Having the pair of oxen and the dairy cow has made my life to be different. This is what I have been longing to own for a long period of time but I could not afford to purchase them due to the financial difficulties. I am so hopeful and happier because, with the oxen, they will be of great help in my agricultural activities and I will be saving the money that I used to hire people to help in preparing my farm. To add to that, I will also be hiring the oxen to my neighbors at a fee and generate an income. Also, with the dairy cow, I will be getting milk for free whereby they will be for my family consumption and also for commercial purposes. I will save the money that I will earn from the sale of milk and start another project. In the next few months, I will no longer struggle in meeting my family's daily needs.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did everything so well and I am so happy about that. One the enrolment was free and fair, no one asked me to pay anything to be registered. Also, the fact that the money was unconditional I was given the opportunity to choose what I wanted to buy. I also planned on what I have been longing to have without anyone's permission since the money was mine.

I spent part of my second transfer on buying a dairy cow at KES 13000. This is what I have been admiring for years to keep in my homestead but then I could not afford it because they were too costly. I also bought some building materials such as building poles at KES 9600. This was for the completion of the house that I had started constructing using the first transfers, I then bought an ox plough at KES 10000. This was specifically for the pair of oxen that I had initially bought. I will now no longer need to borrow from friends as I used to do The remaining amount of money, I bought some sufficient foodstuffs for my family and some other basic household needs.

The fact that I now own a pair of oxen, I feel it has made my life to be totally different. As a farmer, I have been yearning to own them but due to the financial difficulties, I could not afford it. I am now hopeful and happier because I will benefit a lot from the cows. I am now certain the level of food production shall increase because the cows can plough many acres in a few days compared to when I was using my own hands. Another benefit is that I will be getting manure from the cow dung and this will make my farm to be very productive. Lastly, I will hire the cows to friends at a fee, and this will be my additional income. I will no longer struggle in paying school fees for my children as I used to do.

I remember vividly it was around 6 am when I was heading to the farm as usual. Then my phone started vibrating. I was very happy beyond measures when I realized it was a mpesa message from GiveDirectly. I decided to go back home and started planning my projects.

I spent part of my first transfer on buying a pair of oxen. This has been my longtime dream but because they were expensive I couldn't afford it. I then bought some building materials such as some pieces of iron sheets, nails, and some threads purposely for the renovation of my house which was not in good condition. I then took a portion of the money and paid the mason as his labor fee. I later bought enough foodstuffs for my children that would take us to the next harvesting season.