I would love to complete some of the pending work on my house. I love the colors blue and red, and I would like to paint the house those colors to make it more beautiful, not to mention install some much-needed windows. In the future, I would hope that this would offer both myself and my children a place they can be proud to call home.

GiveDirectly provided me with a second chance. I had a small kibanda where I worked, but due to high blood pressure, pneumonia, and a slew of other minor issues, my children advised me to stop working. The funds from GiveDirectly enabled me to cover my expenses while also providing for myself and my grandchildren.

As a farmer growing maize on my 6-acre farm for domestic use, it's difficult to imagine having much left over for other projects. Needless to say, GiveDirectly transfers arrived just in time. I was able to improve my three-bedroom house, add a verandah, and basically make it what I wished it had been for the past 26 years. My son was also sick at the time, and home remedies weren't working, so I took some of the money and rushed him to the hospital, where he was examined and given medication. He recovered quickly and is now as good as new. I also prioritized food, making sure I had plenty on hand.Enough to get us by for a while. My five children are my pride and joy. My eldest lives in Nairobi, but I live with his four children since his wife left. He is a mechanic who is trying to make the best of the situation. My secondborn works at Ganze Secondary School, while my thirdborn works as a chef at the Shanzu Hotel in Mombasa and has two children with his wife. My fourth child, along with his wife, lives with me. He works as a casual laborer here at Ganze Center, barely scraping by. My fifth and final child is married and lives in Mombasa, while my husband works in Dubai. The funds enabled me to not only provide for those I share a house with someone, but I also need to be able to send money to my children when necessary. GiveDirectly recognized my plight as a single mother and supported me throughout my ordeal. I will be eternally grateful.

What a blessed morning it was! As I remembered that day vividly, it was still dawn when I woke up and saw an envelope-like icon on the screen of my phone. I called my helper to advise me on how to go about it since it was a strange thing I have ever seen on the phone. Illiteracy made me uncomfortable with something very beneficial to me. My helper confirmed it was not something to worry about; instead, it was the first transfer of KES 55000.00 from GiveDirectly. My heart was filled with joy hence danced with happiness for receiving the promised help.

Before GiveDirectly graced our village, my life was at sixes and sevens. Despite my old age, I used to cut some logs to make some charcoals for sale since that was the only source of income I relied on though not a reliable source. Life was difficult on my end but from the time I received the first transfer, things turned into a new leave. As of now, I took a good rest from the difficult charcoal work, I also get my basic needs and I sleep well on a nice and comfortable bed not as before.

Upon receiving and withdrawing the money, the first thing I opted to do was to renovate my house since it was on the verge of collapsing. I do not know how much I spend on the renovation since my son was the one in charge. Through him, I also bought a modern bed and a mattress since the ones I was using were the traditional ones yet they were worn out. Besides buying a goat, I also constructed a pit latrine for my family to curb some diseases that are caused by dirty environments.