It hurts seeing my husband abandon me and my kids to be with another woman, and as such, I have had to pick up the financial slack and make ends meet. I would love to start a business selling mahamri and other food stuff to the kids in school. I feel this would greatly increase my income and put me in a position where I have more control over the fate of my kids, as well as myself.

GiveDirectly excels at making recipients feel appreciated, wanted and a part of society. Since receiving the transfers I feel more empowered as a woman, and as a mother. I have no critique to direct towards GiveDirectly other than to ask they continue to be the light that they are in so many recipients lives, who are lost in the darkness of lack of financial stability.

As a second wife and mother of 6, it's paramount that I always strive to give my kids the best possible life that they can have and the funds from GiveDirectly helped greatly towards that goal. I purchased three goats, 2 female and 1 male, in the hopes of them starting a little flock of my own. I bought land, on which I will plant 5 acres of maize to cultivate and sell. My husband ferry's charcoal to the market in Kilifi or Mtwapa, only visits once a week, since as I said, he has to share his time between his two wives. Having to rear my kids alone, it was Godsend that GiveDirectly chose me for the transfers as I could then use the majority of the funds to cater for a KES. 5,000 fees debt I had accrued, not to mention fees for my 2nd born in Class 7, my third born who is just completing Grade 6, my 4th in Grade 3, my 5th in Grade 1 and my youngest in PP1, all of whom demand KES. 750, a piece , per term to cater for tuition at Mgumoni Primary. Working in the same school where I cook Githeri in the cafeteria and earn KES. 5,000, I was hard pressed to make ends meet and GiveDirectly bridged the gap beautifully and for that both I and my family will forever be greatfull

It was around 7:30 in the evening when I was in the kitchen preparing porridge when I realised there was a new message on my phone. I asked one of my kids to check for me since I am illiterate. I was overjoyed with happiness to learn that I had received the precious gift from GiveDirectly. It was a joyous moment for us all as a family because we were certain that we would achieve a lot.

For years I have been raising my six children singlehandedly since my spouse is old and jobless. It has however been tough considering that I depended on casual jobs. I used to earn KES 150 in a day which was not enough even for our daily meals. Therefore paying the fees for my five children who are in primary school used to be the biggest challenge. They used to miss exams and were sometimes forced to repeat the same grade. This has been demoralizing them and as their mother, it used to stress me a lot. Therefore after receiving the cash I had to think of a permanent solution to this problem. Having the goats, therefore, is an assurance that my kids will be able to go to school without any hiccups. This is because whenever I will be required to pay fees, I will be in a position to sell one or two goats and settle the arrears. This is an assurance that my kids will be better people in future to eradicate extreme poverty life.

I spent part of my first transfer on buying several building materials which include; iron sheets at KES 20500, and building poles at KES 14000. I had aimed at building a new spacious house for my three sons. They have been sleeping at their friend's houses for so long since our family house was not spacious. They have always been complaining to me that their friends have been calling them names to mean they had become a burden to them. This used to frustrate me a lot and after receiving the cash, I had to take action. I am happy they now all sleep comfortably in my compound. Also bought three goats at KES 15000. These were specifically for my children's education journey since it has been a challenge clearing their fees timely. Also, I hired someone to prepare my farm since it was the planting season and I felt I needed huge support so that I could have plenty of harvests. Later on, I paid fees of KES 4000 for my five children in primary schools. I finally bought food for my family and other household items.