I am old and no longer economically active. Providing for the basic needs of my wife and two grandchildren has been a great struggle for me. In the coming year, I hope to invest in agricultural farming to produce enough food for the family. I intend to hire workers to assist me in preparing and planting maize in my firm of two acres. This will ensure that I have food security and will no longer have to stay hungry 2 days a week.

In my opinion, Givedirectly did well in fulfilling every promise they make to us about the transfers. Right from the baraza where we were trained about the program, everything went well. In my opinion, I feel that every eligible household was enrolled without discrimination and there is nothing they should change about their process.

I spent my transfer to construct a decent and respected house one-roomed, iron-roofed house. This is because I was living in a small house without an enclosure. Similarly, I was using it as the kitchen and bedroom at the same. Most of the time, I had to seek shelter from our neighbours whenever I received important visitors which was embarrassing. In addition, I supported the education of my two grandchildren who are in secondary school. They had huge fee arrears and were about to drop out. Lastly, I used the remaining amount to acquire sufficient food for the family since we are experiencing famine in our area.

It was in the morning when I was in the field sourcing for a living when I heard people saying that they had received their transfers from GiveDirectly. I took my time wisely and left for home without them discovering the reason but I had panicked thinking that I had been left out. At around 9 am, I reached home and I contacted my helper to confirm for me. When he took the phone, it vibrated and he told me that mine was still in the airwaves but finally it had reached. I was engulfed in happiness since I had no money at all and I saw this transfer as a miracle.

The biggest difference that is vivid at my home is the presence of livestock. Initially, I had some goats but they all died of the drought that affected our area. I was not sure how I would replace the dead goats bearing in mind that a homestead without livestock incomplete in our traditional setup. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for enabling me to restore the goats' glory that I thought was gone completely.

Upon withdrawing the money, I bought six goats for KES 27000.00. I bought them as an investment because once they give birth they will give me an allowance for selling hence getting some money from them. I also bought 12 pieces of iron sheets for KES 10800.00 to add a second room to my house which had just one room and a veranda. The reason for the room addition is to have ample space to accommodate my family members because it was small and congested. Thereafter, I used the remaining amount in buying some food for my family and catering to other needs.