"Charcoal burning is our main source of income. Because it is a very tedious job, I can only manage to make 2 sacks every week which I sell at 400 shillings each to support my family of 12 people. Between buying food and paying school fees for my 6 children in school, am always left with nothing even to save for rainy days. We have thus had to endure living in an old dilapidated house that leaks terribly with no source of lighting for the night except the fire we use to cook."

"My desire in life has been to start indigenous goats rearing like others in the village. This will act as my investment for the future to sustain the needs of my family since I will be able to sale them when emergency arise after they multiply. I am planning to purchase 6 goats at 30 dollars each. I am also planning to use remaining amount in build a modern iron-roofed house for my 3 girls who are forced to seek shelter from neighbors."

"I built a small dairy shed some months ago but could not roof it due to insufficient funds.When I receive this money,I am going to buy roofing materials .I also intend to complete some payment that is still due for my chaff cutter and buy a heifer.I expect this heifer to multiply in due time hence giving me some source of income through sale of milk.This will serve as a reminder about the help I received from GiveDirectly."

"My life is currently different because, through this transfer, I managed to purchase some building materials to enable me to build a new house to live with my family. The old house that I was sheltering was not spacious, and my desire was to build a decent and spacious house. When I received this transfer, I purchased enough building materials which include iron sheets, building poles and nails. I am currently in the process of constructing this house which will be ready soon. To me, building this house is the biggest difference in my daily life."

"I received the transfer notification early that morning. I was curious to know who could have sent me a message such early thus I went ahead to check. To my surprise, I realized it was a confirmation message that I had received my first transfer from GiveDirectly. I felt happy for I knew the money would transform my life better."

"I spent the whole transfer on boosting my business. I running an Mpesa and cosmetic shop which I started with the previous transfers. In the past three months, my customers were not getting the items that they wanted due to the low stock. I am glad that I used the money to restock my shop since I have always wanted to be reliable. I can already see a difference in terms of sales which have increased. Lossing this business will mean going back to be a housewife which I do not want to think about. I have been financially empowered and want to use the profits to support our family goals."

"I have always wanted to Venture into agro business, ie. planting tomatoes, carrot, water mellons, pepper,butter nuts, spinarch and kales, hence this money will enable me realize this dream. I will then use the remaining amount as capital to initiate poultry keeping since it is a lucrative project that i have seen many people engaging in suceed."

"Boosting our family business of buying and selling cattle, sheep and goats using $400 of our transfer is what receiving this money means to us. I also plan to use $100 to add more chicken to my farm, spend $50 to renovate my poultry unit and the remaining part of my transfer will enable me to pay school fees for my 2 children in college next year"

"I developed dental problems last year. This condition has negatively impacted my life since I cannot undertake any heavy duties. I cannot even engage in menial jobs to earn extra income for my family. Besides, my granddaughter is suffering from epilepsy. For the past one month she was admitted 3 times. This forced me to spend all my little savings to seek medical care. These medical conditions are the biggest hardships in my family."

"My grass thatched house is in very bad shape. The walls are almost collapsing because termites have feasted on the grass. The roof is leaking making it unbearable during the rainy season. Besides, it is very difficult to replace them since it requires hard labour. In addition, it is very small yet it also serves as a kitchen. I therefore plan to construct a better house that will save me the pain of living under such a roof. It will also accommodate my entire family and my grandchildren will not seek shelter anymore."