Currently , I have a semi permanent house whose wall is wooden . I hope to build a 3 or 4 roomed permanent house in 3 years to come . I'll need approximately $6000 to achieve this and my plan is to raise this money from my sacco savings . I can also borrow a loan from the same sacco then pay later in instalments .

First of all , please accept my gratitude. Give Directly has benefitted me and many others in my village . It has changed the lives of people . People have bought livestock ,water tanks for water storage , paid school fees and build new houses . Your way of disbursing this money was well organised and you ensured that we received the money was sent directly from you since maybe if you send a different person , it would have been deducted . I'm contented with how you handled everything hence I see no area of improvement .

I'm a primary school teacher , and a bread winner of my family since my wife died . I was so happy to be enrolled in this program because it has really supplemented my salary to be able to do great things . I used the $270 to pay college fees for my daughter who is studying at K.M.T.C . Before I would depend on my small salary and loans . When you send me the first transfer , I had started renovating my house but the floor was not yet done . So I bought 1 tractor of sand worth $60 , 1 tractor of murram at $20 ,1 tractor of sizeable stones worth $60 and 13 bags of cement worth $94 . I also spent $13 on 13 packets of water proof ,$4 on red oxide and $20 on 4 rolls of floor wire mesh . All these were for the purpose of cementing the floor of my house , since I'm a widower , I do the cleaning by myself and its easier while the floor is cemented .

I was in a family meeting when I heard a message notification from my phone. It was around 5 pm and we had just started the meeting. When I checked it out I could not believe my eyes. It was a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy because I have never received such an amount of money before. I knew I would be able to pay school fees for my children in various schools. When I went back home I informed my children and they equally celebrated. This was one of the happiest days in our lives. I stayed for a few days and later went to withdraw the money.

Being in a position to pay school fees for my two children in various schools is the biggest difference in my daily life. I had a daughter who was joining Kenya medical training college and the other one in secondary school. The biggest challenge was raising the school fees. I am a teacher and I do some farming at home as an additional source of income. This was giving me a small income and I was not able to meet all the basic needs and pay all the school fees at once. My children would be sent home to collect the school fees and this was affecting their performance since they would miss some lessons. It was so demoralizing and I would try my best to ensure that they are in school. When I received the money from GiveDirectly I felt so happy because I knew I would be in a position to pay all this at once. My children currently are studying well without being disturbed like before. I have peace of mind to conduct my daily activities without being disturbed. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards.

I spent KES 15,000 on school fees for my daughter who joined Kenya medical training college. This was my biggest worry before I received the transfer. I was able to pay the college fees on time when I received the transfer and she is now studying well. I spent KES 10,000 to pay school fees for my daughter who is in secondary school. She felt so happy because she had a humble time studying without being sent home like before. I expect to get better performance. I spent KES 22,000 renovating my house to look more decent. I was in a position to buy the materials and pay the workers. My house now looks decent and presentable. The rest of the money I spent on food and other household items for the family.