When I received my first transfer, I was able to buy a dairy cow that was already producing milk. With the little amount of milk produced, I was able to sell some in my neighbourhood and use the money to make merry go round contributions. I have since been able to continue making the merry go round contributions without fail and my plan is to be able to use the money gotten from it to expand my income generating sources. I have one business idea in mind currently and it is that of staring a shop keeping business. Once I get my contributions from the merry go round I will be able to actualize this goal and ultimately improve our living standards as a family.

In my opinion GiveDirectly did well in giving the best in terms of passing information. I had not been able to attend a training that was conducted shortly before enrollment started but one officer by the name Kirui that came to my house for enrollment took his time to take me through everything before he could enrol me. I was so impressed at how keen he was to make sure that I got to understand everything that he was passing across and this contributed a lot towards me making the decisions that I made in terms of spending the money.

I used KES 25000 to buy a water tank and used another KES 15000 to pay school fees for four children who are under my care. The remaining amount was used to buy food and meet other basic household needs of my family. The decision to buy a water tank was informed by the fact that I would always travel for long distances to fetch water in streams nearby. With the advancement in age and my children going to boarding schools I was left all alone at home and this was becoming so much for me to bear. Often the waters in this stream were not really safe for consumption but then I could not be able to raise such huge amount of money to buy one. I was so carried away by payment of school fees to be able to do this but I am so grateful that finally GiveDirectly has enabled me to see this come to pass. Right now I can comfortably use the water for my livestock as well as for other household chores. There is no greater joy that I got than to be able to see this happen.

My phone was charging that morning, I remember vividly that it was around 7 am. When I heard a message notification. I decided to go check out who could have texted me that morning. It was a message indicating that I have received KES 55,000 from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy because that was the highest amount I have ever received. My family members were so happy too. I stayed for one week then I went to withdraw the money. I knew I would be able to buy a dairy cow.

Buying a dairy cow is the biggest difference in my daily life. This is because I used to buy milk daily and this was so costly for me I do horticulture farming. I sell vegetables and beans. This has been my main source of income to meet all my daily household basic needs. I did not have any other source of income. I have always wished to own a dairy cow but I did not have the money. Currently, I have a dairy cow and I get enough milk for the family and sell the surplus to earn an income. I use the money to purchase some of the household Shopping. I save some amount in merry go round group that we have started in our village. This has motivated me to work hard. I have devoted much of my time to this amazing dairy project. I wish to improve this to a better level shortly.

I spend KES 37,000 on purchasing a dairy cow. This was to get enough milk for the family and sell the surplus to earn an income to meet other household items. I was able to cut the daily cost of buying milk which is so costly. The rest of the money I spent on food and clothes for my children. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has boosted our living standards.