Our new goal is to buy another cow to add to the one we bought with the transfer from GiveDirectly. We also want to till the land that we have so that we can plant some nappier grass. We use to buy milk before we bought the cow, where we use to buy two litres a day and we could pay KES 1800 at the end of the month. The cow that we bought has calved. We want to add another cow so that we can always have a constant supply of milk, that is, when one cow is dry, we can still milk another one. This way we will not incur costs of buying milk anymore and the production will be increased. We can sell some of the milk and use the money to pay school fees for our children. We also want to plant the nappier grass so that it can act as feeds for our cows since they are drought resistant. The cows will have something to feed on during those seasons.

GiveDirectly did well by deciding to move from one house to house and enrolling people at their homes. They also did well by giving everyone in the community money so that they could plan on their own how to spend it. They do not dictate to you how to use it as long as you use it in a good way. I hence do not see anything wrong with the way they do their work. I urge them to keep up the good work.

We spent KES 10000 of our recent transfer on buying a sheep and its lamb. We had one sheep and we decided to buy the two so that they could reproduce faster and multiply in number. This way we can sell some in the future whenever we face an emergency like when we lack money for school fees for the children. We are glad because the lamb that we bought has already lambed. We also spent KES 20000 on buying some chairs and a cupboard. We did not have the items before and we had not gotten the money to buy them. I am a small-scale subsistence farmer while my husband is a security guard at a private firm in Nairobi. The money that he makes is not much. He usually splits it to cover the various household needs, that is, school fees for the children and to buy food. He also uses part of it to pay the merry-go-round contributions for the self-help groups that he has joined. The money in the self-help groups is savings that usually helps us whenever we face an emergency like when a child is sent away from home due to school fees arrears. With the remaining amount of the transfer money, we used part of it in paying school fees for the children and the rest on food for our consumption. We are hence so much happy and thankful to GiveDirectly because we got the things that we did not have before.

The moment I received the transfer I felt so happy. I remember it like yesterday. It was around 8am when I heard a ringtone message from my phone. I was doing my daily household chores. I didn't expected any messages from anyone. So I reluctantly check it thinking it was just messages from friends. I couldn't believe my eyes, it was message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I felt so overwhelmed, I immediately inform my spouse and he was so happy too. We knew we would be able to buy a dairy cow and cut the daily cost of buying milk. We planed everything and went to withdrew the money the same day. We are so grateful for the support.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have bought a dairy cow. I used to buy milk daily and this was so costly for me. I do depend on small scale farming and the harvest that we get annually is so small and only for consumption. I also do casual jobs in the village. My spouse is a security guard in one of the security company in Nairobi. The amount of money that he gets is so small and cannot meet all the basic needs of the family including paying school fees. We had no extra money to saved. We were not in a position to buy a dairy cow. We used to buy milk daily and this was so costly for us. When I received the transfer I found it wise to invest on dairy cow. Currently we no longer buy milk. We save the money that we could have used on buying milk to meet other basic household needs. I sell the surplus milk to earn an income to support my family. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard. I have devoted much of my time on this amazing dairy project. I wish to improve this to another level.

I spent my KES 27,000 on my first transfer on purchasing a dairy cow. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has enabled me to cut the daily cost of buying milk. I get enough milk for my family. I spent KES 18,000 on purchasing an ox, KES 9,000 on purchasing two goat. This is the best investment because goats reproduce twice per year and it really helps whenever there is an emergency. I paid school fees for my child in primary school. The rest of the money I bought food, clothes and sofa set seats. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard.