My house is grass-thatched, and I am tired of being rained on frequently because I haven’t had the grass to renovate the house. Therefore, I now have the goal of building a decent house with an iron roof. I believe this will be the only way to prevent being exposed to the rain and provide a permanent solution to this ongoing problem. I trust that I will have a secure place to store my property, as some items have been stolen due to being exposed. Additionally, it will restore my dignity as a woman, as I have a large extended family living with me. I plan to achieve this goal early next year using the transfers.

For many years, I have been living in a grass-thatched house that leaks badly when it rains because the roof is old, and I haven't had enough funds to buy grass for renovation. Therefore, I have been thinking of a permanent solution and decided to build a permanent house. I have started by buying materials, such as poles, for $64. This is the beginning of the project, and I believe that with the incoming cash, I will be able to continue. I plan to save a portion of this month’s funds for the project. Over time, my situation will improve as I will no longer have to deal with leaks, and security concerns will no longer be a stress for me. Currently, I depend on my son for my well-being, but he doesn’t have a stable job, making food a challenge in our household. To address this, I used $38 to buy sufficient food that will last us for a while, and I am thankful because we hardly go to bed without eating.

My goal in the coming months is to use a significant portion of my transfers to buy the remaining materials needed to build a new house. I have endured many sleepless nights due to the leaking roof whenever it rains. With the help of these transfers, I plan to construct a new house, which will alleviate the troubles I have faced with my current one. I am deeply appreciative of the financial transfers, as they have transformed my life for the better.

My grass-thatched house is in a dilapidated condition, with the grass covering both the roof and walls rotting and leaving large openings. Whenever it rains, water seeps into my house, damaging some of my belongings. To address this, I decided to save money and purchase new building poles to construct a spacious two-roomed house. I spent $45 on these poles, which are expensive due to the scarcity of trees in our village. Additionally, I allocated $23 for food purchases. Despite my old age, I practice farming on a small piece of land near my house. However, the lack of consistent rains has negatively affected my livelihood, leaving me with nothing to harvest. This situation forces me to buy food from the shop at very high prices. Thankfully, with the financial transfers, I have enough to eat and rarely go hungry. In February, I spent $34 on medical expenses for my daughter, who was seriously ill and hospitalized for a week. The money helped clear the pending bills, and I am relieved to see her health improving significantly each day. I am deeply appreciative of the financial transfers from Give Directly, which have enabled me to take care of my immediate needs. Previously, I relied financially on my son, who does manual labor jobs, making it hard for him to support me. Now, I enjoy the freedom of taking care of myself without depending so much on my son.

The house is my most significant aspiration, and I've been diligently saving a portion of my earnings each month to achieve this goal. My ultimate objective is to experience living in a house with an iron roof, something I've never had the opportunity to do before. Until now, I had only admired such houses in my neighbors' homes, but I'm thrilled and glad that I've managed to purchase 18 iron sheets, and I'm working towards acquiring the remaining 80 building materials. I am deeply grateful and appreciative of the support I've received. Constructing an iron-roofed house will alleviate the constant worry of getting rained on, as my current grass-thatched house tends to leak during rainy weather. I aspire to spend my golden years in a comfortable and secure environment where health is a top priority.

I am elderly and have resided in a grass-thatched house for many years, with the aspiration of one day upgrading to a house with an iron roof. The process of replacing the thatch was physically exhausting, and the house would often leak during rainy weather. This was quite embarrassing, especially when I had guests, as I couldn't comfortably accommodate them. When I began receiving financial assistance, I made a commitment to purchase building materials each month. I started by saving money to acquire the iron sheets, and I have now successfully acquired 18 of them. My next step is to acquire the necessary building poles, about 80 in total, to construct a two-room house. I am truly grateful for this progress, as it brings me closer to realizing my dream of living in an iron-roofed house. Living in a house with an iron roof is a dream I've never had the chance to fulfill, even during my marriage, when my husband and I were unable to construct a more substantial dwelling. Building this house will be a monumental achievement for me. Additionally, I used some of the funds to purchase three chickens for $10, which I am currently raising. The remaining amount was spent on food, ensuring that my family and I had sufficient sustenance. I am content knowing that we never went without food.

