Yes, I currently don’t have a job and I want to buy food for my family. The drought situation within our area is a major contributor to the economic hardships we are currently facing with my family. I also want to pay school fees for my children who are in school. I also want to buy livestock for myself.

GiveDirectly does well in ensuring that it supports the vulnerable members in the family by giving them support which is in form of money. The money has enabled us buy things that we never thought we would buy anytime soon.

When I received the money, I spent it on buying livestock. I bought one 1 cow and 2 goats. With these livestock I am going to rear them and once they double in numbers I can sell them use the money to sustain my needs and that of my family. I also used the money to buy some three beds and 3 mattresses for my children. My children have been sleeping down on the ground with only weaving mats acting as their bed. I am now happy that I have a better place where they can sleep on.

It was around 10 AM when I was from the dam when my phone started ringing consciously. I was even curious and since I couldn't read on my own I asked my son to check who it could be. Upon checking, he confirmed that it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly. I was extremely happy and I remember screaming in happiness since it was like a dream to me. We all celebrated as a family for the big blessings. We definitely knew that our loves would finally transform.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am now sleeping in a cool environment. Previously, I used to sleep under a very small house that had a temporary shelter made of nylons to prevent direct sun rays. During the rainy seasons, I could barely sleep at all. The worst part is that my spouse has been ailing and very old and I had to take the role of being the family breadwinner. I had to sell charcoal to fend for my six family members. This means that it would take years for me to construct my house using my own cash. Therefore as a family, we will cover be thankful becasue we all sleep under a decent shelter and we are no longer being with the cl related diseases like before. Also, we have an extra room for our visitors courtesy of GiveDirectly.

I spent part of my first transfer on buying twenty pieces of iron sheets at a total of KES 17400, building poles KES 6000, nails, and timber. This was for the construction of a new house to at least make a change on the previous one which was very small and had a temporary roof. Some of my children ( four) had to seek shelter from their friends' houses which were relatively far from the village and I was always worried. In addition to that, I gave the mason KES 5000 as his labor fee. Also, I bought a second had a bicycle at KES 4000, which is now of great help in transporting water from the dam which is 7KM away from the village. I also bought a mattress worth 4000 for my spouse who is very old and sick. He is now very happy since he sleeps comfortably and no longer complains of the backpains. I later paid a school fees KES 2000, for my two children who are in primary schools. With the amount of money that had remained, I bought foodstuffs.