"I spent part of my first transfer on buying some pieces of iron sheets, nails, and timber. I wanted to renovate my house since it had a leaking roof. I then took a portion of the transfer and gave my spouse to clear the dowry to my parents, because I never had peace. They were always saying that I will have to divorce my spouse if the dowry is not fully paid. I always had sleepless nights due to this issue. But I thank God there is a relief now after my husband paid everything they required. I also hired someone to help me with preparing my farm. I also bought a new mattress because the previous one was old. The remaining amount of money, I bought sufficient foodstuff for my family."

"I spent part of my first transfer on buying some building materials such as iron sheets, building poles, timber, and some nails. This was purposely for the construction of a new house because the previous one was very small and in a poor condition. Whenever it could rain, I did not have peace because of the leaking roof. I then bought some goats as my assets. I opted to buy them because they mature faster and reproduce twice a year. I then bought a mattress because the previous one was very old and I was always complaining of back pains. I then cleared some bills and the remaining amount of money, I bought sufficient foodstuffs for my family."

"After receiving the first transfers, I decided to spend 45000 KES in the construction of a new house. I had to cut a lot of timber and also bought 32 iron sheets which I used in roofing. Receiving the money was a relief to us since initially we were living in a small hut which was not spacious enough to accommodate all the household members. In cases where we had some visitors, we would always set a sitting under a shade since the house was too small. Currently, we are feeling good that we can welcome visitors every other time. We spent the remaining amount on buying household clothing both for my wife and also children since everyone in the household had old clothing. We are so grateful to GiveDirectly for the help they gave us."

"I spent the first transfer on constructing a kitchen. I decided to build one because my wife had requested me for a long time though I didn't have enough money to do so. When I received transfers from Give Directly, I gave her request the first priority. I bought roofing sheets, timber, cement, ballast, and sand. Part of the money went towards labor charges. I feel good because I finally fulfilled my wife's promise."

"Owning a decent permanent house has made my life to be totally different. Since my husband and I are very old and jobless we have always been depending on our children who are not stable financially and they have families too. Getting a new house was not easy. The coming of GiveDirectly into my life has transformed everything because I am now sleeping under a good iron-roofed house which is well plastered. We no longer suffer at night, especially during the winter seasons."

"When I received my first transfers, i spent the all amount in renovating my house. I bought some iron sheets, nails and paid for the labor. I settled on this since the house I was living in was always leaking. Its roofs were old, full of rusts and some parts had completely worn out. I was always not comfortable knowing that I have a big house that I cannot live in comfortably due to leaking roofs."

"Owning to a permanent house is the biggest difference in my daily life so far. Previously, I used to sleep under a small muddy hut which was ever leaking whenever it could not rain. The walls had holes all over and I was always attacked by some harmful insects especially at night. This was really stressing me as a parent. My children also could not do their school assignments at night because the house was small. They had to study at their grandmother's house which they were still not comfortable with. We are now happy and safer because we are sleeping under a semi-permanent iron-roofed house which is also well plastered. "

"I spent part of the second transfer to buy building materials to build my son his own house. My son was recently initiated into adulthood and he has been staying with us in the same house. This, in my culture, is not ethical to have a man sleep under his parent's roof, and besides that, it would be less comfortable for him if he continues sleeping in the same house as us. I want him to have his own space where he can study and sleep with minimal disturbance. I spent the rest of the second transfer to pay my daughter's secondary school fees."

"In the next six months, I know I will have built a better and bigger house than the one I have now. The current one is grass thatched house and cannot accommodate my family well. I would want to have an iron-roofed house just kike my neighbours in the village. I am tired of having to look for grass every three months to repair the roof of my house. I would want to handle the issue once and for all. Since I will be getting my transfers on a monthly basis, I know I will achieve this goal because I had started saving for the house four months ago."

"Previously, the villagers would gossip that even after staying in my late grandmother's house as the tradition requires after her death, I did not look like someone who was in a hurry to build my own house. Thankfully, courtesy of Givedirectly's transfer, I was able to build my own house because the duration of staying in that house was long overdue. The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am no longer the talk of the village since I have been able to build a decent iron-roofed house which makes fit in the status quo of the rest unlike before when I stayed in a grass thatched house."