"Our biggest problem is the security of our home. We live in an open compound. It's not safe to stay like this. There's always some fear of the unknown. We have about 30 goats and we sleep worried about their safety. Wild animals such as hyenas or wild dogs can strike at any time giving us losses. They have previously attacked twice in the last 2 years. This makes us worried about losing some of the goats that give us income."

"It's very difficult living in this village now. When my children were younger I had over 50 goats. This helped us raise some income to support them by selling. Now we only have 5, and educating and feeding our family has made us sell the most. Our last-born daughter is now studying at a medical school to become a nurse. The few goats we have means it's hard raising an income. This has made our lives difficult as a family."

"Inkunga yaje isanga nkennye byinshi mu byingenzi, inkunga yambere nahise nguramo isambu kugira ngo nanjye mbone aho ntura, ndangije mpita nanubaka inzu, ubundi ngura n'uburiri ubu ndaryama heza. Inkunga ya kabiri nayo ingezeho nahise nshakamo inka yo kororo, nguramo nibyo kurya bicye ubundi asigaye ndayongera ngura indi sambu yo guhinga."

"Paying fees for my four grandchildren has been the biggest challenge, and ever since I began receiving the transfers, my objective has been to make sure that I use the transfers to pay fees for them on time. Their father has been ill and bedridden for almost six years due to a stroke that has paralyzed him. He is incapacitated, and he cannot work anymore. He depends on me for everything, and the children are now under my care. My goal is to ensure that I pay fees on time so that they can achieve their educational goals despite the financial hardships that I am facing, being that I am just a subsistence farmer with no source of income."

"Before receiving the transfers, my five children had been away from school for almost three weeks. This is because the teachers were tired of listening to my false promises of clearing the fees on time. It all happened because I relied on making charcoal and sometimes working on my neighbor's farms to generate an income. The money I got could hardly sustain all our basic needs, including food. Sometimes I was forced to borrow from friends, though it was a bit embarrassing. However, my children ended up being on the bad end more so for providing for their fees. Two had assured me that they would drop out and join me in hustling and supporting the other three, who were still in primary school. This broke my heart, and I felt that I had failed them as a parent. Therefore, having cleared the fees has brought so much joy into my life. Also, they will have ample time in school, which will boost their performances and, hence, a promising future."

"It is still fresh in my mind that particular evening when I was doing laundry when I received the good news that GiveDirectly had blessed me with cash transfers. I was overjoyed with happiness knowing that my children would finally return to school after staying home for almost two months due to the arrears."

"The only thing I could consider using the transfers on is building another house, which took me $53 to complete. I am grateful that I did this because the rains would have swept away our initial home and we would be homeless by now. I also bought food with $2, which has been difficult for the past few months. We are now delighted and comfortable as a family."

"There are noticeable changes after the transfers, such as having to farm on the entire piece of land, which was impossible in previous years due to financial constraints and also a persistent drought. However,  this time we are hopeful because it has rained generously and the farms all over the village are green. Another notable difference is that my child is wearing a school uniform today, as opposed to every other day, when she would wear her home clothing and be sent home frequently due to tuition arrears. We brought lots of food with us, which was not always the case; occasionally we would go an entire day without eating anything."

"Having sold all my cattle to finance my children's education, I have always thought of buying at least a cow I can call my own. Therefore when I received the transfer, I bought a dairy cow for USD 440. I also bought a he goat for rearing since I only had some female goats and they could not reproduce as timely as required for lack of a he goat. I spent the rest to buy some building materials for a guest house and started building it, though currently incomplete. I want to have a comfortable place my guests can spend whenever they visit us."

"Nkuko ndangije kubigaragaza maze gukataza kubera inkunga ya GiveDirectly, mu myaka iri imbere rero ndizera ko nzagera ku iterambere rirambye nkuhaza muri byose ubukene bukaba amateka kuko inkunga ya GiveDirectly ari umusingi ukomeye nzubakiraho amateka meza yo gusezerera ubukene bugasigara ari amateka, rwose ndumva mu myaka iri imbere nzaba ndi umuhinzi w'intangarugero wihaza agasagurira n'isoko."