My new goal is to purchase proper bedding for the family since we are sleeping on old bedding which is not comfortable. In addition, I am planning to start a grocery business as an alternative source of income for the family once I have cash. At the moment, the casual activity that I am doing at the iron ore quarries is very tiresome and has a very low income to fully feed and cater for other needs of the family.

The decision to target poor households and sent them direct cash without political or religious association is what GiveDirectly did well. Additionally, Giving us the freedom to make choices on how to better our lives with the transfer was a good thing. This has enabled us to solve most of the challenges that we had. Finally, I can comfortably say there is nothing that it did not do well.

I spent the most recent transfer to construct a better shelter for the family. The one we were living in earlier was old and had shown signs of collapsing due to the decomposing building poles that were used to build it. I used the transfer to purchase the necessary building materials like cement, blasts and stones for erecting strong pillars around it. With the remaining amount, a significant part of it to purchase small household utensils such as basins, water barrels, cooking pots and plates Previously, I did not have enough utensils for storing water and cooking items.

While relaxing at home at around 9 am, my daughter who had my phone came running and happy. Upon asking what it was all about she showed me a message on the phone forgetting that I do not know how to read. She then informed me that I had received the transfer of KES 55000.00 from GiveDirectly. Happily, my heart melted on thanksgiving.

Initially, my life was a struggle from hand to mouth. I used to work at a quarry where I was digging out some stones. Due to my old age, the work was tiring but I had no alternative rather than doing it for a living. Since the time I received the money up-to-date, I have not stepped my foot at the quarry and I am appreciating GiveDirectly for rescuing me from the dreaded kind of a job.

When I withdrew the money, I bought two sacks of maize since food was a priority due to the drought that affected our area and we were almost starving. I also bought 4 goats to mark the beginning of livestock keeping at my home courtesy of GiveDirectly. Thereafter, I bought some cement and blocks to renovate my house by building some pillars to make it more firm. Having done that, I bought some household items and used the remaining amount for the family's needs.