The biggest difference in my life is to have bought two bulls to plough my farm. I used my hands to till, spend a lot of energy and prepare a small part of my farm. With the bulls, I will have to relax, take less time and prepare the whole of my farm. I will be able to increase my productivity which can last me up to the next harvest as well as selling the surplus to make a profit in return. Honestly, were it not for GiveDirectly I wouldn't have achieved this much.

I have seen people buying livestock, constructing new houses, investing in new farming methods and opening businesses. Personally, I feel empowered because my life has taken another course. I never dreamt of having livestock or even owning one. Thanks to GiveDirectly now I am very proud of livestock that has brought honour to my family. In my opinion, GiveDirectly has done nothing wrong other than to actualize dreams that had lost a long time ago

I spent part of my transfer to pay school fees for my two children who are in primary school. I did not go to school therefore, I have been unable to read or write or seek formal employment. I feel ashamed of myself and vowed to educate my children. I would want them to complete their education, this will help them to secure a good job, live a good life and be able to take care of me in future because of old age. Secondly, I want to repair my house which is not in good condition. It is made up of mud and old iron sheets that are leaky. I fear it might collapse on us when we receive heavy rains. Thirdly, we are experiencing drought in our area, part of the transfer I will use to buy food. I planted maize in the month of October but because of drought, we expect to harvest less. Lastly, I gave part of the transfer to my inlaws to help buy stones for building a permanent shop that had stalled in our local market. When complete it will be rented and use the proceeds to sustain our life or even open a business in future to support our upkeep.

My life is totally different. I am now happier than before. I have never even received such an amount of cash at once. I used to suffer with my children due to lack of funds. My husband earns meagerly from casual work at a bakery. I am happy to have the solar lighting in my house and grateful for that too.

When I saw the notification message of cash receipt I was in disbelief. I thought it was a fake message because we are used to many fraudsters who keep sending us dummy messages of cash receipt. Nevertheless, I still went to the agent to withdraw and confirm if it was true or otherwise. I indeed received the physical cash in my hand and I believed it! I was elated to say the least. I went back home and planned to buy the solar panel immediately having communicated with my husband on phone and we agreed to buy it.

I have been using a traditional kerosene lamp to light my house in the evenings for a long time - 11 years since I married. Sometimes there would be no kerosene at the shop and we would stay in the dark just like that. So when I got the first transfer from GiveDirectly, I decided to buy a solar panel & bulbs for lighting our house. The solar energy has cut the daily kerosene expense and we are relieved. We are sorted big time as our house is now well lit. I am grateful for this because I never knew I would own such in my lifetime. I still have some balance with me. I plan to buy a cow because we buy milk. It will give us milk for consumption. Should there be some in surplus we will then sell it.