Before the coming of GiveDirectly, I did not have any livestock in my home. Currently, I own two cows and goats which I am rearing in my homestead. I would not have acquired any of these had it not been the support from GiveDirectly. These to me are assets which upon reproducing, I can lean on incase of a financial need. In addition to this, ever since receiving the money, fulfilling the family basic needs like buying daily foodstuffs has never been a problem unlike before when we could skip some meals due to lack of money.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly has done well in transforming our lives by supporting us financially. The money has greatly helped us to fulfill some things that we couldn't do them on our own due to the financial hardships were are facing. As beneficiaries of GiveDirectly, we have been able to build new decent houses and currently enjoying better shelter, Also owning livestock in form of goats and cows and taking our children to school all because of GiveDirectly. The money has brought a big difference in our lives as compared to the lives we were living before receiving this money. I do not see anything that GiveDirectly has not done well in our region.

My son had started a business of selling second hand clothes, but the capital to invest in his business was not enough. When I received my second transfer, I gave him KES 10000 to add to his capital to continue with his business. His business has been a source of income to us as a family. I also took KES 8000 to hire a pair of oxen to plough my farm. At least I have done my farming early and timely and it's my expectation that I will get a good harvest. Apart from these, I also spent KES 10000 to cater for my medication for a condition that has persisted because I wasn't able to cater fully for my medication expenses.Lastly, I am spending the remaining amount to pay for my household expenses as well as buying some foodstuffs and meeting other basic needs for my family.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I now own two dairy cows. I have been longing to own them for a long period of time but I could not afford. With the cows I will be getting milk for free for my family consumption. This will boost us health wise. Previously,I have been buying from my neighbors which was very expensive and sometimes I could not afford. Apart from that, I am planning to sell the milk and getting some money in return. This will be my source of income since I am jobless. This will uplift my living standard. I will be able to cater to my family basic needs with ease.

It was around 10:30 pm when my phone vibrated loudly. I decided to check its content. I realized it was from GiveDirectly. Thy had debited my first transfer in my account. I was glad instantly and I could not sleep till dawn.

I spent part of my first transfer on buying some livestock such as four goats at 9000 and two dairy cows at 33000. This has been my dream for a long period of time but due to the high level of poverty, I could not afford it. I then cleared school fees for my son who is in college. Previously I was really struggling hard to pay his school fees. The remaining amount of money I bought enough foodstuff for my family that would last us for a month. It has been long since we could harvest, we were really starving.