After clearing the payment on a solar lighting kit I had purchased on credit last year, I was finally able to save some of my transfers which I combined to some of my savings and bought a seat. I had only two chairs in my house because we had been unable to buy more due to low income. It was always tough because whenever there was a visitor I had to borrow more chairs from my in-law or one of us would have to sit on a jerrycan. The joy I feel after buying the chair is unexplainable because my house is no longer as empty as it looked before and I do not feel ashamed to invite anyone in anymore. I am so grateful to Give Directly for totally changing my life because all that I have managed to do so far courtesy of the transfers would have been impossible.

Before the project ends, I want to ensure that I buy extra beddings such as a mattress and blankets. I have decent bedding for my own use, but I do not have extra for my visitors which usually is an embarrassment because I have to borrow from my neighbours. I want to be able to comfortably host my visitors without having to always bother my neighbours and I know that my little income will make it hard for me to buy such items once the project is over, hence the need to buy them now.

Last year, I bought a solar lighting kit on credit. I only paid a small amount as a deposit on the kit and agreed to pay off the rest in monthly instalments after which I was allowed to carry it home. For the better part of last year and some months of this year, I used most of my transfers to pay the monthly instalments on the kit which meaning that I could not invest the transfers on anything else. The solar lighting kit already changed my daily life because I stopped using kerosene lamps, spending on kerosene and having a brightly lit house, but after fully paying for the solar, life has become much better because I can get to spend most of the money I receive on foodstuff and other basic household needs.

At the moment I do not have extra bedding that can be used by my visitors forcing me to borrow from my neighbours. I hope that I will have bought the items before the end of this project so that I can stop borrowing and always bothing my neighbours.

Four months, I was using a kerosene tin-lamp which produced a lot of smoke but with a very dim light. With the solar light that I recently purchased, my house is now well lit and daily expenses on kerosene a history.

I have plans of plastering my house which is currently made of mud so that I can take a break from the constant smearing to keep my house in good condition. This will also be very good for my health as I am also getting old, not able to keep up with such activities. I will use the transfers to buy materials required to plaster my house such as cement and sand.

The biggest difference in life is that I recently bought a solar lighting system which I use for lighting at night. I no longer have to deal with a dim-lit house because of a kerosene lamp. The smoke emitted from the lamp was too harmful to my family since my children used it at night to do their homework. I am glad I don't spend on the kerosene anymore and use the cash for other family needs.

I hope that I will have plastered my house and living in a decent house. I will save part of my monthly transfers to buy building materials such as cement and sand which I will use to plaster my house. This has been my dream for the last two years because smearing every month is tiresome and time-consuming. I would like to focus the resources used for smearing on other family requirements. I know I will have no more stress on smearing after plastering my house.

My life is currently different from how it was four months ago because my child currently goes to school easily. From the transfers, I have been able to pay her school fees promptly as opposed to last year. In addition, I have managed to use the transfers to buy two nice dresses and I nowadays look smarter. Lastly, I had managed to acquire some new set of chairs and a steel door, these items have made my life better and more comfortable than before.

In the next four months, my additional goal is to rear a cow. I am planning to buy a calf which I will rear together with my goats. In my lifetime, I have never owned a cow and I believe when my calf grows and matures, it will give birth to more calves and I will be able to obtain milk. In my area, milk is not only important for its nutritious value but also a valuable commodity that can earn one a living. I will be able to sell milk to earn an additional income to support my household.

The biggest difference in my life in the last four months preceding the current transfer is owning a Mkopa solar system which provides us with adequate lighting. Four months ago, my household did not have any good lighting system. We were fully using the kerosene lamps which were unhealthy and were more often affected by some little wind. In order to have continuous light, we could cover it with an open translucent tin to prevent it from going off hence making our house look dimmer. As a result, my children's studies were most of the time disrupted due to poor lighting from the kerosene lamp.

In the next six months, I expect to build a new, decent and stronger house. The current house is old and has some lines of weaknesses on the walls. I fear that if we experience two prolonged rainy seasons, it may not withstand floods since we live in the relatively plain ground. This may deprive us of shelter if I do not address it within the next six months.

Right now I have seats and no longer sit on the floor when in the house due to lack of seats, my house is in good condition, I sleep well and comfortably because I have good and new bedding and I have never gone without food since I started receiving this transfer.

I would want to buy a cow as an investment for my family,

The biggest difference in my life is that my house is now plastered which makes me very happy. It has been looking weak and in a bad condition and I feard it might fall anytime hence I needed to plaster it.

I would want to start a business to help boost my income.

My new goals that I didn't have before receiving the transfer is fencing my home so that it looks more decent.

My life is currently different from how it would have been had I never received the transfer because I now have a phone and I can communicate with my family members unlike before when I did not have a phone

I expect my life to change in the next six months in that I will have achieved my goals of repairing my floor and fencing my home so that it look decent.

The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving payments from Give Directly, is that I am able to communicate effectively with my family members and friends since I was given a phone.