Having received all my GiveDirectly transfers, I am now planning to start a grocery stall. This is because I used to this business some years back but had closed down due to lack of capital. This will not only help in household expenditure but also in the generation of income to invest as savings in merry-go-round contributions.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly does well to improve the living standards of people. For instance, I have built a better and more spacious house that I couldn't afford before and I am very grateful.

I am a mother of eight kids; seven girls and a boy. I am also a dairy and crop farmer where I majorly engage in maize and sweet potatoes farming to fend for my family. From dairy farming, I get four liters of milk a day an equivalent of KES 150 because a liter goes for KES 35. I also engage in casual labor where I get KES 200 on a good day but is unreliable. To pay school fees, I relied on dairy farming, and in the worst-case scenario, I would resort to well-wishers and community contributions. But when GiveDirectly came, I spent KES6000 on school fees payment for my two daughters and a son. I also spent KES 16,000 on a heifer as an addition to the one had. This will not only increase milk production but also increased income and as a future investment for my family. Furthermore, I spent KES 10,000 on three bags of maize. This is because from my casual labor I could only afford to buy maize in small quantities but GiveDirectly has made it easier. This will not ensure the adequacy of food but will also enhance savings because the household expenditure is reduced. I also spent the remaining KES 10,000 on the latest clothing fashion and utensils. This is because before I could only afford second-hand clothes. I also had only a few utensils that could only cater to my family and leave out visitors.

The moment I received my transfer, I was preparing to step out to fetch water from the stream, when I heard my phone ringing and vibrating loudly, Upon checking I saw a Mpesa notification message showing that I had received money from GiveDirectly, I was overwhelmed with joy and happiness, I knew that I would be able to build a decent house for myself this is because the one that I was living in was small, words cannot express how happy I was, I am grateful to have received the support from GiveDirectly that changed my living standards.

The biggest difference in my life is that I was able to construct a decent house for my family easily and in a short period, I was unable to complete it before due to financial constraints, In addition, that, I cleared the school arrears of my son, meaning that he would be able to study comfortably, our village is a semi-arid place and foodstuffs are very expensive especially when bought in small portions, I, therefore, was able to store enough foodstuff in the house. I am grateful for the support that amazingly changed our lives positively.

When I received my transfer I thought of building a decent house for my family, this is because the one that I was living in was small, but I was unable to construct a house before due to financial constraints, I saw this as the best opportunity for me to lift my living standards, therefore, I used KES 20,000 In building, I then used KES 5000 in paying school fees for my son who is in a secondary school, lastly I bought clothes and foodstuff with the remaining amount, I am so happy that I was able to accomplish all that I had planned in a short period.