With the improved farming activities that I have working on in the past few months, I had to renovate my old store that was grass-thatched on the roof after purchasing iron sheets that I used in fixing to stop the destructive leaking I have been experiencing during rainy seasons. I have a lot of expectations on my farm's productivity this season and have been thinking of expanding my store to accommodate all that it has at the moment and also crop produce that I am yet to harvest.

In my opinion, GiveDirectly did a great job that was appreciated by both the beneficiaries and other villages that GiveDirectly was not working in. The satisfaction and the great excitement over the results of village investment is a clear indication of good work done. No one has ever complained, but we are always thankful for the generous support that we got.

Our dependency on both livestock and subsistence farming has also been a source of income as well has always pushed us to heavily invest in since it's the only art that we have mastered the steps and seasons to labor with. The second transfer I received was not an exception when I spent KES 40000 on bringing in a dairy cow that has proven its worth in the past three months of plentiful production of milk both for the household use and also surplus to sale with the products from the preexisting cows. I am glad that I have so far registered an increased daily income that has, in turn, boosted my savings. I also spent the remaining KES 12000 combined with the savings that I had to renovate my old store. I did this with the bumper harvest in mind - predetermined by the flourishing produce on my farms. I had to remove the old grass that I had initially used and replaced the already rotten rafters before placing the new iron sheets that made the store new again. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for this timely support, and I hope to see a great progression in the running projects.

On receiving the first transfer, I was really happy to acknowledge the fact that I was finally receiving the promise that I was given. I had a lot of plans in place and could not wait to see my dream come true after enrollment. At the moment of receiving the money, my daughter had the phone and had to come home immediately to share the news with me. We were both happy as we confirmed the list of purchases we needed to make after withdrawing the total sum.

The purchase of the two water tanks after receiving the transfer is the biggest difference in my daily life. Even though I had not been having any streaming income, I had been hoping to obtain at least one to ease my walk to and from the river every day. This project has given me hope to soon establish a long-lasting water reservoir that will keep me both over the rainy and the dry seasons. Rainy seasons will be important since I will be fetching water, ensuring that the tanks are full so that the usage of the stored water might take a little bit longer.

At the moment I am living alone after all my children moved out to start their own families. I had been working hard to ensure that I make ends meet as I have never been dependent on anyone all my life. During the enrollment period, I had to call upon my daughter who had been living on a nearby farm to stand in as a helper. I needed at least a reliable person to assist in collecting the transfer I am glad that after receiving the transfer, I was able to subdivide the amount into the various plans I had. I have been able to obtain two water tanks - one larger one worth KES 25000 and a smaller one at KES 3000. The two will be useful in collecting and storing rainwater to cut the struggle of fetching from a distant river. I also added two sacks of maize at KES6000 to my food store that were slowly drying up. With the remaining amount, I saw a need of adding another cow to the one I initially had so that I can increase milk production in the future; that translates to a better income since I will be selling the surplus. I also obtained 10 iron sheets with the last bit of the transfer in readiness to construct an extension on my house that will be serving as a store. I had been piling a lot of luggage in the main house, and having a storeroom will clear the room and provide a space that can accommodate an extra chair.