i now have a dairy cow. Also, I now live comfortably in my newly built house. we were living old Previously I lived in an old house whose walls had started cracking. When I received my transfer, I purchased enough building materials that include iron sheets, building poles and paid for the labor cost. I settled on this since the cost of renovating our old house was almost the same as that of building a new one. I am happy that I have a new house to live in with my family through this money. Also, the transfer enabled me to purchase some chicken, sheep and a dairy cow. These are assets to me that I did not have before and I can lean on in case I am in dire need of cash.

GiveDirectly did well by enrolling us to benefit from the transfers and raise our living standards. We have been able to build houses and take our children to school and I do not see anything that GiveDirectly does not do well.

I spent my second transfer to complete building a house for my family. I had started building it using part of my first transfer but left it incomplete after I ran short of cash. Also, I bought one set of seats and enough beddings for my household. We had been sleeping on the floor for so long and I had started developing some backache. On the remaining amount, I bought two sheep and some chicken. I will be using the income from the sale of eggs to cater for our basic needs.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I now own a dairy cow. It had always been my wish to own one but I had not been able to due to overwhelming family needs. This cow is my long term investment. When it reproduces, I will be selling milk to earn an income to use in paying school fees for my children. Also, it will help me reduce my daily expenditure hence I can be able to save some money.

It was around 4 am when I received a message alert on my phone. Since I was already awake and listening to a radio, I decided to check it and know its content. Upon reading its contents, I became so happy and gave thanks to God for the blessings that had just come in.

When I received my first transfer, I used part of it to buy a dairy cow for rearing. When it reproduces, I will be able to get milk for our consumption and also sell some to earn an income. Also, I bought some building materials which include iron sheets, timber, nails and also paid a mason for the construction of a spacious house for my family. I settled on this because the one we were living in was small and old. Also, renovating it would have been costly compared to the cost of building a new one. I used the remaining amount to buy some basic needs for my family. I bought some beddings, clothes and one sack of maize flour.