Before receiving the money I had the intention to build a better house for my husband and I since our house was old and we were old as well so a better home would leave us more comfortable and at peace, but due to the fact that we did not have the finances we made due with the little that we had and just hoped that some day we would manage to construct something better. I had plans to also at least be able to rear livestock from several reasons like including help in plowing our land since we are elderly.

I would change or improve GiveDirectly in any way because before being introduced to the programs and the projects that had I was struggling financially and so were many people in our area but now with the assistance most of us can sustain ourselves and live in better homes, our children can go to school without fear of getting kicked out and most importantly we do not go to bed hungry like before where it was almost normal. So I commend GiveDirectly and I hope it keeps up the good work.

After I received the money I went ahead and began the construction of my house and I bought the building material which included iron sheets and timber and this inclusively cost me a total of KES 30,000 plus the construction that is. I also went ahead and bought a cow which went for KES 15,000 and considering the cow needed shelter I made it a shed which amounted KES 9,500. I also bought a mattress worth KES 3,500 because previously I slept on a mat.Then the remainder of the money I bought three large bags of maize flour that cost KES 3,900 and each bag contained twelve packets and I was happy and content because this meant I had food that would last me a while since our village experienced scarcity in food due to severe drought that had affected our region.

It was at 9 o'clock I was in my house chatting with my husband. I heard a message notification on my phone and I had to call my elder son to check my phone since I can not read because of old age. I was extremely happy when he informed me that it was the transfer from GiveDirectly. At first, I thought it was a prank since I had never received a cash grant in my life.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am currently living in a decent house with my family after renovating my house. I could not have achieved such great development within a very short time without the aid. Previously, I was spending sleepless nights due to the poor condition of my house. In addition, I was able to boost my farming by acquiring an ox-plough and ox. I am confident that I will produce enough farm harvest for my family consumption.

It is almost 2 years now, I am not able to work well due to my knees problem. I can not stand or walk for more than an hour. Being a peasant farmer, I have desired to purchase oxen and ox-plough to assist me in preparing my farm but I lacked the financial capacity. After receiving my transfer, I spent KES 25,000 to purchase an ox and ox-plough. Earlier, I was using hand and hoe to till my farm which was very tedious and characterized by a poor harvest. I also purchase a mattress for KES 3000, the mat that I was using was not comfortable and prone to bedbugs. I also purchased 24 iron sheets at KES 700 each, nails and set aside KES 3500 for labor charges. This was for renovating my house which was leaking due to the old rusty iron sheets. The remaining amount assisted me in acquiring sufficient food for the families.