Our goal is to finish building the house that we had started constructing using the transfers that we got from GiveDirectly. The floor has not been cemented and the windows and doors have not been placed. We already bought the materials needed, that is, sand, cement, the door, and the windows. We, however, currently do not have the money for paying labor. My husband works at a nearby school as a subordinate staff. We plan to use the money that he will get paid at his job so that we can complete the construction.

GiveDirectly did well when they decided to give out the help in form of money and allow everyone to choose on their own how to spend it. They hence do not dictate to you how to spend it. This is good because the person understands the challenges that he or she is facing. I would like to hence encourage them to continue with the good work of helping the needy.

We spent most of our entire second transfer on buying more materials for constructing the house. We bought sand, cement, the door, and the windows. We had bought some materials with the first transfer and we started the construction. We are so happy because we have managed to achieve our goal of building another house. This is what we had always wanted to do for a long time but due to financial constraints, we were not able to. We wanted to construct another house because the one that we have been living in was our parents'. We usually depend on what my husband earns at his job as subordinate staff in a nearby school so that we can buy food and other household necessities for our family of five. The money is not much and that is why we have not been able to save any for making such developments. The little amount that remained after buying the materials, is what we used in buying food. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for the help that you gave us.

When I received two consecutive messages on my phone, I became curious to know its contents as no one had ever sent me two consecutive SMSes in a day. Upon reading them, I became so happy to know that one was from Mpesa indicating that I had received KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. That SMS gave me hope that I would finally fulfill my heart's desires.

I have made a major step in life that I would not have been able to achieve on my own. So far, I have been able to buy some building materials and I am happy that very soon, I will be able to build a more spacious permanent house that I call my own. This would have taken me ages to achieve since I depend on any available casual work in the region and the pay is not attractive hence people do it for the sake of surviving.

When I received my transfer, I spent KES 50000 to buy some building materials that I am planning to use in constructing a more permanent house for my family since the one I currently live in is small. In preparation for this, I bought 30 pieces of iron sheets, frames, nails and 45 poles. I used the remaining KES 4000 on farming by hiring a tractor to help in land preparation purposes and in buying enough fertilizers.