Concentrating on renovating my shelter which is small, weak and about to collapse is currently my goal in life. I intend to expand it by building another room since it is not enough to accommodate me and the 7 grandchildren who were left under care after their parents divorced two years ago. Similarly, I am planning to construct strong pillars around it to give it stability and durability.

In my opinion, Givedirectly did well in coming up with the cash transfer program that has transformed our living conditions. Believing everyone has the opportunity to transform their life according to their wishes with transfers was something that was well thought out. I do not see anything that they did not do well I wish them the best of luck as they continue to support the low-income households in society.

I had desired to start livestock rearing as a reliable source of livelihood for my family. The transfers from GiveDirectly revived this dream, I spend $400 to purchase one crossed dairy cow and 5 goats. I am very happy that I own livestock like others that will assist in providing milk once it reproduces. Similarly, I will be selling some litres of milk to earn additional income that would support me in other basic needs. Also, when goats increase I will sell them in case of any financial emergency. In addition, I spent part of the remaining amount to renovate my one roomed, mud-walled house which was about to fall down by putting up a new door and cement floor. I bought food with the remaining part of the transfers since we did not have sufficient food for my family of eight.

I had gone to buy some household items in a nearby shop when I heard my neighbours talking about money that had been sent by GiveDirectly. I was not aware of this since I had left my phone in the house. When I returned, it was my son who disclosed the news to me that I had received a Mpesa message. When I finally checked the contents, I was greatly overjoyed when I realized that it was true that GiveDirectly had sent the first transfer. I called them the following day and thanked them for fulfilling their promise.

The transfer has greatly improved my living standard because I was able to do the things that looked impossible to fulfil. Before the coming of GiveDirectly, my children and I were sleeping on old mats, used sacks which did not offer a comfortable sleep at all. I also used the traditional bed because I could not afford to purchase modern beddings. I am happy that through the transfer, I was able to buy two new beds and two mattresses, for my children and for me. At least we can now afford to sleep peacefully as a family, unlike when we were using old beddings.

I am grateful to GiveDirectly because through the transfer, I am now owning five goats. To me, these are living assets which I can rely on for my future financial needs. My expectation is that these goats will reproduce and increase in number, and have many of them. I can readily sell the offspring to cater for my financial needs. Apart from this, I also spent Ksh. 20000 on buying two beds and two mattresses, for my children and for me. I was previously sleeping on used mats, sacks and on a traditional bed. My desire was to replace them with new ones only that I could not afford to buy at my own cost. Acquiring these new ones has ensured that we sleep well as a family. In addition to these, I also cleared my children's fees which had accumulated to Ksh. 10000. This allowed them to continue with their studies without any interruptions on school fees.