"My family was grieving the loss of my brother-in-law when I received the cash transfer. To give him a decent funeral, everyone in the family was required to make a monetary contribution. Sadly, I had nothing to offer at that time because I lacked a source of income. Due to my advanced age, I depend on my son for provision. Mostly, the little he makes from hawking bottles of water barely puts enough food for the family of 15 people, including my two daughters-in-law and their twelve grandchildren. Since he could not raise such emergency funds, I channeled $10 toward the burial arrangements. Am glad because the cash transfers played a crucial role in providing food at the send-off. I also bought a pair of khanga worth $6 to wear at the funeral as a way of upholding our traditions. I saved the remaining amount intending to supplement it with upcoming transfers to buy a goat for rearing to fulfill the goal I placed during enrollment."

"It is every parent’s wish to see his or her children happy, and what more could you give your children other than education? This will remain to be one of the outstanding things that GiveDirectly did well. Water is a major issue and for many years, I could not afford a water tank. It is an accomplishment to own a tank and see some of my neighbors' tanks as well. I am grateful to realize that brought by GiveDirectly and would pray that they will continue in the same spirit."

"GiveDirectly has done well in enrolling our village, which has enabled my children to afford their education, among many other things. The support funds have ensured most of the families without homes have built their own homes. Our area had water issues caused by prolonged drought. The funds assisted many to come together as a community and have tap water installed in the compound from Kilifi town. Some built gutters and bought tanks in anticipation of collecting rainwater. I have seen nothing that the organization would do better, but would be grateful if they considered giving us more funds."

"My home currently isn't that safe, to improve security of my goats and chicken. I plan to use $300 to do fencing around my compound. We also have piped water in our village, it has not reached my house. I intend to use $100 to purchase pipes and also cater for labour costs when setting it. This will enable me to have enough water for domestic use. We currently fetch water from the river, and its very difficult for us. To ensure sustainability of the project, we pay a monthly fee of $2 for water access. In addition to that, I need to improve the breed of goats I have. I need the bigger ones. I envisage buying 10 goats for $400. I will then let them grow and sell. This means I will be able to plan for my children school fees. My eldest daughter is now at grade 6."

"I am proud to own two goats that I acquired through the transfer as these are savings to me. I added them to my existing goat shed, and my plan is to keep them and let them multiply since I can readily rely on them in case of a financial need. I have also been sheltering in a grass-thatched house and my plan is to renovate it. I have been saving a portion of the transfer to purchase iron sheets that will facilitate the renovation of my house. Apart from these, I also managed to buy enough foodstuffs for my family that could serve us for a month. I have been relying on subsistence farming which could ensure food security, but it's now years since we stopped farming. Also, because of the drought, water was a problem and we had to buy at a high cost. Had I not received the transfer, it would have been hard to provide adequately for my family. I have long been borrowing my friend's motorcycles to earn a living. Since I am not employed by anyone, it wasn't easy to support my family. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for their support which has enabled me to provide for my family with ease."

"Living in a semi- arid area has been a greatest challenge. We solely rely of livestock and fruit farming to earn a living but lack of rains has made particularly fruits not to do well. We spend $3 each day in purchasing water for both home consumption and goats. I find it very expensive since from the $ 300 I earn monthly, $ 9 goes into water expenses. Life would be different if water was readily available in this place."

"Before GiveDirectly came to our village, providing daily food for my family was a challenge. I would stay for two days without food, and most times the little I got couldn't sustain us for long, thus I had to skip meals to save food. I do not have any source of income to sustain my day-to-day food requirements, hence I rely on my sons to help me out in case of food shortages. I used to do subsistence farming, which ensured food security, but it has not been doing well for almost five years now because of a prevailing drought. When I received the transfers, I decided with my wife that we will contribute Ksh. 2000 every month, to buy a sack of maize, that can serve us for a whole month. The transfers have ensured that food is adequately available in my household which was not the case before. The remaining portion of the transfer went to buying vegetables and water, which we buy daily as we are facing a serious shortage because of the drought."

"I spend $450 to buy a 5000 litres water tanks because for the longest time during during the dry seasons, we have had to take our dairy cows to the river which is more than four kilometers from home.This of course reduces their milk production and therefore loses. When I got my second transfer, I thought it was a good idea for me to buy water tanks so that I will be able to harvest enough water for the cows during the dry seasons. I spend the balance to pay school fees balance for my two children who are in high school which we were not able to pay previously due to the prevailing harsh economic times."

"Both my husband and I are in businesses of selling livestock and milk respectively. We therefore keep a large herd of livestock in our homestead. These livestock in turn require a very a lot of water and it's been a struggle getting the water from the river especially during the dry seasons. Although we have had plans to buy water tanks, we have not been able to meet this goal since because of our family demands like paying school fees for our children. With the second transfer that I received from GiveDirectly, I spend $300 to buy a 5000 litres water tank. Since it's rainy season, I have harvested water and it will be very helpful during the next dry season. I spend the balance to buy chicken since I was planning to start a poultry farming."

"Water is a basic need that each household depends on daily. Unfortunately, accessing this commodity in my household is strenuous and expensive as well. It is only during rainy seasons that we can easily fetch water from the nearby seasonal river unlike now when the area is dry. At the moment, I travel for 3 kilometres to Koriema resort where I purchase water at $0.03 for a 20-litre jerrican. Although I have a motorcycle for transportation, it is somewhat time-consuming and expensive as well since I have to buy fuel. It pains me to use $2.2 daily towards this course away from other family expenses."