"The main difference that has stood out in my life as far as the transfer is concerned is the plumbing work that was done. This is a clear indication that soon I will have water available at my home. I am happy that I will not be traveling long distances in search of fresh water. Again, I am now confident that I managed to pay a debt that was giving me sleepless nights. I was not sure how I would settle it, thanks to GiveDirectly for enabling me."

"There are many challenges that I go through in my life. One of the most pressing challenges is the lack of food and water. Our sub-county is very dry and we have to walk for 4km to get water. Sometimes we have to go without food, especially when I don't get work in the irrigation farms. Life is very hard for me here."

"My village has no tap water, we depend on water pans. It is four years now without rain in our village. This has caused severe drought and all water pans have dried up. I walk for 30 minutes to get water from the nearest water pan. Right now I get water from Jila which is approximately 15km away. It takes me around four hours to get water from Jila water pan. Drought is the current challenge I am currently facing."

"I currently face a problem of water that me and people when it rains which makes us sleep un comfortably. I also stay with my people in a very small shelter and it can not accommodate even more two people like when I host visitors. Poverty is also another challenge that disturbs me since I can’t meet most of basic needs like food, clothes, soap, and good health care."

"My family of five lives in two separate houses - kitchen and a living room-  that is roofed with iron sheets and has walls made of mud. We have an old kitchen structure on the side that has made rainy seasons unbearable due to roof openings that allow rainwater in. When we first enrolled, we intended to build a new kitchen, but we later decided to build a larger and stronger house and convert the current one into a kitchen and proceed to demolish the old hut. We spent $400 on iron sheets, timber, and nails and saved some money for labor charges once the construction work began. I also spent $58 on a sack of maize, which we are currently using as food, and the remainder on new pairs of clothes for my three children, as well as a pair for my husband and one for myself."

"Receiving money is a special blessing and it feels so good that I will be able to accomplish all I ever wanted, I have plans of securing land in Bubulo in a safe place because when it rains the soil becomes soggy and our houses get too cold with water coming from the soil which affects our health and most nights we are unable to sleep with fear of being flashed away by the waters. I would also like to buy a cow worthy $1764 so I will be able to get milk from it , I also plan to give my father in law some money $135 so he can use it to take care of himself ."

"Despite the severe drought that has affected our region, I intend to use my subsequent transfers to start an agribusiness. To help me raise some money for my family's support, I intend to farm vegetables that I will irrigate when it does not rain. We are constantly in short supply because the grain crops, like maize and beans, are no longer performing well. Given that I have easy access to water from the nearby borehole, I have high hopes for the success of this venture. As a result, unlike in the past, I will not solely rely on cultivating grain crops."

"In the future, if I get some money, I plan to build some pillars in my house to make it firmer. By so doing, it will be capable of sustaining speedy wind as well as flowing water if it rains because the terrain of the home compound is not flat thus water flows during the rainy seasons."

"Since GiveDirectly came to our village, a lot changed in terms of livelihood. Previously, many people lived in old structures with mud walls and grass roofs. Since then, housing conditions have improved, and every household now has a better house roofed with iron sheets. No one had a water tank, and we all spent a lot of time walking to the river to get water, but after the transfers, a large number of the population purchased water tanks and are now collecting clean rainwater from their newly constructed roofs. Most of our children, who had stayed at home due to a lack of school fees, are now back in school, along with other diverse spending patterns in every household since they gave us the freedom to choose our spending. In my case, I was able t lend a hand in paying my brother's son's school fees of $100 who had been sent back home. I am glad my of ten families currently lives happily because they got enough food on a daily basis"

"We have recently benefited from a new road that was constructed in our neighboring sector which is helping us alot in our activities, we currently have easy access to hospital, market and school and we were given access to clean water and we no longer suffer from disease caused by polluted water. We have recently received solar panels and now we no longer live in the dark and my children are able to revise after school which helps them perfom even better and this gives me joy."