My aim is to make sure that my business grows. If I purchase some clothing materials that clients can purchase from me, this will be achievable. In addition, I want to start sewing some uniforms for the neighborhood elementary school. By doing this, my business will grow. In addition to the modest savings I generate from my business, I am also obtaining monies from other sources to complete this by the middle of next year.

GiveDirectly performed a great job in my opinion by providing us with assistance in the form of cash and giving us the freedom to use the money any way we wanted. This gave us the freedom to choose how the money would benefit us and we are so proud of what we were able to achieve with the money. Everyone was happy with the selection criteria, which was fair, unlike other organizations that normally target a specific group of people. The fact that they did not require us to pay anything to be enrolled made me happy that no one was treated differently.

Three weeks before getting the second transfer, I lost my brother who was involved in an accident. Since I had no money at all, I borrowed $200 to give him a decent send-off. Upon getting the second transfer from GiveDirectly, I saw it prudent to clear the debt to remain clean. Therefore, I deducted $200 from the transfer to pay the debt. Clearing the dept relieved me and gave me peace of mind. Thanks to GiveDirectly for the unconditional transfer. Thereafter, I bought a sewing machine since I am a tailor by profession though I was just sharing a sewing machine with a friend. I used $190 to buy a new sewing machine and started a tailoring business. I am very grateful because I now own a business that aids me to provide for my family. I also used $45 to pay school fees for my three primary school children and $50 to take my husband to the hospital after being involved in a motorbike accident. For the remaining amount, I bought food for my family.

On receiving the message from GiveDirectly, I had to read through it immediately since I was curious to know what it had. To my surprise, I got the best news that confirmed the receipt of my first transfer. It was around 6:00 PM and with my children; we shared the joy and had to call my husband who was so excited with the news too. After a talk on the phone, he promised to come home and had to wait till the third day before collecting the transfers.

I am grateful that even though I have not done a lot with the newly bought machine, I can attest that the biggest difference in my daily life is the improved standard of living after making changes in almost all sectors of my family. My children are enjoying ample time in school and also feeding well when they are back home since we stoked enough food for the family.

We had been living in a single room with y family of six that was so small and could not accommodate everybody, especially at night. The receipt of the first transfer was a relief and gave me hope of making my family proud by constructing a new house. I spent KES 23000 on construction materials, including iron sheets, building poles, and nails, and also met the labor cost during the construction of a new house. My family and I now live in a spacious house. I also cleared a debt of KES 5000 that I had with my neighbor, paid tuition fees for my children worth KES 3000, obtained a water container that has been useful in collecting rainwater worth KES 1000, and also a new material meant for the school uniforms for my children worth KES 3000. I also needed a mixer and was lucky to obtain one from a neighbor worth KES 15000. The machine is useful for mixing cement and sand during the construction and decoration of the floors and I am looking forward to making the construction work we had been doing easier. I spent the remaining KES 4000 on foodstuff for my family that we are still using to date.