When we received our first transfer, we made a decision with my husband to buy a dairy cow and bring to an end the endless purchase of milk. Having bought one, we have felt the relief that it has brought to us as a family. With the 2 litres that we get from it, we no longer have to buy milk and this has saved us a lot. It is for this reason that we now have a new goal of buying an additional dairy cow. This we plan to do using proceeds from our farming. The drought is too much already but we are very optimistic that the rains will come soon and save the crops in our farms from drying up. Once we have our harvest in February next year, then we will be able to sell them and buy an additional dairy cow. This additional dairy shall see us pay school fees and meet other family's needs with much ease. We shall no longer rely entirely on odd casual jobs and crop farming like we are currently doing. This project shall see our three children go through their education journey without much difficulties or challenges.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly does very well by giving support in form of cash and doing so without any form of discrimination whatsoever. The fact that they do not subject anyone to preconditions was also a gamechanger. Everything about them is so organized and people have the liberty to choose how to spend the money. Looking at the things that we have been able to do as a family because of this makes me so happy. From purchasing a dairy cow to building a new kitchen and even improving our main house. I would not thank GiveDirectly enough for this.

When we received the second transfer, we used $250 to build a new kitchen and used another $250 to improve our main house. For a long time, my husband and I had always looked forward to building a new kitchen that is roofed of iron sheets as we demolish the old one that we had inherited from our parents. The kitchen that we used was very old and was grass thatched. It also had a leaking roof making it very uncomfortable to stay in. We could only hope that we could get enough money and be in a position to build one but because my husband relied on odd casual jobs to sustain our needs, it became a little difficult to achieve this goal. When we received the transfer we could not hesitate to implement this project and I am so glad that we now have a kitchen while at the same time we have improved our main house by erecting a ceiling in it. We can now fully concentrate on looking for money to pay school fees for our three children who are already making progress in school. We are so happy and grateful as a family for the support that we received from GiveDirectly.

It was around 6:40 PM when I received a message that confirmed the receipt of the first transfer from GiveDirectly. At that moment, I was alone at home and could not resist my celebration. I was glad that the expectations I had were soon starting since I had lots of plans to invest in. I could not withdraw immediately, but on the following morning, I visited the nearby shopping center.

The biggest difference in my daily life is the dairy cow I bought after receiving the first transfer. This has brought an appreciable difference in my household and I no longer spend a lot addressing the milk expenses. With a family of four, we are currently enjoying enough milk and looking forward to selling the surplus in the future to earn an income.

Even though I had a lot of plans that I hope to accomplish with the first transfer, the hiked prices of goods, especially livestock, could not allow. After Spending the first KES 35000 on a dairy cow that is now providing enough milk for my family of four, it left me with an inconsiderable amount to spend on other plans that I had. I am glad that the cost of milk I had been incurring in the daily purchase of milk is no more. The savings I am making at the moment have also boosted other household provisions, and we have had a healthier meal compared to the previous months. I spent the remaining amount on obtaining new pairs of clothes for every member of my family to replace the tattered ones we had and also enough foodstuff that we are still using at the moment.