Honestly, the list of the things I wish to accomplish is too comprehensive to give details on. I feel like as my life progresses and transforms, the list of things I desire expands as well. Right now, am thinking of a possible future, when I will own a brick-walled house rather than the mud-walled one that I have. At the same time, I envision a future, probably in the next year, where I will be operating a small vegetable-selling business to raise money for needs like food and school fees for my children. Also, I wish to own livestock, as I could sell these animals to generate funds for my children’s education. Unfortunately, lack of cash is the only barrier between me and these ambitions. I wish I had enough from the cash transfers to accomplish even one of them, but I do not, since every penny was consumed by the hardships at the time. 

It is clear to me that giving cash transfers to people affected by poverty is the greatest job done by Give Directly. The money helped me put food on the table on days when my family would have starved had it not been for Give Directly. Also, my children stayed in school the entire period and never missed classes. What the organization does is impeccable and I cannot figure out a possible area of improvement. 

When I received the transfer, two of my children were in secondary school, two were in primary school, and one was in college. The cash transfers immensely helped me in paying for their school fees as there were outstanding debts that had accrued from the previous academic terms. By then my husband and I had no jobs to help raise the required funds to clear the balances. The best we could do was work on people’s farms for money, which barely covered food costs. Besides my five children, my two grandchildren depended on me as their mother had left them after she got married into another family. The responsibility burden had been overwhelming until Give Directly brought the cash transfers and alleviated the hardships. From the second transfer, I set aside $140 for my daughter in high school and my son in college for their pocket money and school fees. Next, I spent $116 for two beds and $100 on their mattresses. This was an excellent upgrade from the sisal-twined beds my family had been using over the years. At least now we enjoy more comfortable sleep than we used to before. The balance went towards food to relieve the hunger episodes that would strike my household from time to time due to a lack of money. 

It was on one evening when I was about to leave for a relative to see an ailing niece when I received a message on my phone. Before leaving, I asked my helper to confirm what kind of a message it was thinking that it was concerning the ailing niece. Upon confirmation, he told me that I had received the first transfer of KES 55000.00 from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy but I was unable to ululate since people would wonder if I am ululating at a time when I was leaving for an ailing relative.

The biggest difference that if it were not for GiveDirectly I could not tackle it immediately was the school fees issue. I had been struggling in making ends meet but things were not adding up. I am very grateful for the support I received from GiveDirectly which saw my children continuing with their studies.

When I withdrew the money, I bought four goats for KES 18000.00 because I planned to invest in the high-breed goats. After all, they have a higher value when it comes to selling. Thereafter, I paid school fees for my children who were on the verge of dropping out of school due to school fees. I paid KES 10000.00 for my college son, KES 10000.00 for my two secondary school children, and KES 2000.00 for my five primary school children. I also bought my children a bed and mattress for KES 11500.00 because they used to sleep on the floor and it was not giving me peace of mind seeing them uncomfortable. In addition to that, I opted to build them a house which I started but it is still incomplete till I get the second transfer. I also bought some food for the family.