My mind is currently on completing the construction of the two-room house that I began building through the cash I received from Give Directly. Only the roof and floor are pending construction. Though I already bought some building materials for these areas, there is a need to top them up in order to complete the entire project. Besides building the house, I wish to support my children in paying school fees for my grandchildren. 

Designing an aid program in the form of cash is one of Give Directly’s incredible accomplishments. In my opinion, the money has helped to relieve a wide range of problems, essentially, helping people to pay school fees and put food on the table for their families. There is no better support than this and I wish that the organization would bring back the cash transfers. 

I spent $300 to buy bricks and cement for the construction of my new two-room house, which I started building using the initial transfer. Owning a brick-walled house had always been my dream because they are durable and do not easily collapse from adverse weather conditions. Although the construction is not complete because I ran out of money, am glad that Give Directly played a huge role in initiating the project. Next, I paid $100 school fees for my grandson who had stayed home for almost two months from unpaid tuition balances. His parents could not afford to clear the balance as they are unemployed, with six other children who needed support. He happily resumed his studies and has never missed classes for that long again. Also, I used the rest to buy two goats. When these animals multiply, they will increase my wealth as I could sell them to raise money for my family’s needs. At least, this will reduce my dependence on my three sons, as they already have so many responsibilities from their families. 

I was on my way going to the hospital to visit a friend who was sick. I heard message notifications on my phone. I continued with my journey since I could not understand the message because I am illiterate. After completing the checking my friend at the hospital, I returned home and meet every household in our homestead happy for receiving their transfer. My grandchild verified the message on my phone and informed me that I had received the is too. I was so happy for receiving my transfer since I had never received such a huge amount of money before.

Seeing my grandchild happy after rejoining back to school after clearing her school fees makes me live a stress-free life. Previously, I was very worried about her education after she was always at home due to fee arrears. Furthermore, I was able to start the construction of my permanent house.

I spent KES 10,000 to support the educational needs of my grandchild. She had been sent home for more than a week for school fees something that had been bothering me a lot. Currently, she is happy learning without any interruption. I also purchased 15 tonnes of building stones for KES 20,000 and 24 bags of cement for 600 each. This was for the construction of a decent permanent house for myself. In addition, I spent KES 20,000 on labor costs. Back in the day, my house was about to collapse due to the mud walls and decaying building poles. I also purchase a solar penal on-hire purchase to light my house. Previously, I was using a paraffin lamp that was relatively costly because I was required to buy paraffin every day.