We have been living in a small, one-room iron sheet house that I built on my relative’s land after ours was submerged in the lake. It hasn’t been sufficient for our family of five, and managing in such limited space for the past six years has been challenging. With my second transfer from GiveDirectly, I bought half an acre of land and plan to build a three-room iron sheet house for my family on it. Currently, I have planted melon on an acre of land, which will be ready for harvest in a month, and I anticipate earning about $1,000. I plan to use the proceeds from the melon harvest, along with my final transfer, to construct the house.

GiveDirectly excels at delivering unconditional cash transfers efficiently. Their follow-up after the transfers is thorough, ensuring recipients use it wisely. Sending the money in installments is particularly helpful, as it allows for better planning. You know the amount to expect and can prepare for it in advance. In my opinion, GiveDirectly’s approach works very well. I see no areas for improvement and would recommend they continue with this same method as they assist more people.

For the past six years, I’ve been living on my relative’s land after my own was submerged in water. My wish to buy land was not successful since I relied on casual jobs and charcoal production, which earned me an average of $3. I prioritized the needs of my family of five and couldn’t save anything. Upon receiving my second transfer, I decided to buy half an acre of land for $300. Additionally, to supplement my income, I bought two goats for $50 each. I had never owned goats before, but they do well in our area. My purpose for this is to provide milk for my family, and as the goats multiply, I will be able to sell them to address other needs. I also spent $35 on a mattress for my wife and me, giving our old one to our children, who had been using cowhide. Although we had maize at home, we lacked other essentials like sugar, so I used $10 for that and spent the remaining $5 on transport for my wife and me on our way back from the market where we bought our shopping.

It was late in the evening, and I was on my way back from clearing bushes on my land in preparation for digging. I was very exhausted and was looking forward to reaching home to take a rest. Suddenly, my phone, which was in my pocket, buzzed, signalling an incoming message. As I retrieved it, I was delighted to see an Mpesa notification. It was the GD transfer! I was so happy as I hurried home to share the wonderful news with my wife. She was overjoyed, and we later sat down to plan how to withdraw the money the following day in order to purchase food and other necessities.

The biggest difference in my life is that I am now filled with hope and happiness, knowing that I was able to plant on time this season. Through the transfer, we managed to till our land on time and plant efficiently. We used a modern system of tilling the land with a tractor, something I had never used before. The entire process of tilling and planting was completed in a single day, which was a great achievement for us. Previously, my wife and I struggled to till the land manually by ourselves. This method was not only time-consuming but also exhausting. Additionally, we could not concentrate solely on the land because we had to take on casual work to ensure our children had food by alternating. This stretched the planting process over a long period and made it even more exhausting. I am grateful for the support that has made this possible.

I was overjoyed to receive the first transfer, enabling me to address our immediate needs. The first thing I did was buy food with $55 for my family of five, ensuring we had enough to eat and could focus on farming our land during the planting season. Typically, we rely on irregular work on other people's farms and burning charcoal for sale, which barely brings in $50 monthly. This little income often forced us to eat only two meals a day, leaving me stressed, especially when my young ones had to skip lunch. But now, thanks to the transfer, we can enjoy proper meals and leave those worries behind. I also used $62 to till our one acre of land and buy maize seeds. This investment is primarily for our domestic use, aiming for a good harvest to sustain us next year. Additionally, I purchased a bed for my children for $33. Before this, they slept on the bare floor, risking scorpion bites and suffering from extreme cold during the rainy season. I also spent $50 on clothes for my children, ensuring they have decent attire for special occasions such as church services. This transfer has been a true blessing, Thank you, GD.