My new goal in life is to start a small business of buying goats from farmers and selling them at the market. With this, I will be able to always earn money that I can use to pay for the labor of people helping me with the farming activities while I concentrate on this business. With this, I will be able to diversify my sources of income. I am optimistic of a good harvest this year after planting on time and using hybrid seeds, I will sell part of it and use the money to accomplish this.

I was able to achieve my goals and acquire most of the items that I never thought would be possible for me to achieve on-time courtesy of GiveDirectly. With this, my life will never remain the same again and I give all credit to GiveDirectly. This was no different with other people since those who had no better houses have been brought to the same level as those who had decent houses.

I bought a dairy cow worth KES 30000 upon receiving our second transfer and KES 8500 on farming by hiring a tractor for land preparation purposes and to buy hybrid seeds for planting. I am a passionate farmer and I have been planting different crops depending on the season we are in and the period it takes before harvest. It has always been my dream to own a dairy cow but I had not been able to purchase one due to lack of money. I am glad that I have been able to actualize this and very soon, I will be earning money from the sale of income and my family will always have enough milk for consumption. In addition, I spent KES 8000 to purchase some chicken feeds since I had started a poultry project using my first transfer, KES 5000 on utensils to replace the old ones since I usually had to borrow some from my neighbors when I had visitors and a table worth KES 3500 since the one I had was small.

It was on a Friday morning in my usual routine, opening the cowshed to let my mother's cows out to the field when I received a message notification. With my curiosity, I could not resist confirming what it was, and to my utter surprise, it was the good news from GiveDirectly. I was so excited that I had to keep the cowshed closed for another extra hour as I needed to first be sure before leaving home that morning. I had to rush to the nearby shopping center where I managed to withdraw all the amount as I was a bit scared that it might be stolen as mobile money fraud issues have been rampant in our community. Having them in my hand and keeping them out of the phone was a saver option to me since I never want to risk losing the whole sum.

The biggest difference in my daily life is the currently flourishing livestock project that I established. Looking at the ongoing construction of a spacious, secure, and strong poultry coop that will soon be ushering in some chicks and the five sheep I bought brings not only joy but also pushing me to work harder in ensuring that I achieve the desired outcome. I am grateful to have been one of the recipients as this chance came when I really needed to fix a lot in my family.

Working in casual labor over a long period of time had been so demoralizing as things have never been working well for my family. The delayed payments made me struggle a lot in settle debts that were always piling. My wife had to flee to her parents with our 9-year-old son who had just picked schooling. Since then, life has never been the same as I had to quit the job to work on my farming projects and ensure that I am always within the home area. Upon enrollment to this program, I had quite great plans that I am still hoping to see accomplished after the second transfer. So far, I have managed to construct a spacious poultry coop worth KES10000 after obtaining asphalt roofing materials, reinforcement wood panels, and a chain-link supported by strong wooden poles sturdy enough to keep predators at bay. Alongside this is the great investment of KES17000 on five sheep that I am currently rearing with the hope to see them multiply in the future to cushion me on school fees for my son and other household financial obligations. I also spent KES20800 from the remaining amount on replacing the old bedding, obtaining new pieces of furniture, and also used the remaining KES5000 on the solar panel and lighting system installation in my house. I am glad that I am in the final stages of the poultry house construction and hopeful to soon usher in chicks.