After my parents moved out of their old house to a new one they left the old one for me since I could not afford to build my own but I hoped in the future I would get money so that I could build my own place which would allow me to see my own growth and I also hoped that I would have enough money to continue with my education in college.

GiveDirectly has elevated a lot of us especially in my village from poverty which we would have never seen coming in million years. Therefore I ma very grateful and honored to have a part of this program because it has changed my life for the better and touched our hearts as well.

The first transfers helped me build my own house but unfortunately I was not done with one small part which included the door. Therefore after I received the second transfer I went ahead to buy a door to finally complete my house which cost me KES 3,000. I also decide to buy a new bed and mattress which was KES 5,000 and KES 4,200 respectively. As for what I was left with which was around KES 40,950 I decide to leave it in my savings account so that next year I could pay for my college tuition and reduce the burden on my parents since I did not have a job.

It was 9 am. when I received a message notification from my phone that turned out to have been a confirmation of the great news I had been anticipating since I was enrolled in the program. I was just a stone's throw away from my house with my father, constructing a fence that separated the grazing field and the farms. I could not check it immediately when I heard the tone but after barely 15 mins, I could not resist the curiosity even though I was fully engaged in the activity that was going on. I was so excited that I had to leave the day's work as I needed to inform my family of the good news.

After a long wait to construct a new house for my family, I was glad to finally spend a huge portion of the first transfer on obtaining construction materials and paying all the labor charges on the construction work that is currently ongoing. This has so far been the biggest difference as it has given us hope of moving into a new structure for the first time, not only for my children but also for me since I had been living in my parents' old hut since I was a kid. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for this support that has brought in new hope in our family.

Since my parents moved out from the old family house that we were raised in from our childhood period, I inherited the house and had been sheltering in it with my family for three years now. On receiving the first transfer, I had to source all the construction materials, and I am glad that the construction is almost complete after spending KES32000. I also had to do a lot on my farms where I hired a labor force and obtained enough inputs in readiness for the planting season at KES2500. It has been my wish to also plant additional trees in my compound after cutting down most of the mature trees. With KES1000 from the remaining amount, I obtained tree seedlings that I planted during the rainy season. We also had a plan as an extended family to connect piped water to our compound. Each household was tasked to contribute KES5000 that I did before exhausting the first transfer I had received.