Yes. Before receiving cash from Give Directly I found it very difficult to be able to provide for my family needs. I do charcoal business and it’s not sufficient to meet my daily needs and that of my family. On a good day I would sell as many as 5 sacks of charcoal and on a bad day I would sell none. Which means going hungry for the whole day. Another challenge was about school fees. I did struggle a lot to pay children’s school fees due to the nature of my job and I had to talk to the teacher to allow my kids to continue learning as I hustle for the fees. In terms of housing I am grateful that I now have a house courtesy of Give Directly. Previously I did not have a shelter that would fit my whole family. I also bought livestock which I do rearing and at times of need I do sell some and get money for food and school fees. Generally Give Directly has given a new meaning to my life and my children. I can now be able to pay school fees, buy food and also have a shelter on my head where I do sleep. So thank you Give Directly for your support. As of now i am working hard in my business and also in rearing of my livestock so that i can be able to earn money and educate my children. I am also looking forward to expanding my charcoal business and be able to provide each and every family need.

I give a thumbs up to Give Directly specifically on enabling us to be able to take our children to school usng the cash. Its the biggest take away for me.

Well i spend my money on buying livestock e.g cows and goats, which i do rear at my home. In times of need i do sell some and attend to my needs. I also built a house that i stay in today since i previously did not have a good house due to its poor condition. I also paid my childrens school fees and they are currently in school learning without any disruptions. I used a portion of the money to buy food fo my family.

I was preparing breakfast at around 8M when I was preparing breakfast for my children when I heard loud vibrations from my phone. Since I was busy and illiterate at the same time, I asked for a hand in help from one of my daughters. Upon checking, she confirmed that it was an Mpesa that I have eagerly been waiting for. I was very excited and after notifying all my family members, we decided to hold a specific prayer to thank our Lord for the huge blessings.

The biggest difference in my life is that I managed to clear school fees arrears for my children even paid in advance for the next semester. Since I never had the opportunity to go to school, it has always been my dream to see my children getting a good education for them to have a brighter future together with their generations. It has been a tough journey because most of the time they were always home for a fee. Due to the financial difficulties they had to stay for weeks and they could always miss exams and two had opted to drop out f school which demoralized me greatly. Being a casual labourer (burning and selling charcoal) earning KES 200 in a day I was not able to pay the fees o time ad this resulted in the big balances. I have been trying to apply for the government bursaries but this was in vain. Therefore seeing them going to school every day with the rest makes me happier and hoping that someday the property life shall come to an end through them. I would not have accomplished all these if it were not for GiveDirectly coming into my life. May our Good continue to bless GD for transforming my life and those of my village mates.

I spent part of my first transfer on buying three goats at a total of KES 10500. I settled for goats because their food is readily available, they reproduce twice ad year, they require minimal supervision and their offspring mature very fast and compared to other domestic animals. This assured me of being wealthier within the shortest time possible. Also, I bought twelve pieces of iron sheets at KES 10320, building poles at KES 4000 timber and nails KES 3000. This was purposely for constructing a new hose becasue the initial one was almost collapsing, besides it had two small rooms which could not accommodate my five family members. As a result, some had to sleep at our relatives' houses which was a bit hectic. To add to that I purchased a second-hand motorcycle at KES 20000 for my spouse to operate a bodaboda business. With the remaining KES 7180, I paid school fees for my children who are still in primary schools. I am happy they are studying peacefully without being sent home regarding collecting the fees.