Our new goal is to do some farming and to place a wire mesh all around the chicken's house because we have a plan to increase the number of chickens that we are rearing. We would like to do the above so that we can get more income that can sustain all our needs. We do not have jobs and hence we usually depend on farming as our source of livelihood. We usually grow crops such as maize and beans and sell them to get money for paying school fees for our six children and to buy food. We also usually sell the eggs from the chickens and the money that we get from the sales, we use to buy essential household items such as sugar, soap, etc.

GiveDirectly did well by conducting a meeting with the community members before embarking on the enrollment. We were taught well in the meeting and the people got to learn a lot about GiveDirectly and the program. Other than that, I also liked the fact that there was no biasness in the enrollment process. Everyone was enrolled as long as you were meeting their selection criteria. I hence do not see anything wrong with the way they conducted their work.

We spent KES 30000 of the recent transfer on building another sleeping house for the boys. We decided to do so because the one that they use to sleep in was small and hence the space was not enough for them. We have always wanted to build them one but we didn't have the money that is required to do so. We also spent another KES 15000 on buying a calf. We had bought a cow with the first transfer and hence we decided to add a calf so that it can help us in the future when it calves. We will be able to get milk that we can sell some or we can sell the offspring whenever we are faced with an emergency such as a lack of money for the children's school fees. We are glad because the boys now have a bigger house that is enough for them and we also got a calf which is an investment in the future. With the remaining transfer money, we used it in building a poultry unit. We are thus grateful to GiveDirectly for the support.

It was a few minutes past 11 pm and I was sleeping when I heard a message notification on my phone. I decided to read it at that time since it was unusual for me to receive an SMS at such an hour of the night. When I saw that the message was from Mpesa, I became more curious to know who would have remembered me at such a time and my heart was filled with joy on realizing that it was the promised funds from GiveDirectly. I whispered a word of prayer and thanked God for the blessings that had just come in.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have been able to pay school fees for my son who was almost being sent back home due to arrears that we were owing to the school and buy a heifer. To me, this heifer is an investment that will enable me to continue paying for his fees and that of his siblings through the sale of surplus when it reproduces. Apart from this, I will always remember the impact of GiveDirectly in our lives whenever I see this cow and I am so grateful to them for remembering us at such a time.

I have six children in different levels of education and their education has been our priority as parents since we want them to gain knowledge and be prosperous in their lives. I am a farmer dealing with both dairy and crop farming to educate them. I have been supplying milk to the nearest cooler plant in our region and later use the money to pay their school fees when I get paid. When I received my transfer, I spent KES 25000 to pay school fees for my son in high school, KES 25000 to purchase a heifer, and KES 4700 on foodstuffs to last us for some time. I settled on buying a heifer so that it will help me in educating my children through the sale of surplus when it reproduces.