"I was hoping that this year I could use the money to invest in some goats and poultry as well, because with the money I receive, they are affordable as compared to cows. I choose to buy the animals because, personally, I can barely work due to my age, so in case I am stuck financially, they will give me some leverage. I also intend on using the money as well, because throughout the years my kids have been taking care of me, but I'm glad that ever since I got into the program, I can now look after myself without relying on my kids. Apart from that, I am also going to use a part of the transfers to buy myself a couple of clothes because most of the ones I have are worn out and torn ."

"I would love to own a cow by the end of this year. Seeing my son raise his herd of cattle has motivated me to follow the same path. Years from now, the cow will have multiplied and increased my wealth, which I could sell and make enough money to support the needs of my family, such as food and my grandchildren’s school fees. I hope the monthly transfers propel me toward realizing my dream."

"I am advanced in age and unable to engage in any economic activity to earn a living. Unfortunately, since my son died, I have been taking care of my two grandchildren who are both enrolled in school. For this year, I have made it a primary goal to spend most of my transfers on their school fees. I believe in addition to buying clothes and food, education is the best gift I can give to them. In addition, because we are staying in an extreme environment and occasionally facing famine, I have a goal to use part of my transfers to acquire food for the rest of this year."

"We are eternally grateful to GiveDirectly for the support that we receive each month. This transfer has given us as a family the necessary support to fulfill most of the things that we would otherwise have found it hard to meet. My plan for the coming year and beyond is to start a small business where I will be selling food items among other non food items within my compound. I also have plans of running a tailoring shop alongside this business. I had planned to start this by January this year but after my husband lost his job, all the family's needs are now on my table. With GiveDirectly transfers that I get each month, I can only pay school fees and meet other educational needs for my three children who are in their primary level of education. I was lucky that my husband had already bought me a sewing machine by the time he lost his teaching job. I am also very optimistic that he will soon secure a government job and help me start this business as soon as possible. In the meantime, GiveDirectly transfers shall help me pay school fees for our three little children. Had I not been receiving this transfer, then life for me and my family would have been too tough already especially after my husband lost his job. I am targeting to raise $150 as starting capital for the small shop business while the tailoring part shall come in way later after I have made some reasonable profits in this business."

"When I started receiving the GiveDirectly transfers, I started building a house whose construction is still underway. Whenever I receive my transfer, I usually buy building materials in bits to finish up the remaining areas. I currently stay in the incomplete house because I have not been able to raise enough money to finish it up. I do not feel safe in it because it still has open walls that expose me to extreme weather conditions. With my subsequent monthly transfers and the income from burning and selling charcoal, I intend to continue building the house to have a safe and secure accommodation."

"I have been saving a portion of the transfer every month since last year. My goal was to build a house since I am staying in my cousin's house. As of now, I have been able to buy some of the building materials required start the construction. I want to complete this project first so that I can live in my own house. Apart from the house, I'd like to save some money to enrol in a technical training college for a certificate in mechanical engineering later in the year. I completed high school in 2019 and since then I have not been successful to enrol in a college. My dream is to get a certificate that will enable me to get employment or start my own repair shop."

"My husband is a mechanic at Mariakani and I do subsistence farming. He earns $200 per month which mostly caters for food and rent at the house he lives at Mariakani. It is four years now without getting any harvest due to lack of rain. The drought has caused famine such that my family takes one meal per day. My children have grown weak something that has affected me psychologically."