My new goal is to be able to have an additional dairy cow. This is because dairy keeping is a main source of income in our area. Right now I own two dairy cows which produces almost 5 litres per day and the milk is just enough to be used in our household without any surplus for resale to make extra income. Getting additional livestock would mean that I get enough milk supply and be able to even sell the surplus produc d to better the living standards of my family. I am a father of two and any income that will be added will see us be able to pay school fees for our children and meet other needs more efficiently too.

In my opinion GiveDirectly did so well in being transparent and honest in their dealings and did not discriminate on anyone. On the other hand I did not find anything that I thought they did not do well except for the old and vulnerable people who felt that their transfers delayed unnecessarily since they had to be visited in house for them to receive their transfers. I feel GiveDirectly could do more by making sure that the transfers come in time for all people including those that are vulnerable.

I used KES 10000 to pay school fees for my child who is in an academy and used the remaining amount to do finishing of a house that I had built before receiving the transfer from GiveDirectly. I chose to pay school fees for my child since the money came at a time the fee was so much needed and she could have been sent home for school fees had I failed to pay. I was able to buy boards and frames that helped in completion of the house that I was building and I am so much grateful to GiveDirectly for the support this received.

I was very happy when I first received the first transfer from GiveDirectly. It was around 5:00 PM just after arriving home from school, where I normally work as a teacher. With my family, I heard the message and had to confirm what it was all about, and to my surprise, it was a confirmation of the receipt of the first KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. Everyone was excited with the news and we all planned on the withdrawal and how best we would later spend.

The biggest difference in my daily life is the improved construction speed of a house that I had put on a halt due to insufficient resources. I am glad that the money I received was timely as it facilitate the sourcing of some materials that I had exhausted. I am looking forward to completing the construction soon so that we can move in with my family.

I received the first transfer when the construction of a new house I had started some months ago was on. I had to stop at a point after exhausting all the savings that I had but GiveDirectly's transfer came in handy. I spent KES 20000 on buying some materials and paying the labor cost that is currently working on the construction. I also bought a heifer at KES 17000 to add to the other two dairy cows that I had on my field. Initially, I had a plan to add two more with the hope of increasing milk production that would help in school fees payment, but after clearing all school fees, I settled on just a heifer that will still increase production for my family if four. I later spent the remaining on obtaining other household goods that included foodstuff and clothing for my children.