Despite being an experienced barber, I have not been able to practice this skill for over 5 years now. My new goal is to start a barber shop in the village once I got some money. To achieve this, I intend to purchase a big solar panel and shaving machine and start this venture at my home since we are located adjacent to the road. I am confident of making a good profit because of the already existing market in villages. Currently, we are forced to walk for many kilometers to the nearest town to get this service.

In my opinion, I feel that GiveDirectly did well in sending cash to the less fortunate community directly to their phone. Similarly making it unconditional was a great decision as every household was able to choose on how to use it. Lastly, the officers did not request for any payment for one to be enrolled.

I spent my recent transfer to complete the construction of a decent and spacious 3-roomed house for my family. I used KES 20,000 to purchase building poles and pay the labor costs. Currently, I am happy to reside in a better shelter together with my family of 11 members. Earlier, I was living in a small house that was not enough to accommodate all my children forcing 5 children to seek shelter from their grandmother. I had wished to own a big house but did not have enough money. The job of charcoal vending that I had been depending on did not earn me adequate income to construct a new shelter. Similarly, I had a huge burden of educating my 9 children who are still schooling. Lastly, I used KES 25,000 to clear the fee arrears for my children since they were frequently sent home for school fees something that negatively affected their performance.

It was around 9 AM when I am at the construction site when one of my colleagues mentioned that they had received their first cash transfer. I couldn't keep calm and checked my phone which was on silent mode. I also confirmed that I had received my first cash transfer, I was so happy and felt blessed for receiving the cash that I had anxiously been waiting for. I remember calling my wife and informing her about the good news, she couldn't hold her joy as well. We were all sure that we would finally build our dream house.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I now have a better house. Initially, I used to sleep in a small house which could accommodate all my family members at. Also, its roof was in a bad state and leaking during the rainy seasons. My children have been sleeping at their grandmother's house for years which is also small in size. I am therefore grateful to GiveDirectly for supporting me financially. I honestly had never enjoyed the peace of living in a decent house ever since I was born. I had been willing to buy any of the necessary materials just to renovate the house but I couldn't afford it. This is because of the financial crisis that I have been experiencing. Being the breadwinner, it has never been easy to cater to the family's needs and construct a better house. I am glad that I will no longer have to worry about the harsh weather and my family's privacy.

I spent part of my first transfer on buying building poles such as iron sheets, building poles, nails, a wooden door, and threads a total cost of KES 42000. This had to be a priority because the previous one was a small temporary house that could barely fit all my nine family members. Some of my seven children had to sleep at their grandmother's houses. I had wished to sleep under the shelter with them but this was in vain. To add to that, I cleared fees of KES 3000 for the five children who are still in primary school. I am glad that they will be able to sit for exams with their friends which was just around the corner. With the remaining amount of money, I bought foodstuffs for my family took us three weeks.