"I have always wished to do more of goat farming compared to crop farming especially now that the rains are unreliable. Goats survive better in such a semi arid area. I already have 10 goats and my plan is to add 10 more at an estimated budget of KES 30,000. Selling the goats occasionally will help pay school fees for my children as well as satisfying other needs. My second plan is building a better house. The walls of my current house are falling off and the roof is porous since it is grass thatched. We spend sleepless nights in the cold especially during the rainy and cold season. A two roomed house with an iron sheet roof will be a good fit for me. I also plan to spend KES 5,000 for treating my eye which got injured four months ago."

"When I received my transfer, I spent KES 20000 to build a kitchen for my family and KES 25000 to purchase a heifer. Dairy cows are beneficial to people as they are a source of wealth and pride in our community. Due to this, I decided to purchase one using the transfer as an addition to the one I already had. I will be selling milk to my neighbors when they reproduce and use the money in paying school fees for my children. Preparing meals during the rainy season has been a difficult task for my spouse due to the leaking roof as it was grass-thatched and old. Because of this, we would at times take our meals late at night whenever it rains as it would be impossible to cook since the rainwater would extinguish the fire. I am glad since we're almost completing building an iron-roofed kitchen that will enable her to cook at anytime. In addition to this, I spent KES 2000 to buy new school uniforms for my children as they did not have and spent KES 4000 on home clothes for my family members after buying one sack of maize for our consumption at KES 3000."

"It was still early in the morning when I had just woken up when I received a life-changing opportunity from GiveDirectly. Upon reading the Mpesa message, I became so happy and thanked God and GiveDirectly for sending the cash at the moment when I needed it most. I called out my spouse, informed her about the good news and that we were not going to take a loan to use in paying school fees for our daughter anymore."

"Receiving this money means food security for my family. I have been tilling my farm using a hoe and this has made me manage to till one acre only giving me two 90kg bags of maize. The two bags cannot sustain my family. Therefore, I am planning to use 50,000KES from the GiveDirectly transfer to buy two indigenous cows and an ox-plough for subsistence farming to boost my maize productivity. I will be able to till six acres of land which translate to 12 bags of maize which can serve my family for a whole year. I will use the balance to cater for my grandchildren school fees."

"Persistent drought in our village is the biggest hardship that I have ever faced in my life. I depend on livestock to get money to meet the basic needs of my family. Two years ago I had 600 cows as my wealth and the major source of income. However, I lost 500 cows due to drought and famine in our village. It was very painful for me to see my cows die one after the other helpless. This made my life difficult as I have children in school who need to access basic education. When this happened, I sold 20 cows to pay school fees for my children. I am now left with 80 cows which are very weak. At once I thought of selling them but then no one is willing to buy such cows. This has made life more difficult for me and my family. I intend to use some of the cash transfers to buy goats instead of cows because goats can survive longer periods of drought."

"Receiving this money will mean a lot to my family and I. I plan to use KES 20,000 to finish a house that I had started to construct because it stalled due to lack of money. I also plan to use KES 20,000 to pay for my son's school fees since he is completing high school, fence my compound and buy a cow with KES 30,000 since the one I had was given to me and the owner might come back for it."

"I spent the money I received from GiveDirectly on building a better and spacious house for my family. We used to live in a small grass thatched house which could not host us comfortably. I paid school fees for my children in primary school and this enabled them to study well without being sent home. The rest of the money I bought food and clothes. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard."

"The moment I received the money I felt so happy. I remember it was around 10am. I was on my farm digging, then I heard a ringtone message from my phone. I didn't know it was from GiveDirectly. So I check it out to find who might have texted me. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and stopped whatever I was doing and rushed home to inform my family members. They all celebrated the good news. I went to withdrew the money the same day and pay school fees for my son."

"The moment I received the transfer I felt so happy. I remember it was around 9am. I had left my phone charging. When I returned I saw a message and I reluctantly check out who might have texted me. I didn't expected any messages from anyone. It was a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and overwhelmed with joy. I immediately inform my family members and they were also happy. I knew would be able to pay school fees for my son who was to join university. I went and withdrew the money the same day and planned with my spouse."

"Receiving this money means better education for my children. I intend to use KES 20000 to clear school fees for my sons in grade 12 and grade 6 . Furthermore, I will purchase a dairy cow at KES 30000 for the 2 I currently have cannot produce enough income (KES 3000 ) to sustain food and education for my household. Additionally, I will purchase posts and barbed wire (KES 30000) to fence my compound and hence have peace with my neighbours as the animals will not be trespassing. I will use the rest of the transfers on food and clothing for the household."