I am much grateful for the transformation I have witnessed in my household. I had planned a lot that I needed to do and I am glad that I finally accomplished it before exhausting both transfers. If I get money, I would wish to buy my husband a motorbike so that he can use it to do transportation business. This will help us cater to our family’s basic needs with much ease.

I appreciate everything and wish GiveDirectly would continue doing the same as they reach out to other people too. I have no complaints to report in regard to the operations.

When I got my first transfer, we agreed with my wife to build ourselves a decent house since the one we had was a little bit small and quite old. So we embarked on the journey, but unfortunately, we did not manage to have it completed due to a shortage of funds as we still had other bills to take care of at that time. The second transfer came in handy to facilitate the house completion, where we spend $300 on buying the remaining materials. We needed some light to help us see well at night and thus we bought a solar panel worth $70. I also bought a bed for $70 since the one we had was broken. With the remaining cash, I bought school uniforms for my three children each one pair. I spent the remaining $70 on foodstuff that included a sack of maize, rice, sugar, and other household items.

I was preparing dinner at around 7 when my son informed me that my phone has been ringing. I was a bit curious and decided to check the contents of the notifications. I was shocked to see my Mpesa account balance reading KES 55000. This felt like a dream to me for sure, I felt so happy because I knew I would finally own a decent house.

The biggest difference in my life is that I now have a permanent spacious house that can accommodate all my five family members. The previous one had a dilapidated roof despite being small. I have always been living in fear and worry that someday it would collapse and course more harm. Also, I have been wanting to shelter all my children under one roof but in vain because of the financial hardships I have been through. Considering that my spouse has been hunting for a job for years but lack has never been on his side. Therefore we have both been depending on temporary casual jobs for our family upkeep. This is evident that it would take ages for us to own a decent house. I am now happy and I appreciate what the organisation has done for us.

I spent part of my first cash transfer on buying iron sheets, nails, and building poles which cost a total of KES 22000. This was for the renovation and competition of my house since its condition was not good. My worry and fear were that it would collapse at any time because of the weak walls. Additionally, I bought a mattress at KES 7000 to replace the old clothes that I have been using as beddings. I later paid school fees and bought new uniforms for my children who are currently in grade two. With the remaining amount of money, I bought foodstuffs and other household items.