Receiving this money means I will put an end to a 12-year dependence on my mother in law to provide us with milk for household use. This is because I am planning to purchase a dairy cow worth Kshs 30,000 (300 usd) immediately upon receiving my first transfer. Besides milk for a rich nutrition for my 4 children, I will sell the surplus milk to facilitate their education in a local primary school. I intend to spend the remaining Kshs 25,000 (250usd) to build a new house and differently this time, I am going to substitute grass thatch roofing to corrugated iron sheet which is going to help me in gathering rain water for domestic purposes.

The rainy season is fast approaching and everyone is busy with land preparation for planting. For the past one week my husband and I have been manually ploughing our one acre piece of land before the onset of rains and after which a planting season come next month. We spend a better part of the day from morning till late in the afternoon cultivating this farm. This is the moment I leave the farm feeling happy for the progress we have made. The joy of seeing the progress and edging closer to accomplishing this task is so fulfilling.

Overdependence of livestock keeping as a source of livelihood has come with its fair share of challenges. When water pans and grazing fields dry up due to drought, milk production adversely drops which results in malnutrition and starvation. School attendance is severely affected as children drop out to seek pasture and water for their animals.