"Before receiving the transfers, our lives were really hard. The whole of my family was living in a single house which was already old. It was leaking on the roof and all we could do was to keep renovating by adding patches of polythene papers on the roof to prevent the leaks during rainy seasons. Food security was still a problem since we always had to work on the casual labors to earn some money which we would then use in purchasing some food. We used to buy everything right from maize, vegetables to also milk since we had no livestock in our household. We are now grateful that GiveDirectly came in and really changed a lot of things. We now have two goats and a cow to milk, we have stocked enough maize in our household and planted enough vegetables on our farm. All these happened within a short period of time after receiving the transfers."

"Being a single mother of three, i struggle alot in providing for my family. I engage in casual jobs such as washing dishes, fetching water and firewood for sale in hotels and by the end of the day, the small amount i earn ain't enough to cater for the needs of my family, which i consider as the biggest hardship i face."

"Poor harvests due to drought as well as crop pests and diseases has been a great challenge to me in that subsistence farming used to be my greatest source of income but for now the yields are too low and whatever i harvest is only left for family consumption. "

"I have a school fees burden which I hope to ease when I receive this transfers.I have one child at the university and another one set to join secondary school next year.I also have a plan to build a semi permanent house.I have always wished to build one but due to the school fees burden and lack of money I have not been able to."

"The biggest hardship I have faced in life is lack of money to support my family's needs.I depend so much in agriculture but it has let me down because of crop diseases,long dry spells and the small piece of land I have.I was forced to sell almost one acre of land to educate my children.This is the reason I have a small piece of land;2 acres to be precise.I have seven sons who depend on this same piece of land.This is what has been a great challenge because this is where I depend on to get money."

"My life is different in that, I have been in position to construct a commercial house that is currently left with only roofing, which I believe while be done at the end of this year after selling my agricultural produce. Once the house is complete, it's going to help me generate money for my children's education. Prior to receiving this money, I didn't have enough money to start up with the construction much as I had bought a few bricks, it would have taken me over 3 years for the house to reach its current level."

"Through the GiveDirectly's cash transfers, I have been in position to acquire 3 cows. In addition, I am expecting increased yields because I have planted crops(maize, ground nuts and cassava ) in a large scale of land as this money enabled me buy seeds and pay for ploughing in time. Previously, I didn't have cows of my own and I had reduced yields because I didn't have enough money to buy seed and pay for ploughing."

"Both commercial and subsistence maize and dairy farming is the main source of income in my community. When an annual drought hits this area, it takes a toll on the yields thus impacting livelihoods negatively. Education of our children is immensely impeded due to a restraint source of income. Besides, children are faced with malnutrition due to starvation and it is often my worry that my children and grandchildren may not receive a healthy living. "

"My area is drought stricken and in order to get enough produce one has to till a bigger piece of land. This is possible if there is enough money to hire farming equipments such as tractors. To scale up farming, I will purchase oxen and an ox plough. This will help me curb the food insecurity that has invaded my family. Besides, I will hire them at a fee to generate income that will meet other needs such as clothing."

"These finacial support have made me debt free, because I use part to settle all my debts. By settling the debts, I was enable to repossess my two acres of land that the money lender had taken. Secondly, I have acquired a ox that has supplemented the one I had for farming."