"Receiving this money means a reliable source of income to my household which is as of now is experiencing many difficulties. I have desired to start a shop business but due to financial crisis, this has never been possible. With the cash grant from GiveDirectly, I am very positive about realizing my dream since I intend to use a better portion of my first transfer ($400) to ensure this comes through. Part of my transfers will help me to buy 7 goats for $40 each, which will be my store of wealth to support my children's education in the future. The remaining amount will help me to sustain my other household needs like food and nice beddings."

"Lack of money is the biggest hardship I have ever faced. Back in 2013, I joined a tailoring college. Due to lack of money, I dropped out of the school after the first year. I started working as a house help with the aim of getting money to rejoin my tailoring course. The money I was getting was not enough to cater for my personal needs and to save for my fees. Since then, I have been trying to do all I can to get money for me to go finish my course but I have not been successful. Currently, I am employed as a tailor though I lack the basics. This makes it very hard for me to get well paying clients."

"My health has deteriorated due to sickness. I have been suffering from chronic ulcers since last year. I have visited several clinics without any success. This has hindered me from working and provide for my family's needs such as food. It is also expensive because I have to buy 1 dose at 3000 shillings which last for at least 1 month. Therefore, sickness is the biggest challenge I have faced."

"Securing a good job has been my challenge. I work at a charcoal vendor. This job is tiresome and requires a lot of time because I have to walk 20 kilometers away from my home. It also earns me 350 shillings in 4 days which is not enough to cater to all our basic needs such as school fees."

"I work as a charcoal vendor in the village this job is tiresome and earns me 350 shillings in 4 days. This amount is very little can not sustain all our needs such as food. Therefore, lack of a reliable source of income is my biggest hardship."

"I am a charcoal vendor, a job that is tiresome and time-consuming yet its income is very little such that it cannot fully support the needs of the family. Sometimes we skip meals or borrow from my relatives something that never gives me peace since I usually feel ashamed. Therefore I can consider the lack of a reliable source of income as the hardship that I have ever faced in my life."

"Receiving this money means a reliable source for my household. Currently, I am a charcoal vendor, a very tiresome job, and earn little income of $60 per month. This amount cannot fully sustain the household needs. I am planning to spend $400 on my first transfer to start a livestock business. With this business, I am assured of a profit of $50 per week. The remaining amount of my first transfer will help me to cater to household needs like food. My second transfer will help me to clear school fees for my children in secondary school so that they cannot be sent back home to collect school fees, this will improve their performance in school."

"When I received my transfer, I spent $ 300 to improve my house by cementing it's floor. I bought some cement, sand, gravel and paid for the labor. During heavy rainfall, water usually seeps in through the floor hence making my house flooded as I live in a sloppy area near the river. This usually makes us seek refuge at my son's house. Also, due to my health condition , I no longer have the strength to do some house chores and I depend on my grandchild who also goes to school. Cementing the floor will make work easier for her when cleaning as she has minimal time and it will also save us the struggles of seeking refuge during rainy seasons. I have a heart diseases and I am to visit the hospital monthly for my checkups. During this visits, I am needed to purchase some drugs that are not covered by the National Hospital Insurance Fund and it is costly. In addition, with the current rule where one can use the card once in three months for outpatient services, I am mostly forced to pay a lot of money. The transfers came in handy as I was able to spend $120 on my medications and paid $ 30 to cover my monthly NHIF premiums for the next six months. Lastly, I spent, $67 on food and I still have $30 that I have saved for future use."

"Ever since I received my transfers, my life has not been the same again as I have been able to save the money I get from my daily hustles. So far, I have saved $ 38. This has been possible since I was able to purchase three sacks of maize and other household necessities for my family using my transfers thus saving me the struggles of purchasing them on a daily basis. I am planning to add this savings to my second transfer and use it to purchase a dairy cow. By doing so, I will be able to save the money I would otherwise use in buying milk. In addition, I will earn some income through the sell of surplus."

"When I received my transfer, I spent $300 to build a more decent kitchen for my family. The one we had was old and the roof was always leaking. Because of this, I usually had to prepare meals so early in order to avoid being rained on and we usually ended up taking cold meals. Also, I spent $50 to pay school fees for my son and $40 to buy some school books that were needed since he was joining high school. Using the remaining $ 150, I bought two sacks of maize and other household necessities."