I would want nothing more than to own two cows for milk. Along with that, I've always had a dream of owning my own mini-mart, selling daily-used commodities like soap, flour, cooking oil, etc. All these efforts should summate to me and my family having greater financial stability and resulting in a better life.

GiveDirectly has completely transformed the lives of all the recipients in our area. If they had not been so gracious as to choose us, we would possibly never have achieved many of the things we have. They excel at making recipients feel understood and accepted, rather than judged and demo used for the situations they find themselves in.

There are few times when a man has to prove himself to his son. to be there for him as only a father can. One of those times is when paying dowry. Thanks to GiveDirectly, I was able to use the transfers I received, in part, towards paying the bride price for my daughter-in-law, on behalf of my son. Having ensured that I had finalized that, I also bought a much-needed table for the house and stocked up on food in the house as well. Other than catering for my eldest daughters' dowry, my other three children and their families are stable, thank God, so I rarely have to cater for their needs. My husband is a retiree and assists myself and one of my sons in our job, which is burning wood into charcoal. We try to sell a sack at $8 each and make a living off of the profits. GiveDirectly allowed us to have control of a sum of money that we would have had to save for years. Our dreams came true thanks to this, and we are eternally grateful to GiveDirectly.

It was exactly 9 in the evening when we were taking our evening meal together with my family when I heard my phone vibrating so loudly. I was so nervous and asked my elder son to check who it could be. Upon reading the texts, he realized that it was from Segovia Technology. I had finally received the first cash transfer that I was promised during the enrolment period. I felt so happy for being sure that I would finally renovate my house.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that through the cash I was able to renovate my house fully. Initially, it was in a poor state due to its old age. I, therefore, decided to cement the floor and plastered the walls since it had cracks all over and it would even collapse anytime which was my greatest fear. Also, the dust would affect my lungs severally and I was in and out of hospital as a result. I had been yearning to renovate it for so many years but I could not afford to purchase any of the materials because of the financial challenges that I was experiencing. Being a divorcee of four who relied on the charcoal burning business I could not fulfill all my needs at once. It would therefore take years for me to renovate the house using my own cash. I am so grateful for GiveDirectly for this huge support and the emensly transformation in my life. I no longer complain of the dust or any other worries concerning the previous state of the house.

I spent part of my first transfer on purchasing a wooden bed and a mattress at a total of KES 12000. Initially used to sleep on the traditional bed made of ropes and have been experiencing lots of pains and fatigue regularly. To add to that, I bought cement and sand which was for the renovation of my house. I wanted to plaster the walls and cement the floor since it was muddy and so annoying during the rainy season. Also, the dust has been affecting our health all the time. With the remaining amount of money, I bought furniture such as tables and chairs and sufficient food for my four family members.