In the coming year, my top priority will be to improve farming practices. Purchasing food has been difficult during this drought, and earning money from other farming practices has been impossible. I was spending a lot of money and sometimes missing a meal or two a day because I could not afford to buy them. As I anticipate the arrival of rain, I hope to save the proceeds from the poultry farm I have been running and use them to purchase farm inputs.

Many people thought GiveDirectly was targeting a specific group during enrollment, but it turned out that everyone had an equal chance of receiving the support. Everyone was relieved to receive the cash transfer, especially the small families who had never had decent housing. The majority of them used the transfers for construction, while others used them for livestock. The freedom to spend our money on whatever we saw fit was also a good idea that helped to distinguish the program because we all faced different challenges in our homes. The process was brilliant, and I hope that the same approach is used in the following villages.

When I got the first transfer, I started building a new kitchen. Due to the high cost of construction materials, I was unable to complete the project because I had exceeded my budgeted amount. I sent $350 after receiving the second transfer to pay for construction materials and labor charges. I'm glad the kitchen is finished and that we have been using it for a few months. The kitchen is so large that it has an extra space where my children sleep every night, and they are no longer sleeping in the neighborhood where they used to. The remainder was spent on food for my family of four, the majority of which was consumed by the workers during the construction of my kitchen.

It was around 5 pm and was at home as I planned on cooking dinner early that day since I was not feeling well. My son came informing me that he had received the promised transfer from Givedirectly. Since I didn't know how to operate my phone, he checked and confirmed to me the account balance. I was excited since I had been anticipating the transfer.

The construction of a spacious kitchen is the biggest difference in my daily life. I am grateful to Givedirectly for this great support and hope to do more when I receive the second transfer.

Receiving the first transfer came in handy since I had to spend KES 35,000 on the construction of a new kitchen. The grass-thatched kitchen I had been using for the past years had started letting water in. I had hoped to construct a new one but insufficient funds could not allow me. I am so grateful since the newly constructed house is almost complete and we cannot wait to move in. The remaining amount, I spent on buying maize and another household foodstuff.