I used KES 11000 to buy furniture for the newly constructed house. This was to provide me and my family the much needed comfort. I am happy that home is now a more beautiful and comfortable place to stay in courtesy of GiveDirectly transfers. I used another KES 20000 to pay school fees for my daughter who is pursuing her university education.. The money came at an opportune time when she needed to pay the fee in order to be allowed to sit for her exams. I have 8 children in total and those that are still in their primary and secondary schools also need some money for their educational use. I shared the remaining amount to be enough for all of them also stocked food that will take us a couple of days before it is over. My husband does support me by getting income through casual jobs but he can do very little as at now since age is catching up with him.

In my opinion GiveDirectly doe well in giving every household within the village equal amount of money irrespective of their economic status and the fact that each and every household has the liberty to choose how to choose what to spend the money on. I did not feel like there was anything that should be changed in terms of how they conducted themselves.

I got one additional goal of buying a water tank once I get some cash. Having received the first and the second transfer, I was ably to build a new house that is roofed with iron sheets. This has got me thinking o f how I will be able to accumulate enough money and be able to bu a water tank that will see me collect rain water from the roof of my new house. Currently and over time, we have had to rely on borrowing clean drinking water from neighbours who already have water tanks. We also have to travel for long distance each day in search of water from far away rivers from home something that consumes most of our time especially during the dry seasons. This dream of having a water tank will take a little longer since I work as a casual laborer and I often end up spending less almost all the money that I earn.

I spent part of the money to pay school fees for my daughter in the University. She was so happy and grateful since this was a challenge for us. I bought building materials and build a better and spacious house for my family. We used to live in a small house which could not host all my family members. The rest of the money I bought food and clothes for my children. I am so grateful because GiveDirectly has enabled us to live a better life than before. Were it not GiveDirectly all this could not have happened.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have build a better and spacious house for my family. We used to live in a small house which could not host all my family members comfortably. I depend on casual jobs and small scale farming. This two gives me small income and because of the recurring expenses and school fees for my children, I was not in a position to save so that I can build a better house. My priorities were school fees and basic needs. GiveDirectly came and gave me another chance to relook on my list. I bought building materials and started to build a better and spacious house. We were spending nights with our children in one house. This is a taboo in our community to sleep in one room with grown up children. This was so demoralizing and stressful but I had no option. Currently I have a decent and spacious house. The construction is on progress and when it's completed we will be able to sleep in separate rooms. I am so grateful because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards to be much better compared to previous days.

The moment I received the transfer I felt so happy. I remember vividly like yesterday that it was around 11am. I was on my farm cultivating. When I heard a ringtone message from my phone. When I checked it out, I could not believe my eyes. It was a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy because I have never received such amount of money before. I stopped whatever I was doing and rushed back home to inform my family members. They were all happy and celebrated with lots of joy. I knew I would be able to buy building materials and build a better and spacious house for my family.