I wish to provide a decent shelter for my family by building a 2-roomed house on which I have already started gathering materials such as iron sheets through cash transfers. I believe soon or later I will be able to achieve my dream and get the relief of achieving my main goal.

I have always desired to provide good shelter for my family as the man of the house, but using which resources? I have been unemployed for quite some time now and sometimes am not able to put food on the table. My wife, I, and our little one live in a grass-thatched hut that is leaking and it has been painful seeing my family standing for the whole night just because it is raining, on which on others it was a time to enjoy the nap/sleep that comes with rain. Thanks to GiveDirectly who helped me that soon my dream will soon turn into a reality, through the transfers on which I used the last quarter's transfers to buy 6 iron sheets worth $94 based on my plan of buying 2 iron sheets every month to assemble the building materials first for the house which am hoping to finish the project in one year. I now have 9 iron sheets out of the 24 that are needed. The rest of the amount I used to provide for my family since I do not have any job. I mainly depend on the givedirectly transfers to earn a living and some casual work that is unpredictable.

In the coming year and beyond, I aspire to have completed the construction of a new house. The current structure, with its grass-thatched roof, is suitable in sunny weather but becomes problematic during rainfall, allowing water seepage and causing discomfort. To remedy this, I aim to construct an entirely new dwelling with a tin roof. I am grateful for having already acquired the necessary roofing materials through previous cash transfers, and the remaining requirement is obtaining building poles. Once I complete this step, I will commence the construction of the new house.

In the past three months, I've primarily utilized cash transfers to purchase iron sheets in preparation for constructing a new house. The existing dwelling features a grass-thatched roof, functional in sunny weather but prone to leaks during rain, dampening the living space. To address this issue, I invested $90 from the transfers to acquire iron sheets, aiming to build a completely new house. The remaining funds were allocated to meet my family's needs, particularly for purchasing food. As one of the main providers for the household, I engage in casual house construction jobs in town. However, the job opportunities are inconsistent, varying from days with work to days without. The cash transfers have proven invaluable during lean periods, enabling me to buy food for my wife and one-year-old child back at home.

My priority at the moment is to construct a better house for my wife and child. The current building serves us well during dry seasons, but it becomes problematic when it rains, as the grass-thatched roof leaks. So, I am focused on accumulating the necessary building materials, particularly iron sheets, before hiring someone to construct the house. Thanks to the cash transfers, I have been able to acquire 12 iron sheets so far, which is a significant step towards achieving my goal. In addition to building a better house, I also aspire to build wealth by keeping livestock. I aim to have at least eight goats in my herd. I am happy to have already bought two goats through previous cash transfers.

With each cash transfer I receive, I set aside some funds to purchase building materials for a new house. The current house I live in has a grass-thatched roof, which leaks during heavy rains and causes discomfort. My goal is to construct a completely new house with a durable iron sheet roof, consisting of two rooms. To achieve this, I have been buying two iron sheets every month, costing $18 each. So far, I have accumulated 12 pieces, and I only need 6 more to complete the required amount for the construction. The remaining portion of the cash transfer is always allocated to cover our household needs, primarily food. Before I used to operate a motorcycle taxi but this was recently cut short.  Unfortunately, I lost my bike, which I obtained through a loan that I couldn't repay in time, resulting in financial setbacks. As a result, I am currently seeking casual job opportunities to sustain my family's needs. During these tough times, the cash transfers have been a lifeline for my family and I could never be more grateful.

My aim is to build a house for myself of two rooms. I need 24 roofing sheets for this house which each goes at $9.5 and then also buy like 60 posts which I buy at $1 each. I cannot afford to build a house made of stone but I am hoping to build one from wood and mud with an iron roof that my wife and I can live in. My house is quite small and is a grass thatched house which means that it leaks when it rains and during the dry season their is usually some strong winds that can carry it away. Also the roof is susceptible to being chewed down by termites which is a big problem here. I hope to have completed my new house by the end of this year as this is an emergency for me seeing that we are now entering the rainy season.

I have been using this money to help me build my own house well. I used to work as a motorcycle rider but I had gotten the motorcycle on loan and due to the difficult economic times I was unable to make monthly payments and lost the motorcycle. This meant I could not even focus on building a house which I had need of. Each of my transfers goes into buying building material such as Iron sheets in the past four months. I have been using the transfers to buy 3 roofing sheets per month and now I stand at 12 iron sheets.

My home's roof is thatched with grass. Due to the rotten grass, there is currently a leak in the roof. The drought has made it very difficult to find roofing grass. As soon as I was accepted into the program, I set out with the intention of using some of the funds to purchase iron sheets that I would later use to construct a new roof over my home. Therefore, I spent $18 on two iron sheets when I received my transfer. Along with the iron sheets, I also purchased $16 worth of food for my family. Since I make so little money from my job as a motorcycle taxi, it is challenging for me to support my family. I occasionally have trouble finding clients, which prevents me from earning money and causes me to rack up debt by putting food purchases on credit. As I put in more effort to earn money to buy more food, I'm happy that my family have plenty to eat at the moment.

If I would have not been enrolled to the program by the organization, then my family and I would have probably ended up starving. That is why I am so grateful for the finances that I keep receiving since it has helped me keep my family afloat which is more help than I could have asked for and that is I know that GiveDirectly is doing something meaningful and changing our lives for the better.

My job is being a motorbike rider where I get paid to transport people and goods but I have been struggling to make money in the occupation ever since my motorbike got repossessed because I failed to clear my debt. Therefore I wait until someone decides to assist me and gives me a chance to make a trip so that I can make some money and times I get none which has consequently made life really hard my me and my family. Now since I barely ever have any money, I end going to borrow things on loan at the shop so that I can feed my family. Therefore as soon as I received the donation, I took KES 2,300 and paid the store owner because I had a debt. I was left with KES 700 which I gave my wife and she used it on matters connected with nourishment for the family since we hardly had any food left.

There was a burial ceremony near my home and while attending, I received a text message confirming that I had received my first transfer. It thrilled me as I stared at the phone in disbelief. My heart was filed with joy because the money was an enormous boost to me financially.

I was so stressed, having lost my only source of income and no food to eat. Receiving the transfer lifted my spirits and made an enormous difference because I bought food for the family. I now have plenty to eat and no longer go to bed hungry like before.

Three weeks ago, I lost my job as a motorcycle rider. I bought the motorcycle I was operating on hire purchase. I paid with ease the daily rate of KES 370 for the first three months after purchasing the motorcycle. Things became tough after the hike in fuel prices and I could no longer pay the daily rate. The motorcycle company took away the motorcycle after I failed to pay the daily rate for two weeks. Since then, I have no job and cannot cater to my family’s needs (food and clothing). When I received my transfer, I bought three packets of 2kg maize flour @ KES 750, ½ kg of sugar @ 70 and 2kg of maize @ 260. After losing my source of income, I had no money left to buy food, and it was getting tough each day.