby shop and now I am free of debts. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for the generous support and looking forward to doing a lot more with the second transfer.