"Give Directly has done everything well . You helped me to build a house , I didn't neither had a radio nor a television but now I have them . You gave us the freedom of spending the money unconditionally . All these are good things that you have done I don't think there is anywhere you should improve ."

"I spent $50 to buy food for my family and used another $200 to clear my college fee. I also saved a sum of $200 that will help me start my own business once I am done with college studies. The remaining amount of approximately $150 was used to buy clothes for my siblings, my child and my own clothes as well. Things were a tough for us as a family before we received the transfer. I had had to drop out of school after completing my primary school studies due to lack of money to continue. I never had anything to do to earn a living except the odd casual jobs which were sometimes hard to come by as well. We all relied on our mother who works in an hotel to make ends meet for us. For a long time, we had not had the luxury of buying new clothes until we received money from GiveDirectly. I am personally very grateful to GiveDirectly for uplifting our family at an hour of need. We will forever feel indebted for this. I feel happy knowing that very soon I will be able to complete my college studies and start my own business that will completely change my life."

"I have a certificate in business management and my goal next year is to put it in practice . I want to build a big wholesale and a butchery on the side , at the shopping centre . I have done my research and their are no wholesales there . I will run the business myself since I'll take it as self employment , my sibling can help me in case there is much work . This will require a capital of $3,500 . I have already contacted the supplier and I'm working towards it . Honestly I do not know where I'll get this money as at now , can you help me again ?"

"Honestly , I feel like I have already accomplished everything . My house is in order , I have started rearing goats , I have started a new business and my children are in school , what else can I wish for ?! Thanks to Give Directly ,I have done everything for myself . I have no target maybe expanding charcoal business . I need approximately $100 and I hope to get it from my current 'omena' business since it has picked up so well ."

"I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. It was around 3:00 pm that day when I heard my phone ring and upon checking, I was met with a pleasant surprise. It was a message from GiveDirectly confirming that I had received a sum of $550. I felt so happy and the first person that I shared this with was my husband who was not at home as at that time. I made a call and shared the good news with him. He was so elated to hear this too. We felt so happy as a family that we were finally going to be able to afford a piece of land that we had always wanted to buy and accomplish much more things. Relying on my husband's masonry work and my charcoal selling business could only provide us with just enough to feed our families and not much more to do bigger investments."

"On the day that i received this transfer , I wasn't feeling well , so I was having some rest when I heard my phone ringing. I was so happy to see that it was the second transfer from Give Directly ! Since my husband was not at home I called to share the good news and he quickly came home for us to plan on the expenditure . Before, we used to have a very weak and unpresentable bed , our mattress was so old . So I spent $55 on bed and $50 on a mattress . I then donated my old beddings to my in-law . We used to have old poor quality chairs , I used $15 to buy two comfortable seats . 2seats 1500. Our house was at the verge of collapsing and it needed some renovation . I spent $20 on cement to repair the floor , and $90 on a steel door since previously we used to have an iron sheet door . I have been keeping my clothes in a wooden box , I needed a good suitcase hence I bought one at $15 , I'm now using the old one for my baby's clothes. We did not have enough water storage containers , so I bought seven of them and paid $11 . We had never put on new clothes for a very long time , so I took $50 and bought clothes for my husband , children and I , I wish you could see the smiles on our faces the way we wore them ! I spent $130 on two goats , I now own three goats and I intend to have them multiply even more .I had a debt at our local shop where I always take food on credit , it had accumulated to $58 so I cleared the debt and spend the rest of the money on food ."

"It was at lunchtime and I was preparing a meal for my children when my trustee informed me that Give Directly had sent me the money. I was so happy because finally you had fulfilled your promise to me. I'm a widow with five children, my eldest son who is twenty two years old had no house, and this used to stress me up a lot. So I bought ten iron sheets using $95, fifteen bags of cement worth $98 and paid $48 for labour in order to build a house for him. In that line I also spent a few dollars to renovate my own house. I 'm sorry I do not have the exact figure for this. My other four children who are in primary school had school fees balance of $30, I also cleared it using this transfer. I need to do some investment that would be beneficial in future, something that I can sell in case of an emergency, I settled on two goats and paid $60 . Since my husband passed on, my house has always been hunger stricken! So I spent $50 to buy food for my family and thanks to Give Directly we felt how it is to be fully satisfied."

"I am excited at the thought of possibly starting a thrift shop where I will sell second hand clothes. This will allow me to be financially stable and provide for my family in a more sustainable manner, as well as ensure that they can complete their education."

"In the short-term I would love nothing more than to start a mini mart, run it and use it to give my kids a better education and future. With the right knowledge, I'm sure they can move to bigger and greater heights than we as their parents would have ever imagined."

"The transfers from GiveDirectly couldn't have come at a better time. I had recently had a stroke, leaving the left side of my body in partial paralysis. I had to go to Kilifi to seek specialised help. These funds were instrumental in servicing my medical bills and purchasing my medication. Prior to my stroke I used to till our 4 acre farm, growing maize, wheat and other cereals, but since my illness hit, I haven't been able to do so. That has left my mason husband, who works at Bamba Centre, as the sole bread winner in the home. While the treatment has helped, he still has to cater for our Grade 4, Grade 3 and three Grade 2 children, for whom $ 21,each, is paid for by my husband and by God's grace, GiveDirectly. While they all study at Mariani Primary, it has been a struggle convincing the school to bear with us while we try to figure out our finances. We truly appreciate what GiveDirectly has done for us."