The prolonged drought has made it difficult to find manual jobs in both the farms and construction sites hence making it difficult to fend for my family. Thankfully, I was able to sort out my greatest needs courtesy of the transfer and since I believe in education, my focus now is looking for school fees because school will be opening in a few weeks time.

The change in my household is evident that GiveDirectly made the right decision by allowing us to make the decision on how to spend the money. They really understand that as people in need we know what we need.

Imagine living in a house without a door! Would you have peaceful night with kids inside? This has been my life for the longest time. Being the only provider of my family (taking care of my wife, seven children and having to pay school fees for six of them) hasn't been a walk in the park. Due to severe drought, it's been difficult to get manual jobs in the farm and this has made it more difficult for me to provide for my family. I resolved into selling all the livestock that I had and I have not been in a position to buy others. We've also been using paraffin for lighting at night which was both expensive and dangerous because we live in a grass-thatched house which can easily catch fire. My desire was to provide a permanent solution for this and that's why I bought a solar panel worth KES 17000. I also spend KES 12500 to buy five goats and KES 3500 to fix my house door. I have been using the balance to cater for basic needs such as food, clothing and other necessities. I directed the money I used to buy paraffin in paying other bills and my family is safe from dangers of fire by using the new solar panel.

It was around 8am when I received a message in my phone. I did not react immediately to know what the message was all about since I was very busy in a water crisis meeting with other villagers. At around 11am when were through with the meeting is when I took out my phone to see what kind of a message I had received. My heart melted with joy after seeing the first transfer from GiveDirectly was successful.

The major difference that is vivid is the lighting system at my home. Initially, I was having a difficult time as far as the paraffin bill is concerned. It was very expensive for me thus some other days we had to stay in darkness. Currently my home has five powerful solar lights that provide light throughout the whole nights.

After the registration, I had prioritized buying a solar panel to provide the family with some light at night. Upon withdrawing, I bought a medium sized solar panel for KES 17000.00 and a door for KES 5600.00. Having been sleeping on a small traditional bed which was uncomfortable to sleep on, I bought a nice standard bed for KES 10000.00 and also paid KES 6000.00 school fees for my five primary school children. Thereafter, I repaired my bicycle at a cost of KES 6000.00. This bicycle aids me in fetching some water bearing in mind that the distance to the water points is several miles. For the remaining amount, I saved it for the family use.