My life is currently different because through this this money, I renovated my house to be a permanent one. I also acquired some livestock which I am keeping and are my assets and financial security for future financial needs. I am also having a solar panel that provides lighting in my household that I acquired through this transfer.Besides providing lighting, I can charge my phone and those of my neighbours at a fee, thus getting an income.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly does well in its operations and more so, helping and saving us from poverty. I do no see anything that GiveDirectly does not do well.

I spent part of my second transfer on purchasing building materials in order to renovate and plaster my house to make it more permanent because it was a mudded house. I purchased bags of cement,sand and bricks to facilitate this. I also spent KES 20000 to buy a solar panel and other appliances which is currently the main source of lighting my household. Besides, I charge phones thus getting some money through it. I also bought a new bed and a mattress to replace the old beddings I was using for years.

The cows that I now own as my own assets and of which I feed them daily gives me a sense of pride that what I had been seeking to achieve for a long time had come to pass. To me this the biggest difference that GiveDirectly has brought into my life.

It was around 8.30am when a neighbour came to me smiling and shouting out my name. I could feel it that there was something important she had for me. I reluctantly asked her to tell me, and she asked me, "have you not received a message from GD?" At first, I ignored her question but I turned to my son to check on my messages for me since I am illiterate. The moment he read out for me that indeed GD had sent the transfer to me, I was overwhelmed with joy in my heart.

Life has been a real struggle on my part and since my husband passed on, He left us with nothing. I had to think of ways on how I will survive and raise my children as a single mother. I was envying my neighbours who were investing in livestock rearing which performs well in our area. I had an ambition of owning even a single cow but finances were inadequate. On receiving my transfer, I bought two cows for milking, adequate for my family to consume and also will be earning an income from selling milk. My children were also sleeping on mats which were not really good for their health due to poor beddings, thus, I had to buy for them a bed and a mattress so that they can sleep comfortably. In addition to all these, I also purchased building materials to renovate my toilet since it was in an awkward condition. I also spent the remaining amount on food for my family.