Since I was able to build a house using the transfer, I am now aiming to start a restaurant business in our nearest town. This is because I once worked in one some years ago and I saw how profitable it was. I am planning to start saving some amount weekly in a merry-go-round group and later use the savings to achieve this. The money I will be getting from this business once it stabilizes will enable me to meet our basic needs and pay school fees for my children on time.

GiveDirectly did well in so many ways and I do not see anything that they did not do well. First, their officers were respectful and there was no instance where they collided with any of the villagers. Also, we were given equal amounts of money and were given the freedom to chose how to spend them. Because of this, people who used to live in single houses and been able to build spacious ones while those who did not have live assets have been able to acquire some.

I had started building a more spacious house for my family since the one we were living in was small and could not accommodate us comfortably. When I received my second transfer, I spent KES 13000 from it to finish its construction. Also, I bought two heifers at KES 15000 each as an investment that I can rely on in case of an emergency. I spent the remaining amount on food and clothes for the family. I am happy that GiveDirectly enabled us to build a more spacious house something that I had not been able to achieve despite being a mason.

It was a few minutes past 9 am and I was busy working at our church when I heard a message alert on my phone. On checking it, it was a Mpesa message which I read over and over, and after checking my account balance, I got excited to know that the promised aid was finally in my account. I continued with work joyfully wishing that the day would end faster so that I would share the good news with my spouse.

I live in a small single room house that serves as a kitchen and living room during the day and our bedroom at night. Because of this, we have no privacy as a family as we are forced to assemble our beddings in one corner of the house during the day. It had always been my dream to build a more spacious one before getting more children and the responsibility of paying their school fees weighs me down. Being able to purchase the necessary building materials makes my life different since I know that with my growing family, I will be having some privacy and my children will also have their own room when they grow up.

I spent KES 30000 from the money I received from GiveDirectly to buy some building materials that I will use in building a better and spacious house for my family. We live in a small grass-thatched house that does not host all my family members comfortably. I would have started the construction process since I am a mason but I decided to work on building other people's houses first and be able to earn more during this festive season in my neighborhood. In addition, I spent KES 18000 on clothes and foodstuffs for my family and I still have KES 6000 that I am planning to use in case I ran short of materials during the construction process.