My ambition is to become a landlord. It would be a dream to have a second source of income to supplement my casual labor gigs. Having rental properties would mean more income, which would allow me to provide a better life for my family.

prior to the arrival of GiveDirectly. My house was in the slums. It was a two-bedroom house, but  in poor shape. The initial transfers enabled me to improve  the house. As previously stated, the second one was used. GiveDirectly excels at being a blessing, and that is exactly what they have been to my family and me.

A half-acre was purchased for $500. The funds from GiveDirectly were a true blessing. I was also able to purchase a number of jerry cans for water storage. With my wife focusing on farming our existing 4-acre farm and me earning $10 per day at my casual job, covering the majority of our expenses was proving difficult. Some of the remaining funds were used to pay for my two children's school fees at Mariani Primary, where they are in Grades 4 and 2 and  fee balance is $13 and $8 per month, respectively, while the youngest is only one and a half years old and requires more basic necessities for survival. The cereals and roots we grow, such as cassava and kunde, are primarily for human consumption., so food isn't as big a cost for us. We are eternally grateful to GiveDirectly for everything they have done for us.

I had tuned into my favourite radio station to listen to the news when I heard my phone ringing continuously. I was a bit nervous and opted to check who it could be. Upon looking over the texts, I confirmed that it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly. I was overjoyed with happiness and even started planning which goal to accomplish first.

The fact that I was able to renovate my house has brought the biggest difference in my daily life. As a bachelor, who relies on the firewood business, it has quite been tough all along because I used to earn KES 100 which could hardly sustain all my household basic needs. Therefore I have just been focusing on making sure that I do not miss the food in my house since I needed more energy to keep me going and pushing harder in life. With this financial crisis challenge that I have been through, it would be hard for me to renovate my house. I had to endure all the suffering like being attacked by harmful insects, rodents and even the harsh weather. I now feel relieved and honoured for this huge impact GiveDirectly has brought into my life, I can't thank them enough.

I spent part of my first transfer buying building materials which include building poles, threads, nails, and timber which cost a total of KES 30000. This was for the renovation of my house since it had holes all over and I felt that I was not safe at all. Also, it was even about to collapse and I was worried that it might bring more harm. During the winter seasons, it was worse because I was always attacked by the cold-related disease as a result of the holes which were all over. It is now a relief to me and I am so grateful. With the remaining cash, I have been buying food and meeting other household expenses.