Despite the fact that I am struggling to pay school fees for my eight children, I intend to start a small income-generating business selling either second-hand clothes or food. At the moment, my wife and I have been doing some menial jobs to cater to our basic needs and this has not been sufficient since the jobs are not a daily guarantee. If I get to kick start this business, I will be able to see my children through their education with much ease and also provide for my family as the head.

There is nothing wrong with the whole operation as many attest to the fact that GiveDirectly did its best to change our living standards. I would love for you to come back again if possible and help us more.

I am a father of eight children (four girls and four boys) all of whom are still in school. Paying their school fees has been an uphill task since I do not have a stable job, same to my wife. They have been sent home a couple of times and this breaks my heart to see their studies being cut short often. Also, the situation at home is terrible since we had been living in a very small house together with my children. I had been sleeping out in the cold so as to allow my wife and kids to have room for themselves. Upon receiving the second transfer, my first priority was to build a two-roomed house that would accommodate us all. I bought all the building materials and got a mason to do the work. The total cost was $300 and I was glad to see the project complete. I replaced the ripped mattress and bed with new ones costing $70. I also managed to do some minor repairs to the latrine which was almost falling down, for this, I spend $30. I bought eight chickens for each of my children so that they could rear them at home and maybe sell them if need be to cater to a basic need at home. With the remaining money, I bought school uniforms for my children and foodstuff for the family.

I was heading to my workplace to demand my pay. The situation had become unbearable and could no longer provide for my family. On the way, my phone rang out loud, and I checked it out and surprised to find out that I had received my first transfer. It thrilled me as tears flowed freely down my cheeks. I knelt down beside the road and prayed to the Lord, thanking Him for the miracle.

Paying off the debts using the money from the transfer is the biggest difference that I have in my life since receiving the transfer. I could not sleep and I had no peace of mind because of the debts I owed. The situation was unbearable and as a result; I lost my dignity in society. I am happy that I am now a free man and I no longer have a debt burden on myself.

I work as a casual laborer on a mining site. For over two months now, I have not been paid, and this has caused serious problems in catering to my family’s needs. My 8 children were chased out of school due to accumulated school fee arrears amounting to KES 5000. I incurred a lot of debts by buying food on credit worth KES 17000 because I had no money to buy food for my family. When I received my first transfer, I spent a huge portion of it paying off all the debts that I owed. Besides paying off the debts, I spent the money on building a new house for my family. My old house was very tiny and in a dilapidated condition. The roof was leaking, walls cracking, and the house tilting on one side due to the weak poles. Finally, I spent the remaining amount on buying school uniforms and stationery for my children, who were resuming school.