Before receiving the transfers I was living in very poor condition if you ask me especially considering my house which had holes all over the roof and every single time it rained it was complete havoc. The rain would be in the house just as much as it rained outside and I would end up waking up in the middle of the night and start fetching the water to deposit it outside as though I was at the stream. That just goes to show how much water was inside my house. That is why I intended either to build a new house or renovate the one I lived to better living conditions for me and my family.

I honestly have nothing but great things to say about GiveDirectly because it really helped me in ways that I personally could not. I barely had a house and now I am home owner which makes me very happy since I do not have to worry about the rain and the storms. I also get to sleep in a nice, warm and comfortable bed which to me is so amazing especially compared to before.

When I finally received the money from GiveDirectly I was over the moon with excitement I felt like I was on top of the highest skyscraper and all I wanted to do was let out a huge scream from all the joy I felt. I ended up settling on building a new house since the previous one was old and needed lots of renovation. I bought around twenty pieces of iron sheets which me KES 18,000 plus the transportation fee was KES 2,000. I also purchased a door for the new house for KES 4,000, a bed and mattress for KES 4,000 and KES 4,800 respectively since before I slept on a bed made from sisal rope. I also bought a water tank for KES 1,200 so that I could save water since it was scarce and I always had to buy for other towns and villages which was costly. Lastly I decided to buy a goat because I wanted to breed and produce more goats for both commercial and domestic gain.

I was at home taking late lunch after I had spent the better part of the day at school where I had attended a parents-teachers meeting. I remember It was around 5 pm when my phone started ringing I was with my co-wife whose phone rang as well. I was curious to know the content of the message that was on my phone. I passed over my phone to my helper who informed me that it was the transfer from GiveDirectly. I was so happy and I jumped in celebrating and thanked God for the opportunity to revive our lives for the better.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that through the transfer, I am optimistic that I would be living in a decent shelter with my family members. The construction that is currently going on at my home has awakened my dream of owning a better shelter. I can not wait to see myself living in a decent house something that will save me the agony of spending sleepless nights due to the poor condition of our house. I am so grateful for the aid.

I spent KES 6,000 to invest in my goat rearing a reliable source of income for my family. I will be able to sell some of them when they reproduce to cater to any financial emergency. I also bought building materials such as 22 iron sheets for KES 17,800, nails, timber. This was for the construction of a proper shelter for my family because the one I had was leaking with an open roof to an extent that I could see the sky at night. It was a miserable situation especially during the rainy season as we were spending sleepless nights. I am currently constructing a two-roomed house something that will restore my happiness. In addition, I used KES 10,000 to support the education of my child who is in college taking a geology course. Furthermore, I used KES 8000 to purchase proper beddings for the family.