I have always relied on a small income from casual work to raise money to meet both my needs and that of my family. It has always been a struggle because casual work is very inconsistent and worse, it does not pay much. Anytime I got paid, I would use the payment on the basic needs of the family and would struggle to pay school fees for my children in time. They would be sent home and stay for even a week as I was still struggling to get the money. In most cases, I ended up in taking debts which I could not pay. GD transfers did not only help me to clear fees arrears for my children but also to pay back all the debts I had.

In my view, GD did well in giving cash which we did not expect at all. At first, I knew this was just a promise as other NGOs have always done when doing research. When I received my first transfer, I could not believe it. I am happy with GD.

I spent my transfer on paying for school needs for my son who was joining secondary school for the first time. I used the money to buy for him school supplies such as books, pens, uniform and also to pay for his fees. At the time he was joining, he had all he needed and fees cleared. I also used the money to buy food for my family to boost the stock we had left. It is always a good habit to have enough for even visitors, not just the family alone. I also bought two goats as an investment which I can later sell to either buy a cow or use the money on other family needs. The rest I have saved to help me in the future whenever I have any financial need so that I do not go begging for help as it was the case before the transfers. Saving 10000 Goats 5000

I am glad that I own a pair of ox because I will not only help them in ploughing my farm but also to cultivate my neighbor's farms for pay hence generating an income that shall assist in educating my children . Educating my children has been a struggle for the recent past because my spouse who is the breadwinner do get meager income out of doing manual work at the construction site . This income barely sustain most of our family's needs especially paying school fees . Therefore , with these oxen it shall server as an extra source of income which motivates me since know that educating my children shall be a walk in the park because as a parent I have always envision to provide for my children a quality education . Secondly I intend to buy dairy cow in future to source for more income through selling milk to my neighbors in order to meet my family's basic needs with ease .

At around 5:00 AM in the morning my spouse was awake preparing to go to the farm . I had heard him rush to our bedroom calling my name since I was still sleeping . I immediately woke up to hear what could have caused him this panic . I took a minute of silence then responded to his call . It was ironic of him to smile as he started speaking and from the smile I felt relieved . There and then he informed me that GiveDirectly had sent the promised amount of money . I was very happy because I knew that was the start of a new chapter in my life.

I spent 39,000 KES of my first transfer to purchase a pair of bulls and three goats . Today, I am glad that I own livestock which I never knew I would have . I bought five plastic chair and tables for my children to study comfortably because , before they used to spread a sack on the floor while doing their homework but it was a struggle in terms of positioning themselves when seating. The remaining amount I bought building materials such as timbers and food for my family's consumption .