In the next few months to come, I have plans that have been running through my mind for a while. First of all, I would want to acquire a pair of oxen on my homestead. With these cows, I can easily use them to plough my farm, making it easier to grow crops. Not only that, I plan to offer ploughing ing services to others for a fee, which will bring in extra money for my family since, for now, I do not have a reliable source of income to sustain my family. I am hoping to achieve all these using the incoming transfers that I have yet to receive, as well as with the help of my sons, who also rely on casual jobs.

For a long time, I had been sleeping in a very uncomfortable place, and my bedding caused me a lot of discomfort and pain every night. Each morning, I woke up with severe back pain that made it difficult to start my day. I finally decided to invest in a new mattress for $34, and I’m thrilled that I can now sleep peacefully and soundly, free from the pain I used to endure. Additionally, I felt the need to enhance the security of my home, so I spent $34 on a metal door to replace the old, worn-out wooden one. Now, I can leave my house without any worries, knowing it's secure. With the remaining $340, I purchased a solar panel that has been incredibly helpful, especially at night. My family is now enjoying the benefits, particularly my grandchildren, who can study at night without struggling with traditional lamps and candles. This change has improved our quality of life significantly, and I feel much more at ease knowing my home is both secure and well-lit.

In the next few months and years, I have some plans. First, I hope to buy a cow. With this cow, I can use it to plow my farm, making it easier to grow crops. Not only that, I plan to offer plowing services to others for a fee, which will bring in extra money for my family. I'm also relying on a local merry-go-round savings group to help improve our financial situation. I know times are tough financially, but I'm hopeful that with these steps, things will get better for us soon.

The transfers from GiveDirectly have truly transformed my life. I used $19 of the quarterly transfers to buy iron sheets to finish building my house, along with $10 to pay off the debt owed to the builder. Previously, I endured nights in a leaking house, dreading the rain that would soak everything. Saving through a merry-go-round helped me gather building materials before starting construction, and now, I'm overjoyed to be in a comfortable, finished home after all the hardships. With $65, I bought a sturdy red metallic door for security, and $25 went towards paying for a new bed (total cost $70), a relief from sleeping on makeshift sacks that hurt my back. The upcoming transfers will help cover the remaining bed expenses. I also allocated $8, along with my savings, to prepare the farm for planting season, confident that it will yield a good harvest. I rely on my son, a teacher, for our daily family needs, and I'm grateful for the support and stability these transfers have brought us.

My current aim is to construct a spacious iron-roofed house, saving $25 from the monthly transfers for this purpose. My existing dwelling poses numerous challenges, being dilapidated and unstable. During rainfall, it leaks uncontrollably, compelling me to seek shelter from my neighbors. This has resulted in soaked bedding and jeopardized household items. With the accumulated funds, I've so far purchased essential building materials like poles and will soon acquire iron sheets to complete the house. I am hopeful that the monthly support will ensure that this project is completed and I'll no longer worry about rain, thus bringing much-needed relief.

Over the past few years, my dwelling has endured a state of utter devastation. The roof, in particular, has succumbed to such disrepair that every rainfall renders the house uninhabitable. During torrential downpours, seeking refuge in the homes of more stable neighbors became a necessity. Enduring such hardships became my reality as I lacked the financial means to either renovate my current residence or construct a new one. However, a turning point came with the initiation of financial transfers. From the outset, my primary objective was to accumulate funds with the ultimate aim of constructing a spacious iron-roofed dwelling. The aspiration was not solely for a shelter but also for the alleviation of the constant stress associated with seeking refuge from neighbors. Contributing $25 to our savings group became routine, and recently, I seized the opportunity to purchase the requisite building poles and, subsequently, the iron sheets. This endeavor brings me immense joy and tranquility because inhabiting a new abode means that concerns about rain-soaked interiors will be a thing of the past. I spent the remaining funds to acquire essential food items such as flour and sugar, ensuring that my family's nutritional needs were met. This has eliminated the challenge of food scarcity, enabling my family to enjoy three meals a day.

My goal is to construct a spacious, two-room house that can comfortably accommodate my family. As my polygamous family has grown, it has become clear that it would be difficult for us to continue living in our current home. So far, I have made progress in acquiring 26 pieces of iron sheets, sufficient for the roofing of the new house. I am diligently saving both my transfer and my son's support to fund the construction of this decent home. Building a comfortable house for my family is my primary objective, and I am determined to achieve it in the coming year and beyond. I have ventured into farming, which has significantly alleviated our food challenges. It has allowed me to prioritize my transfers toward fulfilling the goal of constructing the new house. I am confident that we will have a decent and comfortable home in the near future.

As a polygamous family, we faced the challenge of accommodating the growing number of members in our home. The worsening condition of the house, which could no longer withstand rain, made the situation even worse. Seeking shelter from neighbors was never an option because most of them were dealing with the same problems whenever it rained. Despite the difficult financial circumstances, I resolved to use my transfers to construct a new home for our family. To do this, I started setting aside $20 per month from my monthly transfer in our merry-go-round. When it was finally my turn to receive my share from the merry-go-round, I managed to purchase 26 pieces of iron sheets, a significant step towards building a spacious and decent house for my family. This progress has brought me great joy, knowing that soon we will have a comfortable and suitable shelter to call our own. Moreover, the transfers also played a crucial role in ensuring that our family had enough food to sustain us. I bought enough food to last us for a few weeks, including plenty of maize flour. As a result, my children were able to enjoy three meals a day with ease.

