After achieving most of my goals with help of the transfer, I have a new goal which is to connect tap water to our home. At the moment, I am forced to travel a long distance every morning to collect water for household consumption. Walking for more than 15 kilometers while carrying 20 liters of water on my head is a very tiresome experience for me. In addition, it is not enough for washing and cooking for the family. On the other hand, my ambition is to renovate our structure by constructing an additional room. The one we own is very small with a single room which is hardly enough to accommodate our family of 5 members and the household Items.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well for coming up with the cash transfer program instead on material aid. Additionally, giving the right for the beneficiaries to choose on how best to change our living standards with the transfer was a great thing. I do not see anything that it does not do well.

I spent my recent transfer to purchase modern bedding for my family for KES 11,500. Earlier, I was sharing an old, small bed with my spouse and 3 children. We were forced to sleep on the floor whenever we had visitors at home. In addition, I used KES 20,000 to pay for part of the loan that took some time back to purchase a motorbike for my husband. He is using it for a taxi business a reliable source of income that has been sustaining our basic needs like food. Before, my husband was doing temporary casual activities that were rear to get as well as had a very low income. Lastly, I spent KES 9000 to support the education of my sibling who is in secondary school and had a huge fee balance.

I was preparing breakfast for my family in the morning when my mother-in-law requested me to read out the contents of the message she had received on her phone. She had received her first transfer from Give Directly. I quickly became anxious and reached out to check my phone, too. It surprised me when I found out that I had received my transfer. Tears of joy rolled down my chubby cheeks as I broke into a dance joined by my relatives. Later that day, I cooked a delicious meal of “Pilau” to celebrate the moment.

Buying the motorcycle for my husband has brought the biggest difference in my life since receiving the transfers. Currently, my husband is self-employed and earns a higher income than when he worked as a tout. The situation has improved, and he now saves money that we will use to improve our lives. Before buying the motorcycle, it was very difficult to save because he earned very little from his job.

Being the sole breadwinner of my family, I face a lot of challenges in meeting the needs (school fees, buying food and clothing) of my family (husband and three children). I work as a casual laborer selling firewood and working on other people’s farms for pay. I earn very little (KES 200 per day) from my job, which is not enough to cater to all my family’s needs. My husband works as a “Matatu tout” earning very little and does not work daily. Therefore, when I received my transfer, I spent KES 30000 on buying a motorcycle that my husband will use to start a “Bodaboda” business. This will guarantee him self-employment and a stable source of income. I spent KES 6000 on buying a mattress after spending the last 10 years sleeping on a sisal twine bed, which was uncomfortable and affected negatively on my health. Besides buying the mattress, I spent KES 5000 on seeking medical attention from my youngest son, who was ill and whose condition was deteriorating. Finally, I spent the remaining amount on buying food for my family after going through struggles of surviving one meal per day.