Not only is my current house small, but it is also dilapidated and leaky. I had therefore been preparing to raise funds and construct a new one. That objective, however, was put off because it was difficult for us to raise funds to build a new house. I started working toward that goal as soon as I got my most recent transfer, and I hope to finish it within the next 12 months. I have a lot of hope that it will be completed by the end of the following year. My worries will be sorted by building a new house.

GiveDirectly's services, such as community sensitization and unconditional cash transfer are good. It does so well in ensuring that all recipients are informed, and the aspect of cash unconditionality is explained to give people room to decide how to spend the transfer in a manner that has a long-lasting impact. It does not embrace any practice of nepotism, and every household that qualifies for the support always gets it. As a result, many people have witnessed positive changes in their lives, many new houses are built, and people stocked food despite being famine season.

Due to limited options for sources of income in our area, I opted to do casual hard labor to earn a living. Unfortunately, my husband also struggled to get a casual job, and our income was insignificant to meet all our family needs. For instance, raising children's school fees and buying food was hard for us. With the transfer, I spent $300 on iron sheets because I had planned to build a house. In addition, I spent $50 on a bed and $45 on two goats. Lastly, because my four children were at home due to fee issues, I spent $150 on their school fees.

I can still recall very well, it was around 9 in the morning when I was at my daily hustle when I saw a message notification on my phone. I was a bit busy and never bothered to check its contents. A few moments later, I saw another notification which was an indication of a new message. I asked one of my colleagues to check who might have sent the texts. She confirmed that I had received my first KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I was so happy and thankful for this miracle that transformed my entire life.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am now given a permanent spacious house. It has always been my dream to at least renovate the initial one but due to the poverty life that I was experiencing I could not afford to buy the materials. For the past twenty years, my life has been so miserable and hopeless since I did not have a stable job. Whatever we used to experience during the rainy season was hectic I do not wish anyone to face the same. Moving from one compound to the other in such of shelter was like a routine to us. People used to call us names which could provoke us but we had no option. I am happy that we can now access a good shelter that can accommodate all my four family members. If it were not for the support I do not think I would have this goal any time soon.

I spent part of my first transfer on buying building materials like iron sheets at KES 26000, building poles, and the labor charges at a total of ES 13000. I purchased all these to construct a new modern house. The initial one had a grass thatched roof which could leak excessively during the rainy seasons. Also, it was not spacious which forced my four children to shelter at their friend's houses. I also cleared school fees for my kids who are in primary schools. I am thankful because the money came in good time and they were all able to sit for their exams. With the remaining amount of money, I have been buying foodstuffs for my family and other household needs.