After a long struggle to raise school fees that would have cleared all the arrears I had in school, GiveDirectly came in - brought a lot of differences in my life. I was able to clear all the fees and came home with a certificate that I am now using in my job search. This has given me new hope and a goal to try improving the living standard of my family. I have been struggling a lot to meet the household's daily needs and the most pressing one is the daily expenses on milk that need a constant source of income that I don't have yet. I hope to buy a dairy cow in the future that will provide enough milk for my family of four and cut the spending that had been going to the purchases.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly gave us a chance to do all that we had been hoping for over a long time. No one wasted any amount but would strive to do their best after listening to the teachings from the field officers who enrolled us. The physical follow-up by the officers after the receipt of the transfers and the phone calls pushed everyone to work hard on tangible projects knowing that it was the only chance to change their livelihood for the better. Everything went well and all credit goes to GiveDirectly for the relentless efforts to ensure that everyone was served fairly throughout the village.

At the start of the project, I had a huge debt of KES 85000 in the former college that had held my certificate since I could not be given without the clearance of the arrears. I had been praying and working hard on the casual labor but the proceeds have never been enough to cater to the household needs. I am glad that I was able to direct all the first transfers to the school account, and also KES 35000 from the second transfer that freed my results and certificates that are now a boost in my job hunt. I also equipped my household with enough foodstuff at KES 11550 for the three sacks of maize, new pairs of clothes for my two children worth KES 6000, and spend the remaining on settling minor debts I had in the nearby shop and also replenishing any household item that we had exhausted. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for this generous support and have great hope that things are soon getting better for my household.

I was so excited to receive the transfer from GiveDirectly. It was 9.00 a.m. when I received a message and on my first glance at that notification, I could not resist letting everyone in my household get the news. I was relieved as we already had a plan to offset part of the debt we had in my previous college. I was glad that at the receipt, my husband could not change the plans we already had, and all we did was consider what to put aside the agreed amount meant for the school fees and align on the priorities in the household goods we needed.

The biggest difference in my daily life is the reduction of the huge debt I had in the previous college I graduated from back in 2018. This was a relief as I had been lobbying for support from my family members and neighbors towards offsetting it even though it wasn't forthcoming. The transfer made it easier for me to start concentrating on other projects that can as well improve my household's living standard that had been way too low as we had been stuck on one point for quite some time.

With my family of four, we were so grateful for receiving the first transfer as we had a lot to try accomplishing with the amount. Since I graduated from college back in 2018, I had not been able to obtain the certificate that would have enabled me to apply and seek job opportunities. I had a huge dept of KES60000, and receiving this amount was quite a relief to me. I spent KES30000 on settling it halfway with the hope of completing it after receiving the second transfer. With the remaining amount, I ensured a wardrobe upgrade as everyone needed at least a new outfit in my household that I managed to obtain at KES10000. I also add two sacks of maize each at KES3400 and I obtained new utensils, appliances, dishes, and cookware used in food preparation that we had been lacking for a long time.