I am a graduate with a degree in commerce but up to now, have not secured a job. Currently, I am assisting in teaching at our nearby primary school as a part-time PTA teacher. I am glad to have fulfilled part of my ambition of owning a permanent house for the family, the new goal that I have is to start a high-standard bouquet business. I am planning to also run it online, especially on social media where the customers will order and pay after delivery. With this job, I would be able to complete the construction of the permanent two-bedroom house that I started with the transfer as well as save for other projects.

In my opinion, the criteria they use in selecting the eligible households were open and fair. Targeting the poor households directly without the influence of local administration is what Givedirectly did well. Furthermore, I feel the organization should do a physical second follow-up to see what the beneficiaries were able to accomplish with the transfer; and to support further those who did start a project but failed to complete it.

Since I got married 8 years ago, we have been living in a small one-roomed temporary house with my family of 4 members. It was such small to accommodate two beds and our household properties. Additionally, we were using it as a kitchen at the same time. I spent all of my second transfer continuing with the construction of a two-bedroom house that I had started with the first house. I bought 40 bags of cement, iron rod and paid the construction cost. At the moment, we are grateful for the progress that we have made, so far we are about to put up the roof.

I was at home relaxing after I was done with the house chores. Suddenly, I heard my phone ringing, upon confirming I saw a Mpesa message showing that I had received money from GiveDirectly. This was the most refreshing news that I had received in a long time. I was relieved because I knew that all my goals would be settled with the cash. The transfer impacted our lives amazingly thus we are grateful.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have been able to accomplish my dreams in a short period. Building a decent house for my family is a lifetime achievement and a great milestone that I never thought that I would have accomplished in a short time due to financial constraints. Secondly, I was able to connect tap water to my home. I am grateful to the organization for putting smiles on our faces and for transforming our living standards to a higher level.

Buying water daily has been the biggest challenge in our area. This is because the stream is far away, and our area is a semi-arid place. Thus upon receiving my transfer, I used KES 5100 in the tap water connection. I then used the remaining amount in building a decent house for my family. I am a teacher though at the moment I still work under the board while awaiting the government placement. I am so relieved that I was able to build a decent house that I had longed to have, though I was incapable due to financial constraints since I depend on the wages that I get from the teaching job which are not sufficient.