I am grateful that I have finally achieved my long-term goal of building a house with an iron roof. For many years, I lived in a grass-thatched hut. At my age, I can no longer work and support myself. Instead, I rely on transfers and some support from my son, who has his own family to take care of. In order to reduce my financial burden, I have decided to invest in livestock, specifically goats. Goats are easy to take care of and breed quickly. I currently own eight goats and plan to buy more in the future. This will allow me to sell them and generate cash whenever I need it.

I have been living in a grass-thatched hut for many years and never imagined that I would one day live in an iron-roofed house until GiveDirectly came. The grass thatch roof was only temporary, and I often had to replace it with new grass, which was a tiresome job, especially for me as an elderly person. During the rainy season, I had to grapple with a leaking roof. My prayer was to one day build a new, spacious house with an iron roof. Building a new house seemed expensive, considering our poor financial status. However, when I began receiving the transfers from GiveDirectly, I resolved with my spouse, who is also a beneficiary, to save the money to buy iron sheets and building poles. Despite facing other problems in our household, we managed to purchase the building materials in bits every month, and with the recent transfers, we were able to build the house. We saved up to $100 over the past few months and used it to pay for the labor costs as well as purchasing the remaining materials. This would have taken us years to achieve, but I am grateful to GiveDirectly for coming through. Now, I am no longer facing the challenges I used to go through, and in our old age, my spouse and I have a nice shelter to live in. I also spent the remaining transfers on buying foodstuffs such as cereals and sugar, as well as some toiletries that we needed in our household.

My immediate plan is to acquire the three remaining pieces of iron sheets, along with the necessary timber and building poles. Once I have gathered all the required building materials, I will be ready to initiate the construction process and even settle the remaining payment with the mason to ensure the completion of the house. The financial support I have received has brought immense happiness to both myself and my wife, as it has paved the way for us to achieve our goal of obtaining a new home. The prospect of building a good quality house was once unimaginable in my life, but thanks to the consistent monthly transfers, this dream is now becoming a tangible reality. I am filled with gratitude for the financial boost that has provided us with the means to embark on this transformative journey.

Since the beginning of this year, my wife and I have dedicated ourselves to working diligently towards the goal of constructing a superior and more comfortable house compared to our current dwelling. Our existing house is constructed with mud walls and covered with grass, which has deteriorated over time. The deteriorating grass roof now has significant gaps, allowing rainwater to seep inside whenever it rains. To address this issue, I have allocated more than $57 from the transfers I receive to purchase iron sheets. As of now, my wife and I have accumulated over 21 sheets, leaving only three more to acquire in order to reach the desired 24 pieces necessary for building a new two-roomed house. Excitingly, I recently provided a down payment of $45 to the skilled mason who will commence the construction process. The realization of my dream to construct a new house is gradually materializing, largely thanks to the monthly transfers that I receive. This financial support has played a pivotal role in enabling me to gather the necessary building materials, making significant progress towards my goal. I am filled with gratitude and enthusiasm as I witness my plans to build a better home begin to unfold. The improved living conditions that a new house will provide are within reach, and I am profoundly appreciative of the ongoing assistance from the transfers.

I intend to build a new iron-roofed house soon after I purchase enough building materials, such as iron sheets and building poles. After years of living in a grass-thatched hut, my ambition is to live in a decent, iron-roofed house. The deplorable state of the hut, worsened by its tendency to leak during rainfall, has made each day a struggle. The constant need to replace the grass roofing, a time-consuming and repetitive task, has added to my burdens. I am pleased that I have so far acquired 21 pieces of iron sheets, which is a significant step toward achieving my goal of building the new house. This was after saving the transfers with my spouse, who is also a beneficiary. I am hoping to start this project soon so that we can have a decent house at our current age.

For years, my dwelling has been a humble grass-thatched hut, devoid of any prospects for improvement. I held onto the hope that my sons would eventually attain a level of prosperity that would enable them to provide me with a better house. However, the reality is that they are grappling to meet even the basic needs of their own families. Consequently, I found myself enduring the challenges of residing in a leaking hut, perpetually replacing the thatched roof with fresh grass. The prospect of realizing my aspiration for a new dwelling was rekindled when I received support from GiveDirectly. Both my wife and I are beneficiaries of this assistance, and despite the substantial financial demands our family faces, we made a collective decision to save a portion of our monthly resources. This endeavour is aimed at gradually acquiring the necessary materials, specifically iron sheets and building poles. I am elated that our efforts have borne fruit, as we have successfully acquired 21 iron sheets thus far. While our original target was 24 sheets to create a more spacious residence, the progress we have made is a testament to the impact of GiveDirectly's support. In addition to this transformative achievement, the funds received also facilitated the purchase of essential foodstuffs such as maize flour, ensuring that our family's nourishment needs were met.

