This transfer has helped to restore our dignity as a family. My husband and I are unemployed. We therefore can barely afford the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing for our family of three. We managed to build a house but because we don't have enough money, we have been unable to install a door. We also cannot afford to buy necessary household furniture such as a bed, so we sleep on the floor. We have been living in this sad condition with no sense of privacy and sleeping through the cold, with an infant who is just four months old. With this transfer however, we now have the ability to change that. We can finish building our house and keep warm. We can now buy a bed to sleep on comfortably. We also plan to buy a dairy cow that will give us a steady supply of milk that we can sell in order to earn money.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly is very efficient in working towards reducing poverty in many communities, especially in my village. It has done this by giving us cash donations that have enabled many residents in my village to start small businesses. With the businesses in place, we can earn money and feed our families. We are very grateful. There isn't anything that GiveDirectly has not done well.

For a long time now, I have wished that I could get money that would enable me finish building my house. Currently, it does not have a door. At night, my family has to endure the stinging cold. This situation is especially dehumanising for us because we have an infant who is just four months old, and we sleep on the floor because we don't have a bed. This is why I plan on spending KES 10,000 to install a door, so that we can keep warm. I will then spend KES 35,000 to buy a dairy cow. Owning one will enable us to have a constant supply of milk for use at home, and we can also sell some to earn money. The remaining amount will be used to buy a bed for the family, so that we can sleep comfortably.

I was from the dam at around 9 in the morning when I saw a message notification on my phone. Upon checking, I realized it was an Mpesa message from GIveDirectly, they had debited my transfers into my account as promised during the enrolment period. I felt so happy and I have never been that happy before. I was certain that I will sleep in a nice shelter.

For all those years I have been sheltering under my brother-in-law's house because mine had collapsed sometimes back. My husband has been relying on the bodaboda business and since he was employed by a friend the salary was too little to sustain all the household needs and construction of a new house. However, we had no alternative. Life has never been easy at all and I never enjoyed the joy of being in a marriage since there was no privacy at all. There are times I had even lost hope in life. Currently, there is a huge relief becasue I sleep in my own house with all my three family members. There is no more stress and this makes the biggest difference in my life.

I spent part of my first transfer on buyng iron sheets, nails, building poles, timber and timber, and the required cost of labor. This was for the construction of a new hose becasue the previous one had collapsed and I have been sheltering at my brother-in-law's house. Also, I bought beddings such as a new mattress and bedsheets to replace the old ones. With the remaining amount of money, I bought enough foodstuffs for my family.