Looking back to the past years when we had not received anything from GiveDirectly, life and everything in it was really hard. Working in the white settlers' farms was a routine which would always find us in their farms very early in the morning only to leave at the very late hours of the day. On receiving the transfers, a lot of transformation came in and currently we are working hard on our farms, producing our own foods and have also improved in other sectors like infrastructure and also school fees payment. Were it not for this transfers we would still be where we were. Thanks to GiveDirectly.

When GiveDirectly first came into our village, our assumption was that they were coming as a credit facility to give us a loan so that we may start projects which will help us pay them back after. This mindset changed when we attended the meeting and got enlightened on the whole thing. Receiving a free cash transfer with the freedom to spend it the way we want was the best decision made by GiveDirectly. This to me is a work well done. At least we have been able to clear school fees payment, purchase livestock and also avail enough foodstuff in our households for our children. On the other hand, it was my wish that GiveDirectly would have included the unmarried youths in this program. Most of them are jobless and would need a helping hand which most parents are not able to give. This would have been an excellent approach which would have completely transformed the village unlike at the moment where only parents benefited from the program.

After receiving the second transfers from GiveDirectly, I decided to spend part of it on buying a heifer which was worth 12000 KES. I made this decision since we had been buying milk for such a long time and this was the only chance to end that expense. I also used part of the remaining on buying clothing for my household which included bedding which cost 9000 KES, I also bought foodstuff, two beds and paid school fees for my son with the remaining amount.

The biggest difference in my life is that I now own a new house. Earlier before receiving the transfers, I used to live in small grass thatched house that was on the verge of collapsing. Whenever it rained we could move some of our items to one corner of the house due to leakages. It was even worst whenever it rained at night since we could hardly get some sleep due to the cold. At some point, my 3-year-old daughter was diagnosed with pneumonia due to long exposure to cold. Building a house has been my long-time aspiration and I am the happiest. We now sleep well and we even have enough space for visitors. Most importantly is the confidence and high esteem level that poverty had robbed me. I am really grateful to Givedirectly.

When I received the transfer it was around 3 pm, I was digging my neighbor's farm for pay. I then received the message notifying me that I had received the transfers. I could not even continue doing that work since I felt that I needed time to go share and celebrate the good news with my family. I could not keep the good news to myself. I then asked for fare from my neighbor and Immediately headed home. On reaching home and sharing the good news, ululation, joy, laughter, and tears of joy rented the hair. We could not wait to have them in cash so we immediately prepared and headed to a nearby center to withdraw the money.

I spent KES 25000 of the transfers on building a new house. I then spent KES 10,000 on paying school fees for my children. I then us3ed KES 6000 to buy two goats. I then bought two bags of maize at KES 4200 and the remaining amount went towards clothing my family.