Since jobs have become less in the village owing to the tough economic times. I had thought of an alternative source of income and goal this year was to set a firewood selling and maize roasting business. Achieving this means earning better income to be able to pay school fees for my children.

In my opinion, I think GiveDirectly should add some more transfer to what we received because of the rising cost of living. However, we appreciate what we received because it has changed our lives in so many ways.

Both my husband and I are casual labourers. I do laundry and clean other people's houses in the neighborhood to earn living while my husband fetches and sells water to the neighbors. Due to our low daily wages, we have never been prevailed to own a cow and therefore, we have been buying milk for our children and a litre of milk goes for $0.8. Since my husband and I earns an average daily wage of $2, we have never been able to save towards buying things that we admire most in life such as dairy cow. I spend $300 to buy a dairy cow which is most likely to give birth this year, $150 to pay school fees for my child who's in high school and the balance to buy clothes for my six children who had torn clothes. I can't wait to sell milk and earn income and improve my standards of living.

it was around 6 Am when I heard a ringtone message notification from y phone. I did not check it immediately. I woke up and do my morning chores and later checked it out. I could not believe my eyes it was a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and immediately informed my family members and all were happy too. I knew I would be able to purchase a daily cow. We went and withdrew part of the money the same day and spend it on household items that we were lacking.

The biggest difference in my daily life is purchasing a dairy cow. I used to buy milk daily and it was so costly for me because I do not have a continuous source of income. Whenever I had no money my children would go without milk and this is so demoralizing. I depend on small-scale farming and do casual jobs in the village as a source of income. The money that I always get from this is for basic needs and other household items. I had no extra money to purchase a dairy cow. I had always wished to own a dairy cow. Currently, I have a cow and I know in the next few months when it reproduces I will be in a position to get enough milk for the family. I will save the money that I would have used in buying milk for other household expenses. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed my living standard.

I spend KES 28,000 on purchasing a heifer. This is because I always buy milk daily and it's so costly for me. I am so happy now because I know that in the next few months when my cow reproduces I will be able to get enough milk for the family and even sell the surplus to earn an income. I spent KES 1,000 preparing my farm ready for planting and purchasing seeds. I paid part of the school fees for my two children in primary school and they are now studying well without being disturbed. I purchased household items and food for the family.