The biggest difference is that I am now hopeful of living in my own home. Through the transfers I got from Give Directly I have already bought the necessary building materials. Initially, I only used to depend on casual jobs. The money I got from these jobs was enough to buy basic needs. I used to save nothing towards this goal therefore there were slim chances of establishing my home. I am happy that soon I will be living with my family in our own homestead.

In my opinion, the fact that the grant issued by Give Directly is unconditional makes it so unique. One can use the money how best they feel without restrictions and again as I have said it is a grant hence you owe no one. Saying GD has done well will be an understatement. If I were a donor then I would replicate what GD has done to our community with confidence.

Upon receiving my second transfer, I took some part and finished my ongoing house construction but due to inadequate finances, it had to stop. With the remaining amount, I bought a cow that I plan to rear as an investment. These transfers have elevated my living standards.

Having my own pair of oxen has made my life to be very different. This is because previously I could hire the oxen to work on my farm at a fee but it was very costly. On many occasions, I could not afford to pay the money that was required hence ended up digging using my own hand which was tiresome. The other disadvantage was this ploughing only a small portion of my farm that lead to getting low harvests. I am now a happy farmer because with the pair of oxen that I bought using the transfer, I will be able to prepare my farm in good time and additionally get plenty harvests since the pair can plough so many acres in few days. To add to this, I can also hire them at a fee and get an income. I believe through this, I will no longer strain to meet my family's basic needs like before.

I remember vividly it was around 8 am when I was preparing breakfast for my children then I heard my phone ringing. I decided to take the phone and gave it to my spouse to confirm who might have sent the message very early in the morning. Upon checking, he realized it was an Mpesa message from GD. I was overwhelmed with joy and remember saying " wow! thank you GiveDirectly"

I spent part of my first transfer on buying a pair of oxen and two goats at KES 34000. I have been longing to keep them in my homestead but due to financial constraints, I could not afford it. I am proud of owning these assets, all attributed to GiveDirectly. I also bought some building materials such as iron sheets, building poles, nails, and some timber. This was purposely to build a new house for my children. The previous one was very small. It could not accommodate us all. I later bought a bed and mattress because I have been sleeping in the traditional bed which was uncomfortable and caused me to have back pains. I had to go through the pain since I got married. In addition to that, I managed to clear school fees for my children who are still in primary school so that the can study without any disturbances. The remaining amount of money was finally spent on purchasing enough foodstuffs for my family.