Since my house crumbled last year, I've had to move into my brother's house. He usually lives and works in Mombasa with his family, which makes it convenient for me, except when they visit the village. During their visits, I find myself having to look for another place to stay. To prevent this from happening again, I am planning to build a two-room house for myself. Fortunately, through previous cash transfers, I have managed to obtain essential materials like iron sheets and building poles. Now, I only need $15 for labor, which I plan to gather by saving through my self-help group.

Thanks to these transfers, I was able to allocate $63 towards purchasing iron sheets, a step towards rebuilding my own house after it was damaged. This unfortunate event had forced me to temporarily live with my brother. Additionally, I used $20 to cover my monthly chama contribution. With the remaining $20, I purchased food for my family's consumption, ensuring we had essential provisions. These transfers have been instrumental in addressing urgent needs like housing materials and sustaining our basic living expenses.

Over the course of the next year, my main goal is to dedicate my efforts towards constructing a new house. I have been residing in my brother's house. He is always away, but I constantly worry about his return, which leads me to seek temporary accommodation in the neighborhood. Building my own house would alleviate this concern. I also aspire to enroll in college and pursue a degree in electrical engineering. By acquiring this qualification, I aim to enhance my employability and open doors to promising career opportunities. With a focus on both building a house and investing in my education, I am determined to shape a more prosperous future.

Every time I receive my transfers, I prioritize saving $20 through a merry-go-round. In July 2023, I became a member of this saving group with the aspiration of accumulating funds to construct a new house. My previous house collapsed two years ago, but due to my limited income, I have been unable to rebuild until now. Alongside my savings, I allocate $14 towards purchasing food and other essential household items. The current state of affairs has brought about a noticeable improvement in my life. I am grateful for the opportunity to save, which brings me closer to fulfilling my dream of having a new house.

In the coming year and beyond, my main objective is to achieve the significant milestone of constructing a new house for myself. This achievement will mark the end of my reliance on accommodation provided by my brother. Currently, I have already acquired 16 pieces of iron sheets, but I still need to obtain a few more. Additionally, I plan to purchase building poles and other necessary materials to ensure the successful completion of the house. The prospect of having my own house brings me great joy and satisfaction, and I am grateful for the financial support I have received thus far. The assistance I have been given has been instrumental in enabling me to make progress towards my goal. It has provided me with the means to acquire the required materials and move closer to realizing my dream of having a place to call my own.

We have established a local savings group known as "chama" with the primary goal of saving money on a monthly basis and distributing it among the participating members. The funds are then utilized for various projects depending on ones choice and needs. Our chama consists of eight members, each contributing $20. This results in a total monthly pool of $160, which is then given to a different member every month. In my case, I intend to make use of my share from the chama to purchase iron sheets and construct a new house. This becomes particularly necessary as our previous dwelling collapsed three months ago. Additionally, I allocated $7 to buy new clothes, which allows me to present myself in a presentable manner. With the remaining $7, I bought essential items such as soap, detergents, and sugar for the use of my family. The financial support I receive through the chama has proven to be immensely valuable to me. Given the challenges associated with my occupation as a motorcycle taxi driver, it is difficult for me to earn a sufficient income. However, the support I receive from the chama helps bridge the gap and enhances my financial stability.

My greatest goal is to have my own house. I currently live in my brother's house, something that is not advisable considering my age, therefore I plan to construct my own house and to achieve this, I had started saving and will continue to save $20 of my monthly transfers and also already bought a few iron sheets with the transfers that I had been receiving. I would also want to go and enroll in a course, get a job, and be independent because I completed primary education but did not get a chance to further my education.

The transfers that I received had been of great help to me. I currently live in my brother's house, and It had always been my wish to own a house considering my age, but getting the money to start the construction had not been that easy. I joined a chama (an informal cooperative society that is normally used to pool and invest savings) that would act as a saving scheme for little finances that I get so that I would not have challenges in terms of finances whenever I would be ready to build. Therefore, with the transfers that I received, I managed to so set aside $20 for my construction and spent the remaining amount of $14 on food. GiveDirectly had been of so much help to me and I am so far grateful and would be forever grateful for the support because I know that before the end of the year, I will be a house owner.

When my house crumbled last year, I was forced to move into my brother’s house, where I have been staying to date. Luckily, he works and lives in Mombasa with his family. It only becomes inconvenient when they visit the village and I have to look for another place to lay my head. To ensure this never happens, I plan on building a two-room house for myself. Gladly, I was able to obtain the main materials like iron sheets and building poles through previous cash transfers. I only need $150 for labor, which I will obtain by saving through my self-help group.

I usually $20 from every cash transfer to build a one-room shelter. My current house could easily be flattened by winds because its tree poles are decayed due to time; the structure is at least ten years old. I wish to focus on completing the new house first, that is why I have been intentionally active about saving. I expect to receive $120 from my savings towards the end of this month which will cover all labor costs since am building a simple mud-walled house with an iron sheet roof. I already bought and assembled all materials through the salary I make as a security guard; what’s left is raising the structure from the ground up. Thank you Give Directly for making this possible for me. Since it was during the festive period, I spent $5 on a new pair of trousers for myself and contributed the rest towards the purchase of celebratory food. 

When I began receiving my cash transfer, we decided to form a merry go round group with others who were also beneficiaries of the same program. Our main goal is assist each other realize our goals. It is for this reason that I saved KES 3000 with this group in the last three months. Apparently, my main goal is to construct a house for I am fed up of spending in my brother's house. Anytime he is around, I do have to seek accommodation elsewhere. Being a watch guard and my wages being a drop in an ocean, realising my goal would have been a pipe dream were it not for the cash transfer program from the GiveDirectly project. Furthermore, I managed to buy some few clothes and food since I do not have family yet. Thank you so much GiveDirectly.

In my opinion, the idea of giving out unconditional transfers is great. We have achieved much in the village by uplifting our lives from the jaws of poverty. There are no more conflicts that were mainly caused by lack of finance and this has fostered unity and love in our families. I do not have complaints nor have I heard of any from the village.

I bought corn for my family at KES 2500. We had nothing in the house and raising money for food has been a challenge because we do not have a reliable source of income. I live with my mother, and she is unable to help cater to my needs because she is jobless. I work as a casual laborer(building houses) which earns me little money (KES 500 per day). Moreover, I take up to 2 weeks before I can get another job which translates to sleeping hungry or skipping meals. Besides buying corn for the family, I spent the remaining KES 500 to pay back a debt I owed my friend who saved me while I was down financially.

I had been patiently waiting for my transfer without being sure when it would come. It was early in the morning and I was on my way to the nearby town. I heard a message notification and when I checked, I was moved with joy to see an Mpesa message. I had no money at that time except KES 200 which I was going to spend on paying for my transport. With the transfer, I planned to use the cash equivalent to KES 600 to buy maize flour which we are using todate. The food I bought may take us up to the next two days.

From the time I received my transfer, I am glad that despite the fact that my salary has been delayed, I was able to acquire food for the two of us (my step motjer and I). This has saved me from borrowing money from any friend. I am optimistic that I will receive my pay very soon and this will become much in handy. I am glad that GiveDirectly offered me support when I was at my lowest point in life.

Previously, I had a debt of KES 500 that I had picked from one of my neighbours. I also had no food since 7 days preceding the day transfers were sent, I had not received my salary. Therefore, when the transfer was sent, I opted to use the cash on paying my debt as well as buying food. Although I work as a security guard, many times my salary is delayed hence I struggle a lot in order to support my step mother who is not only jobless but also old. I am glad that the transfer was not only a big relief to me, but also to my step mother.