The biggest difference is that I am now hopeful of living in my own home. Through the transfers I got from Give Directly I have already bought the necessary building materials. Initially, I only used to depend on casual jobs. The money I got from these jobs was enough to buy basic needs. I used to save nothing towards this goal therefore there were slim chances of establishing my home. I have also started tailoring business and I see myself increasing the level of revenue.

In my opinion, the fact that the grant issued by Give Directly is unconditional makes it so unique. One can use the money how best they feel without restrictions with no one bagging you to pay back the transfers. I have not recorded anything that GD had done badly.

Upon receiving my second transfer, I decided to upgrade my house. I had been living in a grass-thatched house for quite a long time and I felt it was the opportune time to transition. So I spent Kes 40,000 to upgrade to an iron-roofed house. The remaining amount I gave my daughter to pay her school fees to prevent her from being sent home for school fees.

I have been working as a tailor for a long time in a rented premise, which has been my major source of income. My biggest ambition was to one day build a premise for my business to relieve me the monthly rental costs. I tried to save some money for this but I could not achieve it due to the overwhelming family needs. I felt my dream was fulfilled when I received my first transfer. I managed to buy building materials which include poles, timber sand and cement to facilitate construction of a shop. I am happy that I will no longer be paying rent upon its completion. In addition, I also managed to buy a new sewing machine to replace the old one and this has made my work easier as well as serving a larger number of customers. To me, these two achievements make the biggest difference in my daily life since they give hope of a better income and more saving than I do currently.

I was woken by an incoming message alert on my phone. when I checked who could have sent me the message, it came to my realization that I had received my first transfer from GiveDirectly. I was filled with happiness as I thanked them for financial assistance.

I operate a tailoring business to help me meet my family needs. I had an old, faulty sewing machine thus serving a good number of customers was challenging. I spent KES 15000 to buy a new sewing machine to replace the old one. As a tailor, acquiring this new equipment means that I will be working effectively to serve a larger number of customers unlike before. This will increase my daily income. In addition to this, I was renting the premise where I operate the tailoring shop. On receiving my transfer, I bought building poles, sand and cement and to build my own shop and paid the mason for his job. Having my own shop will relieve me the rental cost I incur every month. Lastly, I also purchased a mattress to change the beddings to have comfort.