Our new goal is to build another sleeping house for our boys. We have already bought the materials needed for the construction. We bought 22 iron sheets and we have cut down the trees to get timber and building poles. We did this using the second transfer. We are hence only waiting for my husband who is a mason to come and start building it. We had already built a house for them to sleep but the house is small and not enough to accommodate even a guest visiting the household. With the new house that we will build, they will be able to have enough space for themselves and somewhere where a guest can sleep.

GiveDirectly taught us well through the meetings that they held with the community members before starting the enrollment. They also enlightened us that we needed to change our mobile money PINs for the case where we have used our year of birth as the pin. Their work is good and I urge them to continue with the same.

We spent most of the second transfer on buying a water tank and the materials for building a sleeping house for our boys. We bought a 5000-liter tank, 22 iron sheets, and we cut down some of the trees to get timber and building poles. The remaining amount of money, we used in buying food. We decided to buy the water tank because we usually experience a dry season in our area for a long period, that is, five to six months. As a result, we usually buy water where six containers go for KES 200. This is hence costly. We had built a house for our boys before but the house is small and not enough to accommodate a guest visiting. We decided to make plans to construct another more spacious one. We were not able to do the above before because we did not have the money. We are so grateful to GiveDirectly because, with the water tank that we bought, we have been able to collect rainwater for our household use. We hence no longer incur the cost of buying water like before.

The moment I received the transfer I felt so happy. I remember it was around 9am. I was from my mother's houss. When I was almost home I heard a ringtone message from my phone . When I checked it out, I could not believe my eyes, there 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 immediately inform my family members and they were so happy. I knew I would be able to pay school fees for my children and buy a dairy cow. I went to withdrew the money the same day and planned on how to spend it with my family. I am so grateful because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have purchased a heifer. I used to buy milk and this was so costly for me since I do not have a continuous source of income. I depend on casual jobs and small scale farming. The amount of money that I get through this is so small and it's only for household basic needs and school fees for my children. I had always wished to own a dairy cow but it was not possible. My children would go without milk whenever I had no money. This was so demoralizing and stressful. Currently I am so happy because I have a heifer. I know when it reproduce in the next few months I will get enough milk for the family and even sell the extra milk to earn an income. I will used the money to pay school fees for my children and even meet other household items. This has given me hope and strength to work hard for better tomorrow. I am so grateful for the support because were it not GiveDirectly all this could not have happened. GiveDirectly not only has improved our living standards now but also assured us of a better future since of the assets that we have purchased. I am so grateful for the support.

I spend KES 30,000 to purchase a heifer. I buy milk daily and this is so costly for me. I will cut this cost when my heifer reproduce in the next few months. I paid school fees for my children and they were able to study well without being sent home like before. I plough my farm ready for planting maize as soon as the rain comes. They rest of the money I spend on food and clothes for my children. I am so grateful for support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards.