"Givedirectly have helped me to go back to school. I'm very grateful to them for the help they have given me."

"I haven't cash out my transfer yet."

"Being a mother of 13 children has not been an easy path to provide for them. With my ailing spouse, I turned out to be the sole breadwinner of the family. Since I depended on peasant farming, I had to change to casual labor because, for the last three years, we have not seen rain in our area. Out of the 13 children, six completed elementary school but I could not afford to take them to secondary school; thus they ventured into casual labor to fend for themselves. Three of the remaining seven children are in secondary school while four are in primary school. When I received the transfer, I opted to settle the accrued fee arrears for my children which made them miss out on the end-year examination last year. I paid $300 for the secondary school children and $100 for the primary school children. Since hunger was a bigger challenge, I used $75 to buy a 90kg sack of maize and $25 for a 25kg sack of rice. I did this so that my children could have access to food at home. For the remaining amount, I saved it for family emergencies."

"I have a goal of raising livestock because I have been a subsistence farmer for a considerable amount of time. In addition to the three goats I already own from the previous transfer, I want to purchase additional. The reason for this is that I wish to invest in livestock after discovering that goats are inexpensive to maintain and have a ready market. By doing this, I will have a reliable source of income because goats are easily exchangeable for money."

"My current goal is to renovate my house, which is currently in very bad shape. Its roof is weak and unstable, which makes me worry that it might collapse on me anytime. I will be saving a portion of the money in order to buy at least two pieces of iron sheets every month. I tried to save some years back but because of the financial hardships I was facing, I could not achieve this. I believe I will be able to achieve this goal since I am assured of receiving a transfer every month."

"I am planning to buy goats, which are both an investment and savings for the future of my children's education. They are currently in primary school, and since I do not have a stable source of income, the goats will be of great help. I can readily sell the goats as they multiply to raise fees when they join a high school in the near future."

"I am a skilled tailor who has been working within the village to serve many people around. This came to halt when my machine developed some mechanical problems. I am no longer involved in this work something that has resulted in depending majorly on my husband's motorbike-taxi work. Since his income is low, usually $5 per day, all this goes to food due to the rising cost of commodities. This situation has robbed away my joy since I am worried about our future. Therefore, I consider the lack of a stable source of income to be my biggest challenge."

"Charcoal burning, mats weaving, and aloe vera extraction are all activities in which I am engaged. Yes, they are so strenuous and time-consuming save being low-earning jobs, I am compelled to perform them for my upkeep. This menace has not spared my children's education since they are often sent home due to lack of fees and we also skip meals on most days. What a worrying life! This situation has robbed away my joy as a mother and I consider the lack of a reliable source of income to be my biggest challenge."

"GiveDirectly's employees were soft-spoken and dedicated to serving humanity. Such services have never been provided in our village before. From the beginning to the end, we were treated well and with the utmost respect. What I liked best about the program was its unconditional transfer, which allowed us to carry out our plans with ease. I hope that the organization will continue to influence other communities to alleviate poverty in our region."

"In the coming year and beyond, I plan to buy livestock. My greatest plan is to buy livestock (chicken and goats), rear them till they reach a certain stage and look for a market, I would be doing this on a continuous basis; I will be buying as I also sell and I believe that this type of project would generate a good income to help cater for my family. To achieve this, I plan to start saving a portion of my transfers on a monthly basis so that at the end of a certain period, I would have enough money to start the project."