For a long time I have stayed in a dilapidated house, with broken walls which let in water in the raining season,and extream heat during sunshine. My hope for the year is to renovate this house and it would really make me excited and boost my esteem to live in a decent house with my 3 children. Moreover, having worked in a hotel before, my other ambition for the year is to open up a food kiosk in the village.

I spent 2000 KES on my 2 school going children – 1000 KES on uniform and another 1000 KES to pay their fee. So as to sustain their future,I also bought 3 chicken for each 350 KES.

My primary goal is to fully renovate my dilapidated house by the end of this year. While I've made some initial efforts with the limited funds I could gather, the renovation remains incomplete. My main focus now is to plaster all the walls, ensuring they are sturdy enough to withstand rain and erosion. To achieve this, I am committed to setting aside a portion of my income and transfers specifically for this project with the aim of seeing it to completion.

I received the GiveDirectly transfers during a time of desperate financial need. My two children had been sent home from school due to unpaid fees, one in Grade two and the other in Grade 1, and since my husband and I lacked a stable source of income, it became a very challenging period. Fortunately, GiveDirectly came to our rescue, and with the received funds, I was able to pay off the outstanding school fees, which amounted to $10. Additionally, I decided to invest in a chicken-rearing project, using $10 to purchase two chicks so that I do not face such financial challenges in the future. With the remaining amount, I bought school shoes for my two children at $5 each, as well as a pair for myself. The support from GiveDirectly was a tremendous relief, lightening the financial burden we had been facing.

By the end of this year and beyond, my primary goal is to renovate and enhance the state of my house. The walls, which were once covered in mud, have deteriorated, resulting in significant openings. This dilapidated state poses a significant safety risk for my family members. I intend to purchase cement bags and reinforce the walls, thereby strengthening the structure. This way, I can alleviate concerns about the house collapsing and ensure that my family has a secure place to live.

In my family of five, my husband is the sole provider. He earns a living constructing houses for villagers. The scarcity of job opportunities poses a significant challenge for him in meeting the needs of our growing family. The current heavy rainfall exacerbates the situation, as people are focusing on farming rather than building houses. This lack of income has had an impact on us, forcing us to survive on only a cup of porridge each day for more than four days in May. When I received my transfers for May, I spent $20 on purchasing food. I am grateful that this food helped us avoid a hunger crisis in our home. Additionally, I used some of the money to pay off school fees for my two children, who had accumulated significant balances. I am relieved that my children are back in school, continuing their education. I also bought a packet of maize seeds to plant on our 2-acre farm. It is a blessing that we are finally receiving abundant rainfall after years of drought. I am hopeful that we will have a bountiful harvest, which will alleviate our struggles.

My house collapsed on one side last year, and I couldn't renovate it in time. I had to save for more than two months in order to buy the required building materials, such as iron sheets and building poles. My husband works as a casual labourer, and his earnings can't satisfy all these needs. I am at peace because, through the transfers, my house is currently in a stable state, and I am happy to have a decent house to live in. In addition to this, I am also able to feed my family, unlike before the program came. I have been depending mainly on subsistence farming, which has not been doing well due to inadequate rains. We have been hit by a severe drought. I am glad that I can adequately provide food for my family and that my children are comfortable in school. Whenever I receive a transfer, I split it into school fees and also buy food.

I am unemployed and rely on the charcoal business to earn a living. To help support the family, my husband does occasional construction work. This is never enough to meet the needs of my family. I spent $20 on food right after receiving my recent transfer. The food kept us going for eight days, which gave me the energy to put more effort into charcoal making. As a result, I did not have as many strains as I did a week before the transfer dates. I also spent $6 on two chicks, which was my most viable investment option because I had previously raised domestic fowls. Finally, I spent the remainder on shoes for my two children. They did not have shoes but were rather using sandals that were not very presentable.

I used KES 6000 of the last three months' transfer to renovate my house that had a shattered wall. I was afraid the condition could worsen that might have led us to construct a new house which is more costly and thus I opted for the renovation. My husband who is the main income earner does not make enough money from the casual work he does at the construction site and so it would have taken him ages to raise money for the renovation. KES 2000 I spent on foodstuffs for our household and bought three chickens worth KES 1000 for rearing. I am happy I was able to assist my husband with some of the household expenses.

I hold the opinion that GiveDirectly is a unique organization based on how it operates. Basically, it does well in improving people's lives by giving unconditional cash transfers. It also embraces sending money through Mpesa, as a result, no one can notice when an individual's transfer is sent, and this promotes the safety of the recipients. However, there is nothing that GiveDirectly does is super well.

By the time my transfers were sent, I did not have any food in my house. The family had consumed all that we had the previous day and sadly, we were unaware of when we could get the next meal. With the transfer, I opted to spend KES 920 on buying maize flour which lasted my family 1 week. In addition, since my house is in a pathetic condition, I also spent KES 1,000 on buying 10 round poles which I planning to use to mend the section of the house that has been weakened. Generally, it has been weak and I fear that if it goes for long, it can elapse. Lastly, I used KES 500 to pay off the school fee for my 2 children.

I was charging my phone late at night. Before going to bed I removed my phone from the charger ,and the first message I saw when I switched on the phone was the m-pesa message from GiveDirectly. I was excited and called my husband immediately to share the good news.He was unavailable at that moment but l managed to share the news with him the next day.

The difference that have faced in my life is the upgrade of my living standards. Initially my life has been incomplete due to the fact that have never had a constant flow of income.I have intentions of improving my life by using this funds to upgrade my house and live in a decent place. I am also living a more purposeful life because even with the drought and farmine caused by the change in climate ,I am able to support my family with food and education.

My priority has been constructing a decent house because the current one is not in good condition.Due to continous rainfall experienced years back my house is crumbling.However with the current situation of drought and farmine, my objectives have changed.I spent KES 970 to buy food because my household ran out of food and the rest KES 200 bought my two sons a pair of shoes each. They have been walking barefoot exposing their feet to fungal organisms that infect their feet and sometimes they come home sore because of a long day walking and playing barefoot.