"When I fell ill in October 2022, I attended medication at Nakuru Level 5 hospital and I was admitted for 3 days. I was diagnosed with spinal cord injuries as a result of TB and therefore I had to seek the services of an orthopaedic trauma and spine surgeon which is expensive. Although my health is now improving, I am saddened to be bedridden and thus can not fend for my family of 9. I now depend on my children and husband to provide food daily for the household. This is stressful as I feel I am a burden to them."

"Even though I live alone, acquiring food is still a challenge. I often depend on casual jobs such as weeding to earn $2 daily which I use to purchase food. However, these jobs are unpredictable as I can only attend 5 jobs in a month hence living in debt since I have to eat and if I do not borrow, I often go to bed hungry. It pains me to be a bother to my family as I always depend on them for provision when I am low."

"Water is a basic need that each household depends on daily. Unfortunately, accessing this commodity in my household is strenuous and expensive as well. It is only during rainy seasons that we can easily fetch water from the nearby seasonal river unlike now when the area is dry. At the moment, I travel for 3 kilometres to Koriema resort where I purchase water at $0.03 for a 20-litre jerrican. Although I have a motorcycle for transportation, it is somewhat time-consuming and expensive as well since I have to buy fuel. It pains me to use $2.2 daily towards this course away from other family expenses."

"First of all Givedirectly is doing well by taking us from povert, and I have not seen any bad thing about GiveDirectly."

"The transfers were free and unconditional which helped most people meet their needs and others got empowered to try out different business activities,"

"I got a male and female goat, bought food, paid arrears and current school fees, as well as built a house, with the funds I received from GiveDirectly. I have a wife who's a stay at home mom, while I work as a security guard, earning KES. 6,000 per month for my night shift job at Bamba. We would sometimes harvest cassava, maize etc, to supplement our income , but with the drought that has prevailed, my wife hasn't been able to make much grow on the 3 acre farm we possess. It goes without saying how impactful the funds from GiveDirectly have been in our lives. We wouldn't have been able to do all we did and cater for the fees for my 3rd born in form 2 at Lungicha Secondary for whom we pay KES. 35,000 per term, my 4th born who is in Mtsara Watsatsu Primarys' Class 7 for whom we pay KES. 1,800, my 5th born who is Grade 6 and whom we pay KES. 1,000 for, along with the youngest who is in Grade 5, and has us paying KES. 800 for, both of whom are also in the same primary school as their sibling. GiveDirectly stood in the gap between my family's self sufficiency and lack of funds, and provided the solutions which we would never have figured out on our own."

"I want to launch a poultry business throughout this year. I currently rely on farming, but it has been difficult because of the severe drought. Due to a lack of rain, all of the crops we planted last year dried up, causing us to suffer significant losses. I want to start a poultry project where I can make money by selling chicken at the market. As a result, I won't have to worry as much about feeding my family. In addition, I want to help my kids learn and keep them from being sent home a lot by paying school fees for my 3 children."

"I was without a place to call my own. With the transfers from GiveDirectly, I was able to build myself a home, consisting of one room and a verandah. In my building endeavours, I need to source and pay for ,water, cement, labour amongst a host of many other consumables. It was a thing of pride, being able to tell my 2 sons and 4 daughters, that you built yourself a home. All my daughters are married and I have no underage kids, so the funds GiveDirectly sent me were funneled towards allowing me to achieve the dreams I have always desired but been unable to achieve, and for this I am eternally greatful to GiveDirectly. Other than the coconut business I have selling what I harvest from my farm, I don't need to worry so much about my 2 sons who live with me since one works at a petrol station ,while the other is a turn boy at Kilifi. That meant that I had no guilt when allocating my funds to the needs that affected me most, individually."

"I want to build a new, much larger and better house than the one I currently have. Since I built it five years ago while I was still in primary school, I didn't give it much thought. At that point, all I required was a place to sleep. I've already started setting aside $10 each month, and I intend to keep saving a portion of the transfers to generate money to buy iron sheets and nails. I won't include timber in my budget because we have enough trees at home. When I have reached this objective, I will work to enroll in a technical college. Though I haven't made up my mind yet, I will have chosen by next year the course I want to take."

"My objectives are to be self-sufficient and to contribute to our home. Since I don't have a job, my husband, who drives a motorcycle as a taxi, provides the majority of our family's income. In the future, I will save aside a portion of the monthly transfers for a few months, and then I will utilize the money to launch a grocery store. Groceries are more profitable because practically everyone uses them every day. I'll start buying goats to raise later, once the business is established."