Employment can sometimes be stressful, more so if you report to a harsh manager or whether the company is private. I am currently employed as an electrician for a private company, which earns me $200 a month. Although it sustains my family, this job is unreliable at times; therefore, I wish to be self-employed. Therefore, in the next year, I hope to use the profits from the grocery store my wife runs as well as my savings to expand this grocery business and, hence, earn the family of three an income. I will be happy to fully venture into this business since security is a quarantee, and I will thus be my own boss.

I do appreciate the initiative GiveDirectly has taken in poverty eradication by offering unconditional cash transfers. Previously, life had hit rock bottom for some people in the community for lack of finances since the casual jobs they used to depend on were poorly paying and all used to cater for food for their households. With the transfers, life has improved as families have acquired assets as well as income by diversifying their economic activities. I therefore never wish anything to change in their way of working since, as it stands, lives have changed.

Family comfort comes first. It was for this course that I spent $380 on constructing a 3-room iron-roofed house aside from the 2-room makuti-walled house that we used to live in with my family of three. With the Makuti house, it often leaks during rainy seasons, therefore exposing my family to pneumonia since the walls and floors dampen. In addition to this, I also spent $150 on opening up a grocery business for my wife, who has been a housewife for quite some time now. With this, I am hopeful that the income we earn from the business as well as the $200 I earn from my electrical job will go a long way toward meeting their needs, such as clothing and food.

Around four o'clock I got a message on my phone while tending to my livestock in a pasture far from home. I went right over to see what kind of message it was. When checked, $550 was the first number that caught my attention. I focused more and noticed that I had gotten the first transfer that had been promised. I was thankful to have received such a large sum of money all at once. Because of the joy that engulfed my heart, I gradually moved the livestock to a close distance to my home. I looked at them as I stood near the house, waiting for the sun to set and take them home.

The most significant difference in my life is that, like the rest of the village, I own and live in a nice iron sheet-roofed house. I am happier and more at ease now that the congestion that was bothering me is gone. As I have converted the small house into a kitchen, I am very pleased to see how the iron sheet will remain clean from soot. Furthermore, unlike in the past when I had to work harder to make ends meet, I can now afford some food for my family every day.

When I withdrew the money, I opted to build a spacious house. This is because the one I had was very small and congested as it was used for multi-purposes. Apart from being a house where my family and I sleep, it was also serving as a store and a kitchen. Therefore, I opted to construct a two-room mud-walled house. I spend $280 on the building materials and the contractor's labor charge was $60. Thereafter, I bought two goats for $60 so that I could add to the ones I already had to boost my investment. As of now, I am happy since I have a spacious house that accommodates my family of three. I am also delighted that I converted the small house into a kitchen and store. As a casual laborer, I saw it prudent to keep the remaining amount for the family's upkeep.