"My dream has been to see my children excel in their education so does receiving this money mean to me. We have been struggling to make ends meet and send our children to school. I have three school-going children, one in secondary level and two in primary level. Due to hard economic times, paying school fees and meeting other domestic expenses have been hard to come by. My husband is a casual laborer (tea leaves plucking) in a far place from here earning an average wage of Ksh 300 a day. The whole school expenses for both primary and secondary school-going children is Ksh 20,000 a year. Owing to the nature of my husband's work, we are unable to settle these expenses and thus relying on a loan. My intention, therefore, is to spend my first transfer to settle school fees arrears and repay debts. Settling their fees arrears relates to a fulfilled dream a move that will set a pace to see them through their academic excellence."

"Receiving this money means an increased source of income. We have always been depending on my husband's income for upkeep which I feel is inappropriate. My husband works as a police officer in a far region and we entirely depend on him. I intend to have a diversified source of income and improve my household. I intend to buy a dairy cow of approximately Ksh 30,000 from the Give Directly's transfer. I will then spend the remaining cash to improve my house by purchasing furniture. Having a dairy cow will help us earn some cash through the sale of milk and lessen our reliance on my husband's income."

"Receiving this money means access to education for my children. I am a divorced woman with a family of eight children. All of them look up to me to meet their basic needs. I depend on casual jobs like washing other people's clothes to earn an income which is less that $ 3 a day. Seven of the eight children need to attend school but currently they are home due to lack of school fees. I have tried my best to help them attend school, but the income I get is not sufficient to make this happen. All I get is spent on food and water. I intend to use the first cash transfer to clear school fees for my seven children, then use the remaining amount of money to buy food. I will then use the second cash transfer to build a house that will cost $200. I will then use the remaining amount of money to buy goats to keep as an investment for my children education."

"Unemployment is the biggest hardship that I have ever faced in my life. Being a widow with a family to take care of is a challenge since I have no stable income generating activities that I can engage in. My body is becoming weak as I get old and even the charcoal business that I depend on is becoming hard to do it continuously. However, I have no choice but just to do it because if I do not do it, then I will starve with my family. I earn less than $70 a week which is not enough to meet most of my basic needs. This makes life more difficult for me and my family."

"Unemployment is the biggest hardship that I have ever faced in my life. With the COVID-19 pandemic that has destabilize the economy of Kenya, even getting casual jobs in the village is difficult due to lack of money. This has contributed to me being dependent on my husband who is a motorist. The little money that he gets is not sufficient to meet our basic needs and make savings for our future."

"Lack of sustainable income is the biggest challenge that I have ever faced in my life. Both my husband and I are unskilled people getting a good job to sustain our family of 10 has been a challenge to us. The only source of livelihood is charcoal vending a job that is tiresome and earns us a little amount that can not fully support all the basic needs of the family."

"Receiving this money means building a decent house for my family. This is because I am planning to use my entire first transfer to construct a two-bedroom house, that will allow me to live a decent life. Currently, I am living in a small house which is leaking during rainy seasons. This house ashames me a lot especially when I have visitors because there is no place where my visitors can rest. With the second transfer, it will help me to pay for school fees for my children in school and also cater to family needs like food."

"I spent 200 dollars of the money I received from GiveDirectly on purchasing heifer. This had always been my wish since I sold the one I had to pay school fees for my children. I bought a goat, eight chicken, bedding and food for the family. Poultry keeping is the best investment that I have always had. It earns me an income through the sales of eggs, I then use the money to buy other household items. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has enabled me to own a dairy cow."

"Receiving this money from GiveDirectly means proper education for my child. My first born boy is joining secondary school soon. Therefore I am planning to use 500 dollars from the transfer to pay for his school fees. I want my child to have the best experience in school and at the same time get enough time to study. I will therefore pay his full year's school fees so that he can have ample time with books. I will use the balance to construct a two bedroom house for my family. We live in a single room house which is nolonger sustainable for my expanding family and getting a spacious house will be good for us."

"The biggest hardship I have faced in my life is doing hard casual jobs to survive, jobs which are not health friendly to a woman of my age. Sometimes I spend the whole day in the forest cutting firewood for sale. This has made me weak and I fall sick easily."