Apart from making sure my spouse and I have adequate food, I'm also working on building an effective shelter. In addition to allowing water to leak in when it rains, the withering grass thatches on my roof also harbor harmful insects. Moreover, the house's shaky mud walls might collapse due to severe winds or heavy rains. Sadly, constructing a new dwelling, especially one with a tin roof, is becoming increasingly expensive. At my advanced age, I am unable to work to generate sufficient funds for the project. With my wife's help, I plan on saving half of every monthly financial transfer to build a more secure structure.

I've been living in constant concern that my grass-thatch-roofed house might crumble, leaving my wife and me without a roof over our heads. Building a new dwelling has been tough since we cannot generate the necessary finances as both of us are elderly and have no income streams. Furthermore, banking on my two sons to contribute to the project's costs is out of the question because they rely on low-wage casual house construction labor. They occasionally ask for our financial support to meet their needs. I'm glad that the financial transfers enable me to cover my daily needs and build funds for the new house. I normally pay $19 for two iron sheets and the rest of the money on food after receiving my transfers.

My first priority has always been figuring out how to build a new, better house. The existing one is in poor shape; more of the wall and the roof have collapsed. My spouse and I are both elderly, therefore we were unable to accomplish anything to raise money for a new room's construction. When we call the children who have moved to the town for the purpose of financial support, they always say they have no income. We therefore relied on burning charcoal for sale, but as we get older, we can no longer handle the demanding task. I told my wife to cease burning charcoal the moment we started getting the transfers, and we now only enjoy the monthly stipend. Since then, we have been utilizing part of the money to buy food and part to buy building supplies. We have so far raised ten iron sheet pieces, but we still need eighteen more to raise the necessary number. As long as we get all the monthly transfers, we aim to have a dream house by the end of the year

I spent the previous three transfers purely on food. Hunger was a major issue in my household, we used to starve for two consecutive days because there was no money to buy food. Being the family's breadwinner, I retired from my hustle of burning charcoal at the prospect of receiving regular cash transfers from Give Directly. The transfers became my only source of income and the food I bought always lasted us up to the last four days before the next transfer. At that point, it was easy to convince the shopkeeper to give me foodstuff on credit as I awaited cash from Give Directly. Since the hunger problem is now gradually lessening, my next mission is to build a new two-room tin roof and mud-walled house for my wife and me. Our current structure is in a very poor condition that you would not easily tie it to a human dwelling. The grass-thatched roof was infested by insects, which left perforations that let it water when it rains. Also, we use the same one-room space for both cooking and sleeping. To build the new house, I need around 30 pieces of iron sheets. So, I saved the most recent transfer to start purchasing the roofing materials.

We thank GiveDirectly because their coming has changed our lives and has uplifted our living standards. We are now able to afford the basic needs like food and education to our children with ease. We are at peace knowing that GiveDirectly will send us money on time, despite the pitiable situation we are in. Giving us the transfers unconditionally is what GiveDirectly does well. I do not see anything that it does not do well.

I spent all my first transfer on paying for my son's tuition fee. He is currently enrolled in a technical training college and to avoid interruptions on his studies, I paid for him in advance. I am glad that he is now in school because of the transfer. When the second transfer came, I spent Ksh. 2500 and purchased a goat which I am currently keeping on my homestead. I already had some and my plan is to have many of them. To me owning goats is an investment and I can readily rely on in case of a financial need. I spent the remaining amount on buying foodstuffs which include a bale of maize flour and daily vegetables for my family.

My phone was charging all day, and immediately I switched on the phone. I received a text message. I was very when I learnt I had received my first transfer. It filled my heart with joy because I did not expect to receive such an amount of money.

Using the money from the transfer to buy food made a tremendous impact on my life. Sleeping hungry is the order of the day since I do not get plenty of jobs like I previously did. I am grateful I bought food. My family had food to eat after spending three days surviving on water and some wild fruits.

I earn a living by making of traditional beds. Unlike in previous years, I make a few beds because of reduced clients. The harsh economy has contributed to my reduced income as most clients focus on buying commodities such as food. I struggle to cater to my family’s (wife and me) needs (food and clothing). When I have no money to spend, I depend on my son working in town as a casual laborer, building houses. When I received my first transfer, I bought a bag of maize at KES 1200. I bought maize because it is cheap compared to a packet of maize flour and will also serve me longer than the maize flour.