Since I am a single mother, I would always want my children to have a better life and also continue with their education, therefore my main goal in the next one year is to save part of my transfers every month and by the end of the year, I would want to start up a greengrocery business so that I have a source of income to support my children.

Ever since my husband departed, life had never been any better for me, getting money for food and other necessities had been quite a challenge and with the ongoing drought, the situation is getting worse. GiveDirectly had been helpful to me in terms of financial support and with the most recent transfers, I managed to pay school fees worth KES. 1000 because my children had been sent home, I bought food worth KES. 970 and saved the remaining amount of KES. 1500. I now feel happy because my children got a chance to go and continue with their learning.

I spent $20 on paying school fees for my three children in primary. They are now studying well without being sent home. This was affecting their performance since they would miss some lessons whenever they were home. I am so happy and this has given me peace of mind to do my daily activities well. I spent the rest of the money on food for the family.

Two days prior to receiving the funds from GiveDirectly, my children had actually been kicked out of school for my failure in paying their tuition fee but this was because I had no money. So immediately I noticed the transfers had been sent out, I quick went ahead to pay KES 2,000 in school fees so that they would not have to spend another day staying home. I also used KES 1,000 and invested it in my business where I sell sardines from my home. Lastly I was left with KES 1,000 which I left on savings account because I planned of eventually building a house for me and children because the one we lived in at the moment was the shed where the goats used to stay previously.

Give directly has done very well when it comes to cash donations. This has helped me to support my children and improve my life. I now have a stable business and I have added ducks to my farm. I have not seen any area where give directly has not done well.

Being a widow has not been an easy journey for me. To fend for my children, I sell fish on the street. This business has not been earning me much. Whatever I get, I mostly use it to cover the food budget. When it comes to paying the children's school fees, I am forced to pay in installments. Currently, I have arrears of KES2,000 that I plan on settling using the profits I make from my business. So, when I received my first transfer, I bought two ducks. As for my second transfer, I saved 1500 in the Chama and the remaining KES1,500 I used to improve my business.

All through my life I have been longing to get a reliable source of income. When GiveDirectly enrolled me in its program, I was convinced that my prayers had been answered. From then I anxiously began to wait for my first transfer. When the transfer was first sent, I was so excited. It was late in the evening at around 5.00pm and I was just resting at home with my children. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for it's support.

The biggest difference in my life since I began receiving my transfer is having peace of mind after I had begun buying round poles for building new house. This has given me an assurance that I shall be able to finally build a new house. I am glad I shall finally be able to finish building a better house. I shall no longer live under such an extreme hard condition which I have persevered for some years. This will help in restoring my self-esteem.

I spent all of my very most recent transfer to buy 25 round poles. I am planning to build a new house. I have been living in a very old but small house that cannot accommodate all my household members. Whenever it rains, the current house leaks thus it becomes very uncomfortable. I shall be glad when my house is completed and I finally begin to live in it.