Yes, I don’t have a good house and the one I have is in a really bad state. One of my goals is that I want to build a house for myself. The house will be of great importance to me and my family as we will have a good house that can accommodate us all. I also want to be able to pay school fees for my children who are in school so that their education can continue without any interruption.

GiveDirectly does well in ensuring that it supports the vulnerable members in the family by giving them support which is in form of money. I also commend them for being able to help us with money and also bestows power on us to be able to decide how best we can spend the money. The money from GiveDirectly is not repaid so that’s a good thing for us who have nothing much to depend on.

I spent the money on buying timber, nails, and iron sheets that were used in the building of my new house. As of now, my house is in the process of completion and very soon we will be moving to the new house. I also spent a portion of the amount in buying beds and mattresses for me and my family. Before we use to sleep on woven mats and slept on the floor. With the remaining amount, I did save it as I continue thinking about what business I should engage in so that I can be able to make a good profit to be able to maintain my family.

I am a casual laborer, constructing houses on a part-time basis. Nowadays, this is job is hard to get since most of the construction stopped because of lack of water as a result of the drought condition. It was around 10 am, I was at my working place when I received the Mpesa message on my phone. I couldn't believe my eyes after checking my account balance. I had received KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I felt very happy for receiving the transfer that I had been eagerly awaited for.

The biggest difference is in my daily life is that I am living a happy life after accomplishing my dream of constructing a respectable shelter for the family. I did not believe that I would be able to build such a good house in a short period because of poverty. I had lost the hope of owning a good house like others in the village. The casual jobs that I was doing earn me hardly enough to construct a better shelter.

I spent KES 40,000 to construct a decent 3-roomed house for my family by purchase iron sheets, building poles, nails, and paying the labor charges. This is because the house that I own earlier was small, grass-thatched, and single-roomed. I used it as the kitchen, living room, and bedroom at the same time. It was not enough to accommodate all our commodities. I had wished to own a more spacious house but I lack the financial capacity to build one. In addition, I support my 3 children's education by paying their fees arrears, they were always sent home due to fees issues. Currently, they are happy to learn without any disturbances after clearing their fees. With the remaining amount, I bought enough food for the family.