When I received the money message, I was very excited. I felt like the heavens have opened for me and I was sure that my long time life desires were going to be met. Initially, my living condition was very bad. I had desired a good house because the one I was in was unworthy to be called a house instead it was a nest "Kiota". I had no confidence, I felt shame even welcoming a visitor in my homestead. As at now am a happy person since I was able to construct a good iron sheet-roofed house. And I can attest that this is the work of GiveDirectly. The other thing was, I have been yearning for livestock. I used to see them in other households, admiring them inwardly and it was my wish to own them one day. Am happy that this dream has been fulfilled by GiveDirectly and I am now rearing some goats. I am very thankful for the support I received from you.

Givedirectly is a wonderful organization meant to hold people's hands from poverty to a good life standard and instilling confidence in them that they are worthy living.

I am a mother of four primary school going children who are in classes 7, 4, 2 and 1. On receiving the 2nd transfer, my husband and I agreed on completing some pending projects which we had started. We took KES 10,400 to pay school fees for our 4 children according to their classes, KES 4000, 4000, 2000 and KES 400 respectively. We also used KES 30,600.00 to buy 34 pieces of Dumuzaz iron sheets, we also paid labour charges to the contractor, and we bought 3 she-goats and as at now one goat gave birth. Having done that, we bought some food stuffs for the family. And the remaining amount to take us through for some time in the daily upkeep in terms of buying some food.

I can still recall very well it was around 10 AM when was at my farm with my children when my phone started ringing. It was a message notification and since I am illiterate I asked for a hand in help from one of my children and after checking, he realized that it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and I remember we even opted to go back home due to the excitement.

The biggest difference that I can proudly mention is that through the first transfers, I manage to construct a new house for my children. Before GiveDirectly came into my life, we used to shelter under one roof and some of my children had to seek shelter from their friend's houses. This is because our house was very small and due to financial difficulties, I couldn't afford to purchase the necessary materials. This has been frustrating me quite a long tie because my children could trek daily to their friend's houses which were far away from where we resided. Since there are lots of wild animals such as elephants in my region I was so afraid someday they might harm them. Therefore after receiving the money I had to prioritize the house and I am glad I achieved it. We no longer have to worry about the insecurities issues or even the heavy downpours,

I spent part of my first transfer on buying building materials which include pieces of iron sheets, building poles, nails, threads, and timber. This was purposely for the construction of a new house for my children who have been seeking shelter from their friends for so long. Also, I bought beddings which include a new wooden bed and a mattress for a total of KES 10000. They were to replace the old ones that I have been using for all those years. In addition, I paid fees for my children who are in primary school. With the remaining, I bought enough foodstuffs for my family and some other household items that I was lacking.