"I was in the fields looking after my cow as it grazes when I heard a message notification on my phone. I decided to check it and I could not believe my eyes when I saw that it was an M-Pesa SMS saying that we had received the lump sum transfer from GiveDirectly. I was so happy to see this and I could not hide the joy to myself. I decided to take back the cow home and I went and informed my family of the good news. They were so happy too to hear this. I then hurriedly prepared myself and I went to withdraw the money."

"It was at 1pm when I was in the shamba and I had heard a neighbour say that the transfer had arrived and I rushed to the house to check my phone and yes, it was true. I was very excited and told my family and they were very happy as well."

"It was around 1 pm and I was at home relaxing when I started hearing the neighbors saying that they had received the transfer from GiveDirectly. I felt bad because I could not check on my phone if it was true. I had mobile money issues and my M-pesa account had blocked. Since I could not just sit and do nothing, I hurriedly prepared myself and I left immediately to town. I went straight to the Safaricom customer care office in town and I informed them of the issue that I was facing. They were able to help me and immediately I got the message saying that I had received the lump sum of 55000/= from GiveDirectly just as promised. I was so happy to see this and I called my family and some friends to inform them of the good news. They were excited too to hear this. I then withdrew the money and I went back home."

"The transfer from GiveDirectly has helped me a lot. I have been able to cement the floor of the house that we have been living in it. We had built the house but we could not be able to complete it due to lack of enough money. We were therefore forced to smear mud on the floor and live in it. This has not been easy since getting mud for smearing the floor has been quite a challenge. We had to go to a very far place to get it. The house too has not been that comfortable to stay in since it usually gets dusty. The transfer has too helped me in buying some chairs for our house and I also bought some school uniforms for my children. Doing the above that is cementing the floor and buying chairs has been a challenge for us to do because the little money that we get from our hustles usually goes to payment of school fees for the children. We thank GiveDirectly a lot for this program that they thought of starting to help people in need."

"It was around 2pm and I was riding my motorbike on my usual daily hustle. I later saw the message when I stopped thinking it was a customer who had paid me via mobile money but to the contrary, it was the GiveDirectly transfer. I smiled to myself. When I got home, I told my wife and she was very happy though she said that the transfer had delayed."

"It was at 1pm when I was waiting to be served lunch when I saw the transfer message and I shouted in jubilation. My wife stopped cooking lunch when she heard me celebrating and she joined me singing songs of praise to the almighty."

"Its been my desire to own some livestock since they are the only assets I can have. When I received the transfer, I purchased some goats. I am expecting them to reproduce and have many of them.To me these are assets that I can readily rely on in case of a financial need. In addition to this, I bought an ox plough at KES 8000. It will help me in ploughing my farm using my pair of oxen. I also spent a portion of the transfer on paying for my children's school fees. I am spending the remaining amount to buy foodstuffs and paying for other household needs."

"I spent KES 16000 of the transfer on buying goats which I am currently rearing in my homestead. I am planning to exchange them for cows as they reproduce and increase in number. In addition, I can readily rely on them in case of a dire financial need. My children were also resuming their learning thus I spent KES 15000 to pay for their school fees. I also did some shopping for them on school uniforms and stationeries. I spent the remaining amount to buy foodstuffs and other household items."

"The lump-sum amount from GiveDirectly has helped us in a very big way. We have never received such a huge amount in our lives and it has therefore helped us a lot. I was able to complete paying for my child’s’ school fees who is in secondary school. He had lacked school fees and he had therefore been forced to stay at home. The transfer has also enabled me to build a bigger house that is roofed with iron sheets. My family and I have been living in two small and old grass-thatched houses for quite a long time. I, therefore, wanted a proper house that was going to be enough to accommodate guests visiting and also for there to be enough room for my children to study. Achieving the above has not been easy due to a lack of money. I usually do a casual job at a local hotel where I am paid 100/= per day. This amount is only enough to buy food for my family and other small household needs. I thank GiveDirectly for coming to my rescue, may God bless you."

"I was just from an exam room in college and I was in the house when I heard a message notification on my phone. I checked it and to my surprise, it was an M-PESA message saying that we had received the first transfer of 55000/= from GiveDirectly. I was so excited to see this and I could not hide my joy. I called my husband to inform him of the good news. He was so happy on the other end to hear this. We knew that our dreams were now going to be fulfilled after getting this fortune."