My life is different than how it would have been if I never received the transfers in that I have bought a water tank. I used to walk for a long distance to collect clean water for domestic use. This was so tiresome and time consuming. I could struggle so much to keep time since it was not a easy task, I used to wake up very early in the morning to get to the river because everyone in the village was heading there to get the clean water before they begin their daily activities. Sometime the queue could be so long and one could get home late and not able to do other chores. When I received the second transfer I bought a water tank and when it rains I collect clean water. This has enabled me to save so much time to do other chores at home. I no longer get stress up on where I could get the water. We have clean water for drinking and we are no longer exposed to water related diseases. We are so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has improved our living standard to be much better than before.

In my opinion GiveDirectly does well by giving money to the poor in the community to build better houses and to pay school fees for their children. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.

I spend part of the money I received from GiveDirectly on buying a water tank for storing clear water for domestic use. I used to walk for a long distance to collect clean water and it was tiresome. I also bought a heifer, this will enable me to cut the daily cost of buying milk when it reproduce in the next few months. The rest of the money I bought food and pay school fees for my children in various schools. They used to be sent home to collect the school fees and this was affecting their performance since lessons were on going. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard and given us hope to work harder.

I had just woken up in the morning and I was busy lighting up the fire in order to prepare breakfast for my family when I heard the SMS notification on my phone. I decided to check it and I could not believe my eyes when I saw the message saying that I had received the 55000/= transfer from GiveDirectly just as promised. I was filled with a lot of happiness and I went to inform the rest of my family members who were still asleep. They were so happy to hear this that they got up from their beds to celebrate. We gave lots of thanks to GiveDirectly for what they had done to us.

The transfer is going to bring a big difference to my family. When the maize that we have planted on the farm, grows and ripens, we will be able to get food that can sustain us for quite some time. We have also planted Boma Rhodes grass on the farm, when this grass grows and matures, our cow will have something to eat. Having drawn the piped water to my compound, we will no longer have to make long trips to the river to fetch water. We will now be having water for household use and for irrigating the vegetables in the kitchen garden during the dry season. Also, when the house that we are building gets completed, we will be able to have a nice and bigger place to stay in. There will also be enough space that can accommodate guests visiting our household. My children too are happy because they got new clothes for themselves to wear.

The transfer has helped me in several ways. It is planting season in our area and I did not have the money to till the land and buy seeds. The transfer came in through at the right time and I was able to till the land and buy maize seeds for planting. I also used part of the transfer in drawing piped water to my compound. I saw this as important because the river that we usually go to draw water from is very far. We also used the transfer to construct another house. We have been living in a small house for some time now and hence we wanted a bigger house that will enough to accommodate guests visiting our household. The transfer also helped me in buying a few utensils that were missing in my house and clothes for my children. I have always had the desire to do the above activities but I have never had a chance to get a large sum of money that will enable me to do all that. The little amounts of money that I get from the casual jobs that I do have been going to payment of school fees for my children and buying food. It has therefore been quite hard to achieve what I have always wanted.