"Due to my failure to pay her bride price, my wife was seized by her parents. Because of my health issues, which have made me jobless, I still do not have any money, so I was unable to save her. I miss her and my son the most at this moment since I'm feeling lonely. Thus, my objective is to get funds so that I can pay the $200 her parents need as her bride's price. Thank God, my health is getting better, and I intend to resume my regular work next month in order to raise that amount. Although I may need some time to complete the task, I am optimistic that I will do so this year so that I can reunite with my family."

"I spent part of my second transfer on clearing a hospital bill for my son who had been diagnosed with stomach issues. We did not have any assets that we could sell to raise the money needed for his treatment. It was a difficult situation for us as a family. I can't thank enough this organisation because we're it not for them, I am not sure what would happen to my son. I am grateful that he is now doing fine and very strong. To add to that, I bought iron sheets, nails and timber to finish constructing my house. The initial one was a mud-walled one and in very poor condition. It was so stressful whenever it rained and sometimes we could end up being rained on till the rains stop. This is because all my neighbour's houses were also in the same state. Later paid school fees of $20 for my grandchildren so that they could not be sent home regularly as they used to. With the remaining amount I bought food for my family which and other household items that I was lacking."

"When I received my first transfer, I used $170 to buy a television set and used another $150 to pay school fees for my child. I then ised the remaining amount of approximately $200 to buy food, clothes, mattress and other needs for my family. I had always wanted to buy a TV set but due to the little income that I make from my poultry keeping business and the school fees that we have been paying for our last born child, we were not able to do this. When I received my most recent transfer then I decided to buy one that will then enable me and my family to enjoy and have a good time and be informed on what is happening in the outside world. I feel so much happy for the amount of joy that this transfer has brought to my family over this recent past. I look forward to achieving much more now that one of my children is done with their education."

"Before the transfer, I never had a modern house, I owned a small grass-thatched house which was leaking during the rainy season. I thank Give Directly for the transfers as I managed to build a three-bedroom modern house for kshs 50,000. Initially, I never had peace of mind as it was so tiresome moving some of my valuable items during the rainy season, my young boys too never had adequate space to spend their nights and this was so stressful as they could sleep in a neighbour's house. My peace of mind is finally restored since I built a house. Getting a balanced and regular meal had been the most difficult thing for my young family of three. I used the whole balance of kshs 5000 to stock food for an entire month. We are very grateful for the transfers."

"I do subsistence farming for a living. I am planning to start up a small business supplying maize to boarding schools. I usually do it although to homesteads on order. In the near future, I will be expanding and mostly the deliveries will be done by the motorcyclist as they will be in large quantities. The profits from the business will be taking care of my kids' school fees."

"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."

"The prolonged drought in our area has affected my ability to engage in farm work since it is no longer reliable. This means the only available work which many people are doing is the charcoal business, a very energy-intensive venture. My health condition can not allow me to perform this work because I had complications after having a stillbirth 10 years ago. I am currently depending on my husband who is a primary teacher. Since we are in a polygamous family, his income can not fully cater to our needs and sometimes, we miss the very basic needs like food and nice beddings. This has directly robbed away my joy as a parent and I, therefore, consider financial crisis to be the biggest hardship to me."

"In the coming years, I am hoping that I will be able to fulfil my dream of having tap water in my homestead. My children will no longer have to trek for so many kilometres to search for water. It will be a relief to them. Additionally, I can also decide to start a home garden and plant vegetables."

"I have dedicated my monthly transfers towards educating my four children currently in school. I have been struggling to raise fees for them for quite some time, and since I do not have a source of income to rely on, my children were frequently sent home, thus missing classes. My goal now is to ensure that, once I receive my monthly transfer, I pay fees on time to avoid having their studies discontinued. This will allow them to realize their educational goals despite the financial hardships that I am currently facing."

"I have been adding the monthly transfers to my savings and this has enabled me to buy iron sheets every month. I have been staying in my uncle's house for years despite being of legal age. Currently, I am planning to build my own house where I will have the freedom to develop myself economically, like livestock keeping. My goal is to continue buying iron sheets every month and other building materials in order to commence the building process."