"I had received a message notification early that morning which was unusual. I hurriedly grabbed my phone to check the content of the message when I realized that GiveDirectly had sent my transfer. I was filled with joy and broke the news to my family who joined me in celebrating almost the entire day."

"I have purchased construction materials and with these in place, I am hopeful that I will construct an iron roofed house come my second transfer. I am very grateful because it was my desire to construct a better house but was limited by the money."

"The moment I received my money, I felt very excited because I was sure of acquiring an additional ox and clothes for my children."

"Given that some people do not get the money according to the baraza, the moment I received my money, I felt so happy that I had as well received my part of the money."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have paid school fees for my children in secondary and college. I do causal jobs in the village and also sell vegetables on my farm to earn an income to meet the basic needs and pay school fees. The amount of money that I get through this is not enough to meet all these basic needs at once. My children could be sent home to collect the school fees and because I had no ready money they could stay at home for some time before they return back to school. This was affecting their performance in school. When I received the money I cleared all the school fees and this has given me peace of mind to concentrate on other activities at home. Their performance has really improved as compared to previous semesters at school. I am so happy and I have devoted all my time to work on my farm."

"Having seen the message showing the transfer had come through, I was so happy that I immediately called the owner of the land that I am purchasing to secure it for me."

"My life has changed because through this cash aid, I bought an additional ox which has enabled me this season to plant my rice on time. In the past, I farmed late because I could wait for the owners of oxen to plough first. In addition, I am no longer suffering from ant bites because I acquired a bed."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is the joy I feel seeing that my house that had remained incomplete for years has now been completed. Prior to completing this house, it was always so rocky, dusty and unpleasant in that the ground was not leveled."

"I started a grocery business for my wife when I started receiving the transfers so that she would also have a source of income and something to keep her busy while still being available for our children. The profits from this business have been of great support to my little income making life easier. For this reason, I wish to invest more of the transfers on the business by adding more stock and new items that we do not sell at the moment so that we can increase the profits."

"My expectation in the near future is to have a good dairy cow that will supply us with enough milk for household use. I currently have one indigenous cow but its productivity is quite low and we are sometimes forced to buy some more milk. To meet these expectations, I am already planting napier grass such that by the time we buy the dairy cow, we will have enough feed for it. We will sell the excess milk to our neighbours for an income that will also go a long way in meeting some of our daily needs. Owning a good dairy cow is also an achievement!"