At the moment, I have a new goal to expand the current livestock farming I have been running. After buying a dairy cow with the second transfer, I expect an increase in milk production from my cows. This project will ensure an uncomplicated payment of school fees for my children all through.

I am grateful to GiveDirectly for providing us with an equal amount of transfers and the freedom to spend it as we saw fit in our households. Unlike material goods, monetary assistance allowed us to make informed spending decisions that had a direct impact on our daily lives. I have nothing to complain about after the entire process because GiveDirectly kept all of its promises.

I am a livestock farmer and I wanted to increase my herd. With the second transfer, I spent $100 to buy two goats and an additional $200 to buy one fat cow which is now lactating and producing enough milk to be consumed by my family and an extra to be sold. All my seven school-going children had fee balances thus I used $50 to clear it off. I also bought four hens at $20 for my wife to rear at home. Preparations for land cultivating had begun and so I hired some people to help me with the work since I would not have done it single-handedly. I paid them $50 to have the work done. With the remaining money, I bought a solar torch for $10, three pangas for $20, and a dog to protect us through the night for $10.

It was exactly 7 in the evening when I was from my daily hustle when I heard the loud vibration from my phone. Since I am illiterate, I asked my son to check who it could be. Upon checking, he realized that I had received my first transfer from GiveDirectly. I was overjoyed with happiness together with my whole family since we were positive that we would achieve a lot.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I now have assets in form of livestock(sheep). I had been longing to have them for quite some time but they were relatively expensive. I resolved for them because they can thrive so well in my region and they reproduce fast. In a few months to come, I will have many of them in my compound. I will be able to sell one or two and settle down any emergency that might arise and even pay fees for my seven children who are in primary schools. Since I am the breadwinner, I have never been able to pay all my bills on time because of the meagre income. Therefore I feel that the sheep will be helpful and I will no longer strain like before especially in paying fees for my kids. I will forever be thankful to GiveDirectly for this empowerment.

I spent part of my first cash transfer on paying fees of KES 4000 and bought school uniforms for my four children who are in primary school. They were always at home because of the arrears which have been affecting their performance. Also, I bought three sheep at KES 9000. These will be assets that I can rely on in case of any emergency. I later hired my friends to prepare my farm ( four acres) and bought manure as well. To add to that, I bought building materials which were for the construction of a new house for my sons. For all that time, they have been sleeping at their friend's houses because ours was not spacious. Also, I had to buy a solar panel specifically for my children whenever they want to study at night. With the remaining amount, I bought food for my family.