"On the withdrawal day, I bought a sack of maize for $60. This was the first thing I did because hunger had struck us and drought had no mercy on us. I am happy because my family got some food which took them some time and rested from the tiring job of making charcoals. Thereafter, I opted to buy three goats for $90 as an investment. Due to the lack of a defined source of income which made my family wear outdated and shaggy clothes, I opted to buy them some clothes. After that, I decided to keep the remaining amount for the family's upkeep because both food and water were scarce. Before then, we used to go up to two days a week without taking some meals. As of now, we are grateful that we get food through the help we received from GiveDirectly."

"When I received the second transfer, I first bought a bed and a mattress for $200. I opted for this because the bed I had was very small and could not accommodate me with my two grandchildren who I used to sleep with. This allowed me to be sleeping with the girl grandchild and gave the small bed to the male grandchild. I stay with them because they are from a single mother who went to town to fend for them. Thereafter, I bought a solar panel for $90. I did this so that I could have some light at my home. Initially, I used to make a huge fire for us as a family to get some light at night. As of now, my home has a good lighting system courtesy of GiveDirectly. After that, I bought a sack of maize for $70 to ensure there is food security at home. Using the remaining amount of money I renovated my house by constructing some pillars to make it firm since the poles were destroyed by termites. I am happy that I nowadays sleep well and comfortably unlike before."

"My main focus now is to ensure my university daughter takes her course comfortably. Currently, she is in year one, and hopefully, through the efforts, I make I would like to see her through her four years on campus comfortably. To achieve this I have been saving in one of the financial institutions from the casual work my husband and I have been doing will greatly assist us to see our dream coming to pass."

"When I received the second transfer, the priority was to settle my son's college fee balance. He is in his last year and I wanted him to have ample time to concentrate so that he could do his best in the final examination. Therefore, I saw it prudent to pay the required $100 to the college. Currently, my son is happy since he has a good time conducting his studies without being frustrated with fees. This also gives me peace of mind because his happiness relieves me. Thereafter, I bought a bed and a mattress for $220 since I used to sleep on the floor something which was shameful to me but I had to so that I to educate my son. For the remaining amount, I bought enough stock of food for my family."

"Thanks to GiveDirectly funds, I rented a 1-acre plot of land where I am now growing watermelon. I quickly paid off my 50% debt on a power saw and stocked up on food for myself and my two households. I say two because I have two wives: my first (with whom I am still married) and my second (with whom I am no longer married). We share 8 children, and some of the money was used to pay for their education tuition. My sixth-born is the most expensive, requiring $200 per term at Misihu Secondary, while the others are in various stages of completion, pausing and starting their educational journeys, primarily due to a lack of funds in the past. My wife works at a small grocery store near our house, so we've needed all the financial help we could get to help us both deal with our responsibilities. We couldn't thank them enough for their assistance."

"I decided to support my husband by contributing to his garage business. With some of the funds from GiveDirectly, I funneled capital to him to purchase some spare parts for when he has clients. I then prioritized purchasing a bed and mattress for myself as well as a mattress for the children, who already had a bed. We built a three-bedroom house with a lovely verandah here at Palakumi. a decent space to call our home and raise our two children. I plait hair for $0.04 or $0.05, with cornrows being the most popular style. That doesn't leave much to chip in on school fees of $69 at Palakumi Primary for PP2, nor for the needs of the 3 month old second born. As such,"

"For a long time, my basic business model has been selling scones and half cake at home and having customers stop by to buy. I take pride in knowing that what I make feeds people and provides them with comfort and satisfaction. In our small village of Ngovovoni, the kind of transfers we received could change lives massively, and for me, it allowed me to boost my business greatly. I injected some funds into stock and the likes and was very thankful to them. Selling the scones and half cake at $0.01 each, and my husband only job being tilling our 6 acre farm, we don't have much money to cover bills and the such, so the funds from GiveDirectly were a welcome blessing. Fortunately, only two of our ten children remain under our care. Everyone else has at least one child and is married. My ninth-grader attends Bandari Secondary School in Form 4, and my tenth-grader attends Pentanguo Secondary School in Form 1. All of this is to say that we intended to use some of the funds to cover their school fees. GiveDirectly walked alongside us at a time when we were truly struggling, and the boost they provided to the standard of living that my family and I had become accustomed to is inexplicable."

"The long-term goal is to provide my son a life that is as far away as possible from what I have been able to provide for him. See him graduate from high school and become someone. While on that journey, I found a way to start a wholesale business. Selling cooking oil, cereals, dry foods, and other household utilities would ensure we have a good income to make the lives of our kids better."

"My future plan is to continue educating my children until they finish school. Build me and my sons a permanent house since the current one is old and too small for us. Lastly, continue working hard on my farm to get a good harvest and sell it to support my family."

"Not having a fertile land is my greatest challenge, i am not getting enough harvest because i don't get fertiliser to use. I don't have livestock , i have to herd from others to be able to get fertiliser to use in my land and i am not capable to afford inorganic fertiliser. My house is very small and it rains inside, when it rains I am not capable of cooking at that time because my kitchen is inside my room and when the floor is wet i can't be able to fire woods."