My life is improved from how it had been because I received the money and connected my home to running water. This water has the potential to supply an irrigated garden that I will be producing vegetables for sale and also for use at home. Its tremendous benefits were evident during the recent drought where for the first time, I did not take the cows to a community water pond in another village like we had been doing years on end. As a result, my cows maintained the production level of milk unlike how it used to get low due to the tress of long-distances and the water stress they could go through. I am already reaping the benefits through unaffected milk production and a possible establishment of an irrigated vegetable garden.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well because they used to come all the way and see and experience where we live. This is where they confirmed to me that I would benefit from the transfers. I like the way they practice due diligence while handling enrolment of people into the program, practicing transparency and fairness.

I spent my second transfer on connecting my home to piped water. I used to fetch water from a point more than a kilometer away from my home. Using a wheelbarrow to carry 60 liters of water per trip was so tiring yet the water was not enough for a single day. On receiving the transfer I bought a huge water tank that stores about 3000 liters of water. This tank saves water that I use in case there is water rationing from the source. I plan to start an irrigated garden and turn this fortune into meaningful farming business.

Walking several kilometers daily to fetch water is not an easy task. In our area, to get water, you have to walk a long distance to the nearest river for both domestic and livestock uses. This has been a tough job for me. Recently the government of Kenya assisted us by piping water to our community and it was for us to buy the storage tanks since this water was to been rationed. Thank you GiveDirectly for the transfers I managed to buy the storage tank. This is the biggest difference in my daily life because it has relieved me from going to the river daily because now I can store water.

While I was still washing clothes in my compound I heard the voice of my neighbour calling my name, I paused to hear from her. She told me that she had received KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. Without wasting a second I rush to my house to pick my phone. Upon checking I had also received the transfers. I felt very happy in my heart and I joined my neighbour to celebrate together and thanking GiveDirectly for assisting us.

I spent part of my transfer to pay school fees for my son who is in university. I have been struggling to raise school fees for my son because I do not have any stable income. I mostly I rely on casual jobs like tilling and digging other people's farms. Getting such jobs is really hard sometimes hence it is not a reliable source of income. I used the other part of the transfers to purchase a water tank. Most months of the year we rarely receive rain and where we fetch water is far from home. This has been quite a burden for me. Recently, the government of Kenya got us piped water. This water is only available on a specific day, so buying the water tank will help me store water for future use.