We have a plan to build another house. The house that we live in has become old and is made of mud on the walls and the floor. Getting mud for smearing the house has become a challenge. I also usually do not have the time to smear mud on the house to make it look good. This hence is the reason why we want to build another house that is made of wooden planks on the walls and cemented on the floor. This way we will be able to avoid the challenges of getting mud and our house will be looking modern just like that of others in the community. We plan to get the money for building the house from the businesses that my husband usually does. He has a powersaw and he usually saws timber. He also has a motorcycle and he usually engages in the business of transporting people from one place to another. He makes about KES 3000 for every job that gets from the powersaw, while as for the motorcycle, he makes approximately KES 750 per day. He plans to save some of the money that he makes so that we can use it in starting the construction of the house.

GiveDirectly did well because they enabled me to buy a water tank. I hence no longer make long trips to the river to fetch water. Most people in the community were also able to buy water tanks and hence they can now collect rainwater. Water is usually a big challenge in our area and people have to go long distances to the river to get water. We are hence so much grateful to GiveFirectly for this.

I spent most of my second transfer on fencing my land. I bought fencing poles and barbed wire. I decided to use the money on fencing because I wanted to safeguard my crops at the farm from being destroyed by the cows. I also wanted the cows to start grazing on their own. I usually spend a lot of time looking after the cows as they graze to prevent them from going to the farm and destroying crops. I had always wanted to do the fencing but I was not in a position to due to lack of money. My husband is engaged in a powersaw business and the motorcycle business. He makes approximately KES 3000 from every job that he gets from his powersaw while as for the motorcycle, he makes approximately KES 750 per day. As for me, I am a small scale farmer where I grow vegetables, tomatoes, and onions for sale and for subsistence use. The money that we make from the income-generating activities, most of it usually goes to the payment of school fees for our three children and investing back on farming. With having completed fencing the land, I no longer look after the cows as they graze since the are locked up in one paddock. I can hence concentrate on doing other activities without having to worry that the cows have gone to the farm to destroy my crops. All this has only been possible due to GiveDirectly, I am hence so much grateful to GiveDirectly for this.

Receiving the first transfer was the best thing ever to happen both to my household. On confirmation of the notification message on my phone that morning, I could not hold my joy back as I found myself screaming with excitement - something that has never happened in our household. My husband was shocked and at first, he never knew what was happening as he later confessed that he thought I was running mad. He came running outside to hold me closer in trying to calm me down, but when he understood what was happening, he joined me in celebration. We thanked God knowing that a great transformation was soon coming to our household.

The biggest difference in my daily life is the great investment in a water reservoir. Even though it cost us a lot, I am glad that the frequent visits to the river and the costly pay I had been making to be supplied with enough water will soon stop. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for making my dream come true. I can now save the daily KES120 that I had been spending on water and might as well use it in obtaining enough reading materials, and stationery for my kids.

Living in an area marked with prolonged shortages in the water supply due to short rainy periods, I had been struggling a lot fetching water from the long distant reservoirs and rivers. With a young kid currently, it has been so hard a reason behind obtaining a 3000-liter plastic water tank at KES21000 after receiving the first transfer. This will cut the cost I had been paying the water distributors to deliver enough water daily to our doorsteps. With the new tank, I will be able to collect enough rainwater for my family of five, store and use it at the onset of dry seasons. I also repaired the old power saw that has been our main source of income in our household as my husband has been using it in his daily errands. After obtaining new spare parts, fixing them, and buying new fuel, the total repair cost came to KES16000. I also managed to purchase a heifer at KES9000 to add to the one lactating cow we had been dependent on as we are looking forward to increasing demand for milk within the household soon and that is a period enough fr us to raise another breed. With the remaining amount, I completed the furnishing of our new house, obtained enough foodstuff for my children, and also new clothing that summed up to a total of KS8000.