For a while now, I have desired to own a more decent house because my current shelter has huge holes in the mud walls. However, it was hard to do this before because my husband and I lacked the resources to construct a new house. The little we made from making and selling charcoal could barely cover anything beyond food. Thanks to previous cash transfers, I have secured 14 iron sheets for my new house. My aim spend most of the upcoming transfers to buy more building materials and later hire someone to complete the task. 

I usually save most of the money to construct a more decent house than my current dwelling. I am not happy about living in a house full of holes in the walls. Most are the times I get worried that it may crumble and leave me homeless. As my children usually support me in providing food, I save most of the cash transfers to construct a more decent structure. From each of the previous transfers, I save $30 through a self-help group and spent the remaining $4 on sanitation supplies like soap and body oil. Words are not enough to describe my excitement for my new two-room house. If it were up to the efforts of my husband and I, this dream would take longer since our charcoal-making business yields quite low earnings. I am certain that by next year, I will have moved into my new shelter. 

I decided to start saving a portion of the money that I received over the last few months of last year. This was influenced by the fact that the house I live in at the moment is quite a disaster, especially the roof. During the rainy season, we normally have to put pots in the house so that it is not left flooded with water, and we end up staying up the whole night sometimes just because the roof is leaking from everywhere. This year, I plan to finally use the funds that I have been saving to build a proper house and install a new roof. This will be costly because I have a lot of material to buy, including timber and sand, and I also have to pay the laborers, but I am hopeful it will all turn out well.

The enormous baobab tree under which my house was built has severely damaged the iron sheets covering my house. The rusted iron sheets have large holes that allow rainwater to seep in as well as leaves from the tree to fall inside the house. We established a savings group with six other family members after enrolling in the program. Each of us in the group contributes $20 a month. One group member receives the money after it has been collected, and that person then chooses how to invest it. I recently received $140 from the group, and I decided to spend it on iron sheets so that I could build a larger and more roomy house. Along with saving the $20 from my transfer, I used the remaining $14 to buy food. I am the only provider for the family and a second wife. Old age has rendered my husband incapable of working. Given that I make very little money from my business selling vegetables, the money was a huge financial boost that enabled me to support my family.

After getting enrolled, myself and a six of my neighbors decided that we would open up a savings committe where we would contribute money with each transfer and give to an individual every single time so tha the money would accumulate and give us more opportunities to invest. Therefore when I received the funds I decided to contribute KES 2,000 I have been doing. Afterwards I was left with KES 1,000 and I ended up using KES 500 by buying a packet of maize flour, a kilogram of sugar and laundry detergent. The remaining part of the money I used it in fencing my farm.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly does well by ensuring that there is a safer and direct transfer to the targeted recipients. Unlike the support government offers to the elderly people, the GD approach is very efficient with not many delays and is short of bureaucratic processes. All GiveDirectly does is good and I have not witnessed what it has not yet done well.

Since I have a goal of building a new decent house, I opted to save my transfer of KES 2000 per month in a saving scheme. I long to fulfill the same goal by end of this year. Currently, I live in a house whose roof is too old and thus leaks whenever it rains. This disturbs my comfort, especially at night. It forces my husband and me to wake up and collect rainwater within the house using cooking pans and bowls. It has been a bad experience that I would not wish to continue with beyond December 2022. At the moment, my husband is too old to work likewise to me and we, therefore, depend on well-wishers.

The funds came in very early in the morning, right about the time I was coming back from fetching water from the well. After arriving back home,that is when I was informed that everyone around had already received their money so someone helped me check to confirm whether I too was lucky enough to have received the transfers or not. I was so happy after the confirmation because it meant that I could get chance to save some money and finally build my house like I have always wanted.

This funds helped me keep y business afloat and sustainable because at times I had to put a pause on the purchase and selling of charcoal because I ran out of funds. But through GiveDirectly I managed to proceed with it. Apart from that, I also got a chance to now start saving. From the money I make I barely have enough money for basic needs and savings too because I make barely enough. Now I can manage to put aside some money as I continue with my business.

Even before receiving the funds from GiveDirectly I already had an idea on how I would have loved to spend it. Then after I received the money I went ahead to use it as how I had intended which included me spending KES 200 to buy groceries like cabbage and tomatoes and sardines as well. This was because I had no greens nor vegetables in the house to prepare a meal. Then I took KES 700 and used it to add more capital to my existing business where I bought charcoal then went ahead to sell. So far this business had managed to help keep my family afloat throughout the years. I also used KES 100 to buy refreshments for my grandchildren because they pleaded with me to offer them a treat to which I obliged. Lastly I was left with KES 2,000 which I stored away in my savings because I wanted to build a better house for me and my family since the one I lived in was old and the roof had holes all over that made me dread the rains.