"When I received the second transfer from GiveDirectly, I was delighted and grateful for the opportunity it provided. I had a lot of ideas about how to best use the funds and couldn't wait to get started after collecting the entire amount. I spent $280 on barbed wire, fencing posts, and nails to build a fence around my land. I also paid the $60 labor fee to complete the fencing. This would help keep animals away from my crops and assure a nice yield. I then spent $50 on a goat to add to the other goats I was rearing. I intended to breed them and sell their progeny in the future as an extra source of income for my family. Following these investments, I spent $150 on a comfortable bed and bedding, which provided a good night's sleep and improved our overall health. It was terrible that my child became unwell while I was also ill, and I was forced to spend $40 on medication for both of us. Thankfully we were able to recover swiftly. Finally, I spent the remaining funds on food for my family of four. It was such a comfort to know that we could afford to have enough food without going hungry again."

"It was around 2 pm when I had taken my child to the clinic when a message popped into my phone. Even though I am illiterate, I have some knowledge of interpreting M-pesa messages. The only problem is that I will not be able to know the sender of the money. I checked and realized that I had received $550 in my account. This installed confidence in my life that finally, I would be able to achieve my life desires. When I reached home, I informed my helper who confirmed and also informed me that this was the first promised transfer from GiveDirectly."

"Upon withdrawing the money, I first cleared my children's school fees. I paid $110 for them so that they could concentrate on their studies. I also used $10 to buy some food for the family and saved the rest in the bank. I did this as I wait for the second transfer so that I combine the money to do an investment with my spouse. Since he is a driver, the aim is to take a loan from the bank and add to the transfers so that we buy a motor vehicle that will be used for carrying passengers. We opted for this idea so that we could have an income-generating activity."

"My phone rang shortly after I got home from the trading center at around 4 p.m. with a message. I asked my daughter-in-law to check the message type for me because I am illiterate. She checked and told me that I received the initial transfer of $550 in my account. Being given such a sizable sum of money at my advanced age made my heart overflow with joy. When I assessed how I was going to improve my life, my happiness increased. I nearly ululated but decided against it because I didn't want everyone to know that I had received some money."

"Upon getting the transfer, I opted to renovate both my father's house and my elder brother's house since I share the house with him. My father's house required 16 iron sheets while the other one required 7. Therefore, I bought 23 pieces of iron sheets costing $207 and the labor charge of the contractor was $150. For the roofing nails and the roofing timbers, it cost $83. I am happy to report that, the houses are now in good condition and they no longer leak as before. My parents are sleeping well and comfortably nowadays unlike before the transfer. After that, I used the remaining amount to buy some food for the family."

"After a lengthy period of keeping my children at home due to huge school fee arrears, I feel relieved that they have returned to school and are continuing their education. However, my earnings from selling charcoal are meager, and have done little to support my family's significant needs. Nevertheless, I managed to clear a $150 debt for two of my children in secondary school and paid $40 in school fees for my primary school son. Witnessing my children back in school and studying brings me great joy and gratitude. To invest in my future, I purchased a goat for $3.5, hopeful that it will multiply and increase in number, thus enhancing my initial investment. Another significant challenge I have encountered is the high cost of food products that have, on occasion, forced my family to go to bed on an empty stomach due to financial constraints. However, with a large stock of twenty-four packets of 2kg maize flour priced at $6.6, I am joyful that we have enough to last us for over a month, and I no longer fear going hungry. With the remaining $250, I plan to pay school fees for my three children in the upcoming term early next month. I am extremely grateful to the organization that gave us the cash transfers, which are transforming our lives positively. I lack words to express my gratitude towards the organization for their kind gesture"

"Since I had been residing on a plot that I had not fully paid for, I decided to complete the payments and become debt-free. I completed the last payment of $100 for the plot after withdrawing the initial transfer. I currently have complete control of the land and am completely free to do whatever I want on it. Following that, I decided to buy livestock, specifically goats. In comparison to cows, goats are cheaper to buy, more quickly reproduce, have ready markets for sale, and can withstand harsher climates. These factors led me to choose goats. As a result, I spent $150 to purchase five goats. Since I was residing in a hat-like structure, I also built a nice, roomy house. I spent $100 on the building poles and rafters and $80 on the contractor because I already had some iron sheets. I'm content right now because I have a lovely spot to sleep. Additionally, I used $24 to cover my six primary school-aged children's tuition, and I used the remaining money to buy food."

"I am a single mother of one and as such I faced a lot of challenges. Life is hard for me since I am left on my own to fend for my family. The father of my kid abandoned me when I became pregnant, apparently, he had a wife and he had never told me. It shook me to the core and gave me a wake-up call to work harder. I have many siblings and I felt like I was giving my parents a huge burden so I went to Nairobi to be a maid, I was being paid $50 a month. I made savings up to $300 which I used to purchase half an acre and put up a makeshift house. It has been a huge struggle, I still have a debt of $100 which has been hard to raise, the whole cost of the land was $400. The neighbour who sold me the land has been in my neck asking for the balance. I have neither had peace of mind nor sleep. He has on many occasions threatened to kick me out of the land until I cleared the remaining balance. I can now breathe a sigh of relief with the GiveDirectly transfers in the offing."

"We are a family of 4, every day is a struggle to make ends meet. It is not easy to fend for the family, we are inadequate in terms of food, and we are forced to buy the lack of funds notwithstanding. This way of life is unbearable, farming here is hard because of the vagaries of weather mostly unreliable rainfall, we depend on rain-fed agriculture yet we have had three failed rainy seasons and subsequently, we were not able to plant any food crops, it has caused us the kind of food insecurity that we are grappling at the moment."

"Two years now down the line since my husband passed away, life has never been fair to me. This is because as a mother, I am required to provide for my family of 8. This has not been easy since my small business of selling foodstuffs has not thrived well. In a month, I earn utmost $100. Although this can be a good amount, it can not fully cater to our needs because of the school fees burden. This amount is just a quarter of what we used to earn with my husband when we combined efforts. The headache is when I desperately watch my 4 school-going children at home due to lack of fees. As a mother, this has eaten up my mind and devoured my hope in life. The struggle to make ends meet to avoid the shame of my children dropping out of school has pushed me to a very tough end. Therefore, financial instability stands out as my biggest challenge."