My plan is to build a decent iron-roofed house once I have all of the necessary construction materials, such as iron sheets and building poles. After years of living in a thatched grass hut, my ambition is to live in a dignified home with a sturdy iron roof. The current hut's deplorable condition, exacerbated by its vulnerability to leakage during rainfall, has turned daily life into a constant struggle. The necessity of regularly replacing the grass roofing has proven to be both time-consuming and burdensome. I am overjoyed because I have already obtained ten iron sheets, which represents a significant step toward realizing my goal of establishing this new house. This achievement has been made attainable through the accumulation of monthly contributions. With these preparations in full swing, I am enthusiastically anticipating the project's commencement at the earliest opportunity, with the objective of providing our family with a respectable and comfortable dwelling, even in my advanced years.

My home has been a grass-thatched hut for many years, with no prospects for advancement. My optimism rested on the idea that my children would someday thrive and provide me with a better living situation. Regrettably, the harsh truth is that they struggle to fulfill even the most basic requirements of their own families. As a result, I have had to deal with the inconveniences that come with living in a leaky hut, such as the need to replace the grass-thatched roof on a regular basis. When GiveDirectly extended their invaluable assistance to me, it rekindled my hope for realizing my long-held dream of building a new home. Despite the substantial financial demands placed upon our family, I made the decision to allocate a portion of my monthly support towards the construction of a new home. The objective is to gradually accumulate the necessary building materials, particularly iron sheets and building poles. To date, I have successfully acquired ten iron sheets, marking a significant stride forward. Moreover, the transfer also facilitated the purchase of essential provisions, notably maize flour, also ensuring that my family's nutritional needs are satisfactorily met.

My primary goal at first was to convert my house's grass-thatched roof to iron sheets. But for the time being, I want to make sure that I build a little, sturdy house. If I can complete the house before the end of the year, I will be happy. As I am not happy with the state of my existing home, I am hopeful that the tiny savings I will make as a result of the impending move will allow me to fulfill my ambition.

I bought two iron sheets for $20 as per my commitment after receiving the most recent transfer. Renovations using grass are currently not possible due to the lack of grass due to the previous dry season, as my grass-thatched house is currently leaking excessively as the rainy season has just started. I have been purchasing two iron sheets for every transfer based on that. I have eight iron sheets right now. I devised this scheme to replace my home's roof. I could spend every transfer doing that, but hunger prevents me from doing so because I am dependent on my son, who is likewise having a difficult time making ends meet as a casual laborer. He is working from hand to mouth. For the remaining $14 I bought some maize flour to relieve my struggling son.

For a while now I have been using the transfers that I received to buy iron sheets gradually because I intended to repair the roofing of my house. This is due to the fact that my roof is grass thatched and it is always in need of frequent repair which can be costly. Therefore this time around I spent KES 2,000 on buying a pair of iron sheets in preparation to fix the roof. I then proceeded to spend the balance of KES 1,400 on my nutrition, so I bought six packets of maize flour and also clean drinking water.

I commend the staff who were working in the village during the enrollment exercise. They were very polite, kind, and very understanding. I recommend that the organization enroll more people from poverty-stricken villages.

My house is in a dilapidated condition. Three weeks ago, after the heavy rains and strong winds, the grass thatched roof (Makuti), was blown away by the wind. Since then, I have had to persevere in the chilly weather. Therefore, when I received my transfer, I spent KES 1600 to buy two pieces of iron sheets. This is a start towards building a new, spacious and strong house free from leaking and collapsing. Besides buying the iron sheets, I spent the remaining amount of KES 1400 on buying food. For the past three months, it has been tough for me to buy food for the family because I have no job and could not make charcoal sales due to low demand.

I was at home, resting under a tree from the scorching midday sun. My helper broke the good news to me that I had received my first transfer. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks upon hearing the news. I could not hide my joy and clapped my hands, continuously thanking God for the miracle.

Buying the food using the money from the transfer is the biggest difference I have had. My son was under immense pressure and this affected his health and well-being. I felt bad that I could not help myself because I cannot work. This changed, and he is back smiling and energetic unlike before.

I am old, a widow, and heavily depend on my son to take care of me. My son works as a casual laborer selling charcoal. The business of selling charcoal is down due to the low demand by consumers. As a result, I have to skip meals due to a lack of money. I have seen the struggle that my son goes through, including incurring debts just to ensure that I do not go hungry. Therefore, when I received my transfer, I spent it on buying food (6 packets of 2 kg maize flour, 1kg of beans, and 2 Kg of sugar). Buying the food helped to ease the pressure that he had. He is now happy and motivated to keep working and providing for the family.