I have a new goal which is to buy a dairy cow. I have lately been thinking of keeping one because they do have sufficient benefits when you compare them with the other domestic animals. I trust that once I will own the cow, I will be getting plenty of litres of milk, and I aim to sell to the nearby dairy shops and generate an income. I will therefore have a stable source of income to fend for my family.

In my opinion, I did not see or hear anything that GiveDirectly did not do well in my entire village. The officers conducted a free and fair exercise during the enrollment period which satisfied everyone. Also, they offered us informative teachings concerning how we would secure our cash transfers once sent into our Mpesa accounts.

I spent part of my second transfer on buying building poles, nails, and threads which cost almost KES 10000. This was for the completion of a one-roomed muddy house for my three children. Initially, they used to shelter at my relative's house which was a bit far from the village we lived in. My house was very small and in a poor state thus they were forced to sleep elsewhere. As a single parent, this situation used to frustrate me a lot because I felt my kids were not safe at all. Also, I did not have ample time to bond with them. I am currently a happy mother to finally bring them together which has been my long-time dream. To add on that, I bought two mattresses at KES 10000 for my children and I. We have been sleeping on the floor for years which could have been affecting us healthwise. Later on, I cleared fees for the two children in grades two and five since they were about to sit for their exams. With the remaining amount, I bought food for my three family members.

The transfers meant so much to me. I was struggling financially and the previous night I slept in an empty stomach , I searched for odd jobs from door to door but nothing good was forthcoming. I was feeling so low and empty that morning and decided to sleep till so late in the afternoon. I was woken up by the noise coming from my neighbours as they were celebrating the transfers by wailing all over their home compound. I felt so happy and much relieved the moment I confirmed my mpesa balance.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that my family have been having regular and balanced diet. Before the transfers, we could skip meals and most of the times we depended on well wishers to provide food for our young son, which is now something of the past.

I spent the transfer of Kshs 14,000 to buy solar . Before the transfers, I was using the lamps that use paraffin, which seem to be so costly due to the hard economic times. With the solar, the lighting covers all the rooms include the outer part of the house and this enhances the security. I paid school fees for my two sons for Kshs 20,000. They never managed to do their last terms exams, and most of the times they were at home due to lack of school fees. I feel so relieved as they will now be in school full time just like the other kids. I have a big family of five, and feeding them with regular meals had been a challenge since I do not have a stable source of income. I used Kshs 15,000 to buy food. I thank Give Directly for the transfers as my family have been having regular and balanced food for the past one month.