I believe that my life has changed positively because, in the next to or three years, the number of livestock I currently have will have increased significantly and I will have the opportunity to sell out some of them and in turn earn some little extra income.

Most of use in this community was badly off in life so this program came as a rescue for us because it helped us to alleviate our lives. For me, I did not see any negative thing with regards to what the organization did in our community.

I used the money to buy more livestock which included three sheep and two goats which I added to my initial count of livestock that I had before. Since my kids had fee balances or arrears which I had not paid by then, I had to make sure that I settle their bills in good time. I also bought twenty new iron sheets, new mattress, and household utensils. The iron sheets which I bought helped me in the expansion of my house which I thought to have been so small as compared to the size of my family.

My ambition was at least to own cows since the ones I was keeping for such a long time only belonged to my neighbour. From them, I could only benefit from getting milk alone. Through the transfer, I was able to buy my own cows and I am happily rearing them. To me, buying my own cows is the biggest difference in my daily life.

I received the notification early in the morning as I was milking the cows. I heard a message ringtone from my phone and on checking to confirm, it was from GiveDirectly notifying me that I have received my first transfer. I was happier than before. For sure, I would be able to buy my own cows. This alone brought joy into my life for the dream of owning my own cows would finally come true.

I have been keeping livestock for over 15 years and I have never gotten an opportunity to buy my own cows. The ones I was keeping for that period were of my neighbour, in which I was taking care of them on his behalf. I could only benefit from taking care of his cows by getting milk. None of the cows was mine. On receiving the first transfer, I bought my own three cows to keep and this gives me pride. I will add them to the herd and get more milk. I always sell the milk to earn an income which is the source of my livelihood. My children's school fees also come from the money we raise after selling milk. I also spent part of the transfer to purchase a door and fixed it in my new house since I did not have money to fix the door immediately I built it. I also bought a new mattress to improve on my beddings for the ones I was using were very old. I spent the rest of the transfer to pay a portion of school fees for my children as well as buying their school uniforms and stationeries.