I was awakened by the loud vibration from my mobile phone at around 6 am. I decided to ignore it since I was not expecting any message from anyone. But then I heard my neighbors celebrating and shouting. They gave me the morale to check the content of the message. Only to realize it was from GiveDirectly, I was so happy. I had finally received my first transfer.

The biggest difference in my daily life so far that I can proudly mention is the fact that I am sleeping under a permanent plastered house. Previously it had some muddy wall with some holes all over. I was always attacked by some rodents such as rats, and most of my properties like clothes were always damaged. Secondly, the cold nights were also a bother brought about by the holes which were all over the walls. This is all sorted now after I renovated the house, we are now sleeping peacefully and comfortably. My children can also get enough time to study unlike before whereby they could not because of the condition of the house. I am now sure they will improve their academic performance. Courtesy to GiveDirectly, I am so grateful.

I spent part of my first transfer on buying some building materials such as some bags of cement, sand, and bricks. This was purposely for the renovation of my house. I later bought a new solar panel because previously I was using some candles. They were costly and sometimes I could not afford to buy them. Thus it was really affecting my children's academic performance because sometimes they could not do their school assignments at night. I then hired my neighbors to prepare my farm because we were approaching the planting season. I also bought two goats to keep in my compound, I opted to buy them because they reproduce twice a year and mature faster. I also cleared school fees for my children who are still in primary school. The remaining amount of money I bought some sufficient foodstuffs for my family and some other household items.