My life has been different in many ways than it would have been had I not received GiveDirectly transfers. We now have a bigger and a more comfortable house, many thanks to GiveDirectly transfers. I never thought I could have a whole new house anytime soon however much I wanted to have one. The old house was so old and had a leaking roof which was often so uncomfortable for us especially during the rainy seasons when we could have long days and sleepless nights. This was so disgusting and often left me feeling like I had failed as a parent in providing one of the most essential needs for my family.

GiveDirectly does so well by giving unconditional cash transfers to its beneficiaries. The freedom to choose what to spend the money on is so fulfilling and enabled us to make informed decisions on what to spend our money on. furthermore, GiveDirectly was not biased on anyone in my village. I did not have an encounter with GiveDirectly and their operations that I did not like.

I used part of my second transfer to complete a house that I had started constructing when I got my first transfer. We were living in an old grass thatched house that had a leaking roof with my family. The house is now fully constructed and my family have since moved in. I also used part of my second transfer to pay debts that I had borrowed a neighbor and which I had been unable to pay. I now have peace of mind after paying back the loan since we are in good terms with my neighbor once again. The remaining amount was used to pay school fees for my child.

Before GiveDirectly sent me money, my children and I slept in the same room but since I was able to construct a bigger house with more rooms, I am now happy since we have separate bedrooms. I am also happy that whenever I have a visitor, he/she will always feel at home for they will be sleeping in our own house instead of someone else's house whom they don't know.

It was around 3 am when I received a message confirming that I had received money. At that moment, I was overwhelmed with joy. I never went back to sleep. Since I did not want to disturb my neighbors, I silently prayed and sung for the blessings that just came in.

I spent part of my transfers in building a house for my family. I have been living in a small one-room house which serves as a kitchen, bedroom and living room for my family. I used to sleep with my children in the same room and whenever I had a visitor, I would be forced to request one of my neighbors to accommodate him/her. Since my previous harvest didn't do so well, I have been buying maize in small quantity, so I decided to use part of my money to buy two sacks of maize for family consumption. I also bought a calf because I have always wanted to own a cow but could not afford to buy one. I believe that this calf will grow and in future, I wont be buying milk like I currently do.