Looking at my life currently, there is really a very big difference than if I never received the transfer. We never had any source of income but now our running business is doing us wonderful job. GiveDirectly made that possible since and we are now thankful that as it was happening to other households in the village, it also happened to us.

What GiveDirectly is doing in our village is really amazing and not questionable at all. We have seen lives changing, children who had dropped out of schools are now back, houses have been constructed and generally, the living standards have risen. So far, in my opinion, I can say that all they are doing is excellent and nothing can be corrected in it but only to appreciate and pray for them to do more even in other villages.

After receiving the second transfer, I saw it good to improve the already existing business I had. I spent 45000 KES on restocking the shop both by adding up what was almost drying out and bringing in other new stock which customers have been asking for. I made this a priority since in most cases we had been so much dependent on the outcome as it has been serving both the household requirements, school fees and also part of the savings we are making have been from the shop. With the remaining amount, we also replenish other household goods by ensuring that we buy enough food which would take us for the next few months.

I depend on the casual jobs in the village and the small amount of money I get is never enough to cater to all the basic needs of the family. Sometimes I could miss getting these jobs and my family would go without basic needs. I had lived a stressful and demoralized life because of this. I have two grandchildren I take care of after their mother passed on. Raising their school fees on top of providing for the daily household needs had been a heavy yoke for me given that I am growing older and older. The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have bought a dairy cow. Currently, I no longer buy milk from the market thus save some amount from the casual jobs to meet other additional needs for the family including paying their school fees. I feel so happy my grandchildren are no longer sent home to collect school fees and this has led to an improvement in their performance. I no longer do much of the casual jobs but rather devote half of my time on my own farm. I live a stress-free life because I know at the end of each day I save some money from milk sales. I am so much grateful for the support it has greatly changed our living standard.

I remember it was very early in the morning when I heard an incoming message notification on my phone. On checking, I could not believe my eyes, I had received an amount of money that I had never received before. I shared the news with my family members and they were so happy because they knew we would be able to meet all the basic needs of the family. In the morning we budged the money on how to spend it.

I majorly depend on casual jobs in the village to provide for my family. It has been challenging meeting my household's daily basic needs due to scares resources and unstable income from casual jobs. When I received my first transfer I majorly spent it on my family improvement. I spent part of it in farming. I bought a dairy cow, farm inputs and to pay casual workers to cultivate my farm. I am happy that soon I will not be spending on milk again and I will have a good yield for my family consumption. I took another portion to buy household basic needs-clothing, foods and items like a solar lamp. I also paid school fees for my two grandchildren in secondary school to avoid being interfered with during there school days.