In the coming year, I hope to connect tap water to our house. This will ensure that we have readily available water for the family use as well as for sale to earn extra income. Currently, we are forced to travel for 2 kilometres daily in searching for clean water. Being old, this is a very tiresome task for me. Similarly, I was lucky to receive 10000 litres water tank from our county government where I intend to store enough water. In addition, I am planning to start a small farm where I would be doing irrigation farming to grow a variety of vegetables like spinach for my own use.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well in conducting community meetings before the actual enrollment. Through this, we were able to get first-hand information about the whole process. Additionally, the decision to target the less fortunate households in society directly was a well-thought-out idea. I would recommend they train the potential beneficiaries about financial planning before sending them the cash.

For many years, I and my spouse have been living in a small, old mud-walled house which was collapsing and required constant repair. After receiving the first transfer from GiveDirectly, I started the construction of a new semi-permanent house but I did not complete it. I spent the recent transfer to complete it by purchasing 20 bags of cement, Iron sheets, and timbers and setting aside the remaining amount to pay the labour charges. At the moment, I am happy that we are living in a decent house which will no longer require frequent repairs which are very costly.

It was in the evening while I was out in the field looking after my cattle when I got a message notification. I am not conversant with messages, so I did not bother to open it. When I got home I asked my sister-in-law to check out the message. The smile on her face could tell that it was a piece of pleasant news. She then told me that I had received KES 55000 from Give Directly. I felt so happy and we both celebrated.

The biggest difference in my daily life is the happiness and pride I have for having made a great step. I did not know I would ever complete my house since I do not have a reliable source of income except for rearing livestock and casual work which is not reliable. With the climatic conditions in our area, the livestock does not survive in most cases due to the long drought that we normally experience. I am grateful to Give directly for the support.

I had started constructing a house but I left it halfway with only one room fully done. Completing the single room was not a walk in the park because I do not have a reliable income and whenever I come across casual work I earn little from them. We had no choice but the seven of us had to ourselves in a single room. The moment when I received my money I spent the whole of it on bricks and construction labor. At the moment, the house is at the lintel stage only pending roofing. I had lost hope of ever completing the house and I can not believe that it will be soon done. I am hopeful that I will complete it with the second transfer.