My spouse and I are tailors by profession and we both have functioning sewing machines. However, our operations crashed due to constantly lacking funds to procure materials for the business. It has been difficult to revive production because of a house construction project that is underway. Also, my wife has been receiving treatment following a diagnosis of growth in the uterus, which requires a lot of cash. So, from the recent transfers, I deducted 4,800 KES to settle her hospital bills and secure medication. Additionally, I secured two bags of cement worth 1,240 KES to progress the building task. I spent 1,500 KES to buy one bale of maize flour to provide meals for the entire month. Water scarcity being a major challenge in my village, I used the remaining amount to secure twelve jerry cans of water.

I am currently staying in an old mud house that has served me for 13 years since I constructed it. One side of the wall fell down during the heavy rainy season making it so risky to stay in. I, have, therefore, started constructing a brick house but I ran out of cash, so I left it pending as I look for away forward to raise for more money. When I received my transfers from Give Directly I saved 5000 KES in my Mpesa account hoping to save more of the coming transfers to use it to finish the roofing. Part of the money I spent on foodstuffs for my household since we ran out of most of the foodstuffs because of the prolonged drought we experienced in better part of last year that led to low yield of crops. I am so grateful to Give Directly and I feel happy and relieved because i feel I have solved most of my financial challenges and hoping to achieve more with the coming transfers.

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After my house collapsed sometime back my wife and I had the aim to make sure we renovated the side that had collapsed since it fell off due to strong winds and fortunately we were lucky enough to not have been sleeping in that room. Since my wife also received transfers we used some of it to buy cement and some to pay the labourer meanwhile I took my funds to the hardware which was KES 3,000 so that during the weekend when the labourer came we could get appliances from the hardware and I feared if I had the cash at hand then I could get tempted to use it.

I was honestly very thankful and grateful because with my old age I can barely work and GiveDirectly, for lack of better words was heaven sent because people like me do not have any sort of economic stability and this program has enabled us to cater for ourselves and the people who depend on us. If it were not for GiveDirectly some of us including the people in the community I reside in were living in poor conditions and extreme poverty.

I never expected this kind or any sort of aid in that matter in my life especially at my age because sometime back I used to be tailor and then about nine years ago I fell ill and could not continue with my profession and even after I got better nowadays people barely visit tailors, they mostly buy ready made clothes and this almost declared the profession dead and thus my way of earning a living. I was in complete despair because who would honestly come to assist an old man like me but through this program I can finally feel human again because I once again can provide for my family.

Upon receiving my transfers I went ahead to buy thirty kilograms of maize which cost me KES 450 and after I bought this I went to the mill to have it refined so that I could have the maize flour which would take my wife and I a while before we thought of getting any more food. I also managed to finance a small project that I had been eyeing for a while which was renovating my bathroom and toilet. I purchased a bag of cement which went for KES 650 and I also catered for the labourers expense for the job at KES 500 and the remaining KES 1400 I decided to keep as part of my savings and purchase any small item that I would need later on.