As a single mother, I was fortunate that my loving parents welcomed me home and built me a house in which to raise my child after I divorced my husband. Despite the fact that I have always received the assistance I require from them, ranging from food to a place to farm, my goal is to purchase a plot of land on which to launch projects that will increase my financial stability in the future. When I bought two heifers and four goats, the transfers I received set the pace. This investment will grow as the livestock reproduce, and I plan to sell them to buy a piece of land to raise my child in the future.

The generous and unbiased support from GiveDirectly gave me the confidence to restart my life after my marriage ended. GiveDirectly did a good job at providing free unconditional cash transfers without expecting them to be returned after some time. We had a wide range of spending because GiveDirectly had no restrictions on what we could spend the money on. I have nothing negative to say about the organization, but I am grateful and wish it the best as it continues to help needy people in other villages.

After spending a portion of the first transfer on a heifer that I expect to calve in two months, I still added another one worth $260 when the second transfer arrived. I also spent $240 on five goats that I am rearing on our small parcel of land alongside my parents' livestock. Spending money on milk every day has put a strain on my finances, especially during off-seasons when everyone else is buying milk and I can not get a free cup from my parents' cows. I gear this massive investment in livestock toward a plentiful supply of milk from the cows and goat breeding with the intention of selling their offspring in the future to buy a piece of land. I am currently living in a small hut on my parents' property. I could not do much farming because every part of the land is under cultivation if it is not grazed by livestock. As a single mother of one, I am grateful that GiveDirectly helped me begin my journey to own a piece of land.

It was at night after dinner and I was almost going to bed when I had a beep on my phone. My mind was tired and ignored the message because it was at 9 pm. After turning and tossing for almost an hour, I woke up to read the message. My face almost dropped with the shock of the Mpesa message of KES 55,000. I burst into tears of Joy as I prayed to give thanksgiving and ask God for guidance to use the cash in a good way.

The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving the transfers is buying the cow, which is almost giving birth. It’s a blessing in disguise because when I bought the cow I did not know and thought it was very expensive, at the moment I am reaping the fruits which are enough milk for consumption and for sale. Milk has become expensive and quite a necessity because of its high demand which is good for business.

I got married in the year 2020 and moved in with my husband. After a month, I conceived and my husband left me like he was going to work only not to return. As days went by and my nights became long in hope of him coming back, I was stuck in my nightmare, which was my reality. I went back home and my family helped me secure a home to start afresh with a child. My challenge was providing for my child through casual jobs, like farming and fetching water and firewood for villagers. The first thing I did with my cash transfer was to buy a cow which cost me KES 30,000 and two sheep for KES 7500. Food was a challenge and had to spend KES 4000 on a bag of maize that would last me for the next 3 months. I also bought clothes for my baby and some sweaters for both of us because we are approaching the cold season with KES 3000. I saved the entire cash for my day-to-day expenses.