Originally, I had a goal of buying a cow purposefully for production of milk. I like milk although I have been forced to buy from the milk vendors snce I never owned a cow. Immediately, I executed this goal, I developed a new goal of acquiring a 5,000 litres water-tank. I have been relying on water from streams which is not only unclean but also unsuitable for direct consumption. The stream water has occassionally been causing water-borne diseases among my children thus causing us to always spend some money on medication. I hope that by acquiring a water tank, I will be able to harvest rain water for my household utilization.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly does so well in giving unconditional cash transfer. This has helped us to prioritize and buy items we did not have at first. For instance, I have been able to use my transfers to buy a cow and water tank, the items that I had never imagined I could have obtained at the moment. So far I have never seen what GiveDirectly does not do well.

I spent KES 30,000 from my most recent transfer on buying a 5,000 litres water tank. For close to a decade, I had been relying on water from the stream. More so, we suffer as a community during drought when the streams dry up. Now that I have a water tank, I shall no longer need to go to the stream to fetch water because I shall have sufficient water for my household's consumption. By avoiding usage of water from the stream, I shall be able to overcome previous problems associated with consumption of unclean water. Moreover, I boosted my shop business by investing KES10,000 in it. This has improved my business performance since it generates up to 1,000 profits daily. Thanks to GiveDirectly for its financial support.

I was alone at home when I received a notification message that after confirming, I could not quite celebrate it even though I was so excited. I could not resist the urge to check when I heard the vibration of my phone even though I was fully engaged in the activity that was going on. After getting the full assurance, I had to leave the house to withdraw the money from the nearby shopping center

The biggest difference in my daily life after receiving the first transfer is the great hope that I now have in the huge investment I made in obtaining a cow. I am glad that I finally got a chance to purchase a good breed that will serve my family with enough milk and cut the cost I had been incurring in the past months. I am happy to be part of this noble course that not only enabled me to improve my standard of living but has also given me hope for a better future.

Buying enough milk every day for my family of four had been so expensive that other household needs could sometimes be foregone as we direct all the available money on acquiring at least a liter of milk every day. Buying a cow was at the top of our list when we were planning on spending the transfer we had received. With all the struggle to ensure that we get the best that we needed, I was lucky enough to find six months in-calf cow at KES40000. Even though we are still buying milk, my hopes are now high since I am expecting a plentiful supply in the next few months. With the remaining amount, I injected KES7000 into my husband's electronic business that has been the main source of income that sorts all the household bills and also school fees for our two children. I also managed to obtain farm inputs as we draw towards the planting season, bought foodstuff enough to take us for the whole month, and other household goods that we were still missing.