"Being the primary provider, the meagre income I used to receive from my motorbike taxi was hardly sufficient to cover my family's daily expenses, particularly food. With the money I received from GiveDirectly, I was able to start a poultry project that presently has about thirty chickens and another thirty chicks. Every time I receive a transfer, I intend to purchase a few chickens in order to further this project. Once I have a sufficient number of mature goats, I intend to sell them and start a goat farm. All of these endeavours are meant to help my family earn more money and lessen our reliance on a single source of income."

"My primary source of income is farming. Chickens for eggs and cereals for the family, is what I ply in. The funds from GiveDirectly allowed me to build a bigger and better house for my 7 layers and 1 cockerel. Now, hopefully, I can see their numbers rise, making me a small brood that I can use to ensure the family has a steady income. My husband is a retired teacher, while I volunteer as a midwife at Pentagon Community Volunteer. Seeing as our only immediate dependent of our 5 kids are the youngest in form 4 at Vitengeni Baptist Secondary and another in Kilifi Technical, studying medicine, we were also able to funnel some funds to getting food for the family. The remainder went towards paying for KES. 40,000 for the child doing medicine and KES. 19,000 per term for the other in high school. Lucky for us the eldest is an electrician in Mombasa, my second daughter is married and my third born is on attachment in Mombasa, so thankfully, none of them were on need of our immediate attention, leaving enough to cater for our needs. GiveDirectly has been the blessing we had been waiting for and I pray they continue to impact lives as they have ours."

"I intend to start up a business of selling both new and second hand clothes or alternatively put up a small hotel since I love cooking. This will see me help my husband in providing for the family's basic needs with much ease. I am looking forward to have the chicken grow big enough to be sold, which will facilitate opening the said business."

"Lack of a stable source of income is my greatest challenge, given that my wife and son solely count on me for provision. While volunteering as a Madrasa teacher at the mosque, sometimes well-wishers support me through food or monetary allowances. Since such gestures rarely come by, there are times I sell chickens during market days to at least put food on the table. Honestly, my worst fear is seeing my family suffering from hunger. So I mostly prioritize restocking food every time I get funds and this is what I did with the transfer. Though there was still little maize flour in stock, I channeled the entire amount toward boosting the flour. Am grateful the food has served us to date and will probably last a few more weeks. This has relieved the pressure and allowed me to actively focus on raising cash for other household needs.  "

"I want to be a poultry farmer and though I do not have a stable source of income, I managed to save up $6 in three months that I used to purchase two chickens. I am happy because this added to the one I have and is now laying eggs and will multiply in months to come. In due course, I will earn money which I can use to meet my basic needs."

"After my husband drowned in 2015, I have been faced with a lot of challenges. Currently, I'm faced with the challenge of lack of food since I'm the only breadwinner. I live with my only son, Silas, whom we have been forced to go hungry because of lack of food. The casual work I do does is not enough for me to gather for both of us. It really saddens me that my son goes hungry sometimes because I can't afford to buy food. The only chicken I was depending on for eggs, which I would sell when it gets tough was killed by a snake. This has made us to go hungry since we don't have anything to sell."

"I developed chicken pox a week before getting my transfers. Initially, I was able to control my health condition by using a natural remedy that is easily obtained from nearby trees. Later, when things got worse, It became extremely uncomfortable and developed a mucous fever, which rendered me bedridden. Fortunately, I got my transfers, and I spent $8 on medicine after going to the hospital. In the wake of that, I bought 12 packets of 2 kilograms of maize flour. My only son, on whom I relied, was experiencing financial instability at the time, so he was unable to assist with the purchase of food or the payment of the medical bills while I was sick for more than a month and unable to work. We no longer harvest food from the farms due to the severe effects of the drought, so the food was crucial in ensuring we had enough to eat. In the end, I decided to invest in two hens. This presents a good opportunity to cash in by selling the hens whenever I run into financial difficulties in the near future because there are many unknowns regarding how I could make a living."

"I made up my mind to start raising chickens a few months before I entered the program. The only issue was that after using all of my savings to build a chicken coop, I had no money left over to purchase the hens. As soon as I started receiving my money, I was overjoyed because it was a significant financial boost that would allow me to realize my dream. I used a significant portion of my previous transfers to purchase 30 hens, who have since multiplied, giving me a total of 85 hens. Out of the 85 total hens, 35 are ready to be sold, and their market value is $3 each. With my most recent transfers, I bought a $14 bag of animal feed. This was very important in making sure the hens had food. I also purchased some medications from the agrochemical stores in addition to animal feeds. This was done to maintain the hens' health. I then used the remaining money to prepare my 2 acres of land for planting by tilling it. We recently experienced heavy rains for the first time in two years, and I'd like to resume crop farming, which had been my primary source of income. As I learn to become financially stable, this will help me have a backup income."

"When i receive this money i will firstly buy a mattress and beddings. Then I will buy pigs as an investment, just livestock in general because chickens as well. I will also furnish my house. The remaining money will buy food."

"I have spent my previous transfers on paying school fees for children, buying food for them, and buying chicken for rearing. I have a goal of going into business, I even hope the chicken am rearing, will become a business. I hope that, as I receive transfers monthly from GD I would buy a chicken which will lead to their increase in number. I plan that at the time the chicken are many, I will be able to sell a number and venture into goat farming."