"For the longest time, my husband and I desired to have a dairy cow so that we could sell milk and earn income enough to take care of basic needs and enable him save his salary towards some bigger projects. Given that he's a primary school teacher who got permanent employment recently and doesn't earn so much, we have not been able to achieve this. With my second transfer, I spend $300 to buy a dairy cow and the balance to buy food and clothes for our three children. Previously, I was just a house wife with nothing much to do to earn income but right now, I'm focusing on this dairy cow which will give birth towards end of the year. I'm looking forward to grow this to a big dairy farm and I'm so thankful to GiveDirectly for making this possible."

"I depend on dairy and crop farming mainly for my family's consumption. I always do this farming on my 3-acre farm and currently own 3 crossed dairy cows. My goal this year is to purchase an extra one-acre piece of land closer to my farm. I intend to grow more maize that I would sell to support the education of the children."

"As I need my shelter, my family gave me my heritage of a land, I will build a house using $300. Moreover, I need to have more harvest from farming, I will buy a cow of $200 and land of $300."

"When I received the first transfer, I began paying for a piece of land, but I was unable to pay the full amount due to other obligations. I cleared the pending $150 for the piece of land that I was relieved to be granted after completing the payment when I received the second transfer. I also purchased a $200 heifer to add to the only dairy cow I already had on my farm. I plan to keep the two, breed them, and when they reproduce, I will have extra liters of milk and may consider selling the offspring to cover other household expenses. I also had a new house at the time, but I had not finished furnishing it or purchasing furniture. I then spent $150 on a three-seat sofa set, two tables, and cushions for the chairs to make them more comfortable. My house is currently looking really good, which has boosted my confidence even when visitors arrive. In addition, I used the remaining funds to purchase food for my family."

"When I received my second transfer, I was struggling to keep my four children in school. Paying their school fees was a huge challenge, especially for the older one who was admitted in university. I am grateful for the prompt assistance, and I paid $300 to cover all arrears. They were relieved to be able to study without interruption, which gave me time to focus on other income-generating projects in preparation for the upcoming school semesters. I also spent $150 on a heifer to supplement the production from the two dairy cows we already had. Producing and selling milk from the two cows has helped pay household bills, and adding another cow may increase milk production in the future, generating more income that can help pay some of the school fees. In addition, I used the remaining funds to purchase household goods such as food for my family of ten, new pairs of clothes for my children, and bedding to replace the old rags we had been using."

"Milk has become incredibly expensive for my family of six, especially during the dry seasons when the only cow I obtained from a neighbor produces little milk. I rely on subsistence farming and occasionally sell surplus to pay household bills and school fees for my children. To ensure that my children have a steady supply of milk in the future, I plan to purchase a cow to supplement the small amount of milk produced by our only cow. I intend to make small monthly savings, and when I am ready, I intend to purchase a lactating cow that will provide us with milk in the future."

"I decided to finish my house when I got the second and final transfer, as we had been informed. Since I trusted my son to oversee the construction, I am unable to determine how much money I spent on finishing the house. I'm glad to see that he performed as I had anticipated. I then invested $134 to begin raising livestock. To begin with, I purchased four goats because, in contrast to cows, they can withstand difficult climatic conditions. I used some of the remaining money to cover my grandchildren's school expenses and the rest to maintain the household."

"Due to the biting drought and the hardship in getting daily food. We plan to spend our transfer to settle our food insecurity. To secure us for 3months, we'll buy food stuff worth $200. This will reduce stress in getting food. Livestock do well here, we plan to buy one cow for $200. This means we'll have milk and when the stock grows we can sell to pay school fees. Additionally we plan to add 10 goats, this will cost $400. They do well here and in a few years the stock will be large. This will secure our income. You can easily sell a goat and buy food. It shall secure our family's food access. There's piped water at our home. We plan to fence a small piece of land to prevent goats from destroying our crops. It will cost $250. In this land we will plant vegetables, maize and fruits. This will further add our income and also provide food steadily."

"When I receive the transfers I plan to first buy stock for my small business. I will use about $200 of the transfers. I will also buy 40 goats and a cow at about $600. This is important because I will be able to sell and take my children to school. The remaining amount I plan to fence my farm since the planting season is approaching and I wouldn't want my crops eaten by livestock."

"Before the transfers, I never had cows before as I had no stable source of income. I used the transfers to buy female cows for kshs 35,000. This is for milk production for my family's consumption and sale. I do casual work to earn a living and most of the time the pay is too little to cater for my basic needs, I do top it up with the money from selling milk and this has enabled me to take care of other basic needs like food, clothing and kids school fees. I used the remaining part of the transfers of kshs 20,000 to buy a piece of three-seater furniture. I used to fear hosting friends and relatives as I never had enough seats for them, but my self-esteem has improved since I started receiving transfers from GiveDirectly."