"Immediately after I received my recent transfer I spent $24 on maize flour. We did not have food in the house because we had no money. I always burn charcoal to raise money to support my only son, Abubakar. Since I am a single mother the responsibility squarely lies on me only that once in a while my father steps in to bail me out when I am financially down. For the rest of the transfer, I spent it all on acquiring water for domestic use. Water has been scarce, and getting it is always expensive for me. Other recent transfers came in handy to help me get food and some domestic birds. I am glad that I have three domestic fowl."

"I am always excited to get GD transfers. I jumped up and down when I got my transfers this month. This money always plays an important role in keeping my family afloat. I am a charcoal seller and maker, this is what I rely on. My husband moves around alot he is a police officer and does not make much. We rely solely on his income but sometimes delays in his getting paid causes a lack at home and this is where GD transfers come in. It always allows me to pay for my children's school fees as well as buy food for our home. I also joined a merry go round where I send a monthly payment of $10. I use $10 for my childrens school fees monthly and I always buy them books which take about $4 monthly. This month I also bought water for $3 as this includes transportation."

"When my water meter was disconnected in January 2023, I had to purchase water from the neighbourhood at $0.1 for a 20-litre jerrican. This was expensive for my family of 4, which depends on my husband's bodaboda business to earn a living. Unfortunately, the cost of living increased and the fuel prices were also affected therefore, the business generates only $4 on a good day. All this caters for household use hence no surplus for water reconnection. I am excited that the transfers came at the right time as I used $50 to reconnect the water, $70 towards food and clothing for the household and an additional $15 to clear school fees for my children in primary school. As an alternative source of income, I enrolled on a tailoring course at Matano Maiine centre which I usually pay $15 a month using the transfers I set aside. Once I graduate, I will gladly assist my husband financially in raising the family."

"I spent a huge portion of my recent transfer on purchasing all the necessary stationeries and clearing fees for my son who was joining high school.   He had stayed home for almost a year, hopelessly, after trying all I could to get him to go to school but in vain. All I can say is it's by the grace of God that this has finally been achieved.   To me, my son's going to school will make him a better and more responsible person in the future. To add to that, I installed a fresh water tap in my homestead, which has also been my dream. I feel more at home now because I will no longer have to trek to my neighbours to fetch water. Also, I will keep selling the water to my friends and generate an income as well. Also bought new school uniforms and bags for my other three children who are in primschoolools.   They are now studying comfortably without being humiliated by their peers like before, which would sometimes demoralize them and cause them to fail to attend class.  With the remaining cash, I have been buying food for the seven children. Raising them singlehandedly without any help from my in-laws has never been easy.   For the last five years since the passing on of my spouse, it has been hell and I can't thank the organisation enough for coming through the time I needed their help the most."

"When I received the money, my daughter who is in form two was in debt of $10 tuition fee at her school. My motorbike taxi business had not made me enough cash to pay the amount; so, I used $10 from the transfer to settle the fee. Also, the household had run out of food that morning. Am glad at how  perfect the transfer’s timing was, which allowed me to buy food and water worth $12 for my family. At least the food had taken us to date. I still have the remaining $12 in savings, which will prove useful in fulfilling the household expenses. "

"I usually spend most of my cash transfers to pay tuition fees for my three children (one in high school and the others in primary school). This is because my charcoal-making job, which earns me around $35 per month, can hardly meet any need beyond food. Besides, with the rising commodity prices, sometimes my income is also never enough to put regular meals on the table. So, I am grateful that the financial assistance supplements my earnings and allow me to support the education of my children. I spent $30 from each of the three recent transfers to settle the unpaid fee balance so that my children would study without interruptions. Gladly, they have remained in class to date. I used the remaining $4 to fulfill other household expenses like buying water and more food. "

"We are faced with insatiable needs at the moment from food to debts. Once we sort out the issue of food insecurity, we intend to embark on compound fencing. We have always wanted to fence it to keep at bay the livestock from feeding on the grass on the roof of our kitchen house but it has not been possible because of lack of finance. They usually invade our compound at night when we are asleep and devour the grass on the roof. This has become a thorn in the flesh since it has exposed the roof and we are afraid that it will eventually collapse, it is a big deal to access long grass for roofing and that is our bother. It is for this reason that we intend to use $150 to purchase a barbed for fencing. We also intend to leverage the availability of water and pastures which will be plenty during this time of long rains to buy at least 10 goats to create wealth for future use."

"Receiving this transfers means a lot to my family. My grass-thatched house is old and dilapidated. When it rains it lets in water and also the walls are on the verge of collapsing. I have been pondering when and where to get the money to build a better one. The GiveDirectly transfers could not have come at a better time than this, I see my dream of building a decent house coming to fruition, this is a huge milestone to finally own an iron roofed house. I intend to use $400 for its construction and furnishing. Payment of school fees has been a headache to me too and so I will use the rest of the transfers to pay school fees for my children. It will be a major relief since I have been struggling to pay the fees."

"Lack of food is a major concern in my household, as we lack money to purchase enough. The only job I rely on to make a living is charcoal burning, which raises low earnings as there are no longer trees to cut down. Therefore, when I received the money, my priority was food, and I spent $10 on acquiring it. Next, I used $2.5 to buy school shorts for my son who had been wearing casual clothes to school. I also cleared his school fee debt of $2.5 so that he would not be sent home. I also set aside $5 for water as drought has made it very expensive to easily access water. Lastly, I paid $14 for my high school son’s tuition who had been constantly calling to remind me about the overdue debt. Am glad that this kept him in school and bought me more time to raise money to clear the balance. "

"My husband and I have been talking about building a more decent house for our family given the poor condition of the current one. Whenever it rains, water leaks through the roof which dampens our sleeping space. I recently had to move some household items to my in-law’s house as I feared the dampness would damage them. I have already started saving for the construction of the new house. I purpose to buy at least 20 pieces of iron sheets first, then acquire building poles and nails. After that, I will hire someone to complete the task"