Despite the difficult life I had as a single mother with three children, I had always worked hard at every opportunity to ensure that they had enough food. Currently, I am selling roasted maize at a nearby market, as well as leasing out plastic seats to business stalls for $10 per five seats. My current goal is to increase my savings in order to purchase a dairy cow. For a long time, I had been spending a lot of money on milk, which is now $1 per liter. Savings from my small businesses will aid not only in the future availability of milk for my children, but also in the creation of a source of income through the sale of surplus milk.

Previously, many people lived in dilapidated houses that leaked on the roof and were hazardous to their children's health. GiveDirectly transformed our lives by providing us with a free cash transfer and the ability to choose how we spent it. With this freedom, we were able to address household challenges and ensure that we met the majority of our households' basic needs. I, like the other members of the village, am grateful for GiveDirectly's generous support.

Previously, I worked as a livestock agent in a nearby livestock market, where I would select livestock from buyers and resell it for a profit. I would then pay back the agreed-upon amount to the owner, leaving me with some money to spend on food and other household items for my three children. As a single mother, this has been a difficult challenge because men dominate the niche. It was unfortunate that they relocated the market more than 10 kilometers away, and commuting to the location is so expensive that I could not afford it with my inconsistent daily income. As a result, I had to change my mind and begin selling roast maize. The maize sales later assisted me in obtaining 50 plastic seats on credit with a $50 deposit. As I sell the roasted maize, I have been leasing the seats at $10 per seat to the market's business stalls. I finished the construction of a new house that I had begun with the first transfer when I received the second transfer. The previous house was getting old and too small for my children, so I had to get more timber worth $200, 8 pieces of ceiling board for $80, and pay $100 in labor charges. I am relieved that we are now living in a larger house with an extra room where we have been sleeping. I also paid $5 in school fees for my son, who is currently in secondary school, and used the remainder to buy groceries.

On receiving the message and checking it up to confirm the source. I was glad to realize that it was from GiveDirectly and since I already had a coherent plan, I could not withdraw immediately but later, at the end of that week. I informed my children, who were very excited too because they had lots of expectations as well.

The biggest difference in my daily life is the new construction of a house that has changed the face of my household after a long struggle to repair the previous one. Amazingly, all has worked well so far and I am grateful that we are soon moving in with my three children to a new spacious and decent house.

As a single mother, constructing a new house from scratch for my family of four alongside other financial obligations for my children had been so hard. I have lived in a patched house with a larger part of the walls made of mud, while the other with the timber that I had been fitting in bits. Receiving the first transfer was a relief, as I had to bring down the entire structure and started new construction. So far, I have spent KES 48000 on the erection of the walls, purchase of the iron sheets, fixing the roofs, and paying the labor charges. I am happy that the interior furnishing and purchase of doors and window is the only task remaining before we move in. I spent the remaining KES 5000 on new clothes for three children and also household foodstuff that we are using to date.