My goal is to concentrate on rearing livestock that I bought because I consider it as an investment that will help me in future. I'm hopeful that with time, it will grow in to big herd and I will be able to sell some and pay bills when need arises.

What GiveDirectly does well is supporting the most poor in the society and restoring their dignity. Some of us had lost hope in live but we now we are hopeful that life will be better in the near future.

Prolonged drought has made it difficult for charcoal burners who fully depend on the business to provide for their families. My husband who is in the charcoal burning and selling business and the bread winner of the family has been struggling to provide for the family as he would go far away in the forest for two weeks only to come home with 2000 KES. With seven children to provide basic needs for and six to pay school fees for, this money was not enough and we accumulated fees arrears which saw our kids being chased out of school oftenly. I was so much worried because this made them drop in performance and I didn't know how I will offset the arrears. I spend 21000 KES on school fees where I paid 3500 KES for each, 24000 KES to by six goats and the balance to buy enough food and other necessities. I'm happy that I was able to clear the fees arrears and my kids will be able to concentrate on their studies once schools reopens.

It was around 6 in the evening when I was relaxing after having a very busy day. Suddenly my phone started to vibrate loudly which was an indication of a new message. Without wasting time I decided to check the contents of the message and to my surprise I realized that it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly. I was extremely happy because I was certain I would achieve all my heart desires including buying livestock and building a house.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that through the transfer, I now have goats on my homestead. Before the coming of GiveDirectly, I did not have any livestock in my compound. I have however been yearning to have them for years but they were too costly. I settled for them because they require little supervision and their pasture is readily available. Also since they mature faster I am assured of having many of them within a short period. Soon I will start a business of buying and selling goats in the local market and generate an income. Since for now, I rely on the temporary charcoal business, raising the seven children has never been easy. They have always at home because of school fees arrears and sometimes lack essential needs like food. I am so sure that once this new business picks so well, I will not have to struggle any longer especially in paying the fees for my children.

I spent part of my first transfer on buying some livestock (five goats) at KES 15000. These will now be the investments that I will be depending on at any time in case of any financial constraints. I also bought building poles at KES 6000, iron sheets at KES 12750, and the labor costs of KES 7000. I had intended to construct a new house because the previous one had collapsed and I had to construct a temporary hut instead. In addition, I cleared school fees of KES 4600 for my five children who are in the neighboring primary schools. I am now at peace because they are studying without any distractions like before. Also, I bought sufficient food, new clothes, and shoes for my children.