I have three school-going children, one in secondary school and two in the primary. The two owed the school arrears of KES 1000 which I cleared with part of the second transfer. KES 1000 I gave to my son who is in a secondary boarding school for both his fare and upkeep while in school while the remaining KES 1000 I spent on some of the food items to push my family for a while before budgeting for more. I used to sell "chapati" and beans to the teachers in nearby schools but due to the rise in the prices of food commodities. I have since then been burning charcoal for sale. It takes a week for the whole process of charcoal to be ready only to get about KES 800 which in most cases caters to daily food. I appreciate the support because if it was not for it then the children would not have gone back to school. Instead, I would still be looking for ways to raise their school requirement.

I have never come across an organization that gives people cash let alone allows them to decode spending decisions. This was a great move by GiveDirectly, and we have started seeing some transformation in the village since people started receiving the transfers. Most people no longer struggle to meet their needs and it is even easier to borrow from friends and shopkeepers since they are assured of getting back their money on time. I have no complaints about the organization nor have I heard of anyone who is not satisfied with it.

The night preceding the day of transfer, my family of 5 went to bed hungry. I am a widow and I have been relying on making charcoal for sale but that week I had not gotten a customer to buy the charcoal. When I received my transfer, I opted to use it to buy food for my family. This would take my family for about two weeks. During this time, I would be able to focus on how to make more charcoal to increase my income. As a result, I shall be able to save some money to pay for my children’s school fees immediately schools re-open.

Being a widow for the past 5 years, I have been fully relying on making charcoal for sale as well as doing farming. When I received the transfer, I bought food and for the past 1 week my family has never missed a meal. I am now at peace and I am sure that from the sale of the charcoal, I shall be able to buy additional food. In addition, I shall be able to pay school fees for my four children when schools reopen.

It was around 9am and I was still sleeping in bed because the previous night we had gone to bed hungry. I was just woken up by my children who first noticed the Mpesa notification. When I arose to check my phone, I was surprised that their prediction was so real. We therefore felt so excited as a family because we knew that we would be able to get food. I hurriedly went to the nearby shop where I bought 10 packets of 2 kg maize flour. I immediately prepared a meal for my family at around 11 am. Thanks to GiveDirectly for such amazing support.