"I dropped out of school with only one a half years to complete my secondary education. This was due to lack of school fees. I was born and raised in a family of seven with my parents depending on subsistence farming. My dream was to complete my secondary education and take up a business course. Unfortunately, I did not, and I am now married, jobless and depending on my spouse as the sole bread winner. I am married as the second wife and we all depend on my spouse who is a motorcycle taxi operator to support the two of us together with six of our children. Financial constraints has therefore been my biggest hardship all along."

"The persistent drought and famine in this region has made life so difficult for me. The only means of getting income for me is crop and livestock farming. Low rainfall has therefore lowered my standard of living to a very deplorable condition. I cannot afford food, clothes, proper shelter and school fees for my children. I have three children and satisfying all these needs has been an uphill task. Lack of enough income especially from my farm, which I depend on is therefore my biggest hardship."

"I was preparing my farm for the next planting season when I heard my phone ringing, I stopped to check what the message was all about, that was when I saw a Mpesa message notification, I was curious to know who had sent money to me that early morning, on confirming I realized that it was the promised transfer from GiveDirectly and I was grateful to God for showering me with the wonderful blessing that morning, I knew my children's school fees would be catered for and that alone made me happy and satisfied."

"At the moment I am a casual labourer in the village, I am a trained teacher in Early Childhood Education(ECDE), unemployment has been my pain point for a while now, I thought that after completing my course I will be able to secure a good job, unfortunately, things took a different turn, I was forced to look for any casual job so that I could provide for my children, I was given a house in my home to live in but it was only temporal, when I received my transfer I knew that this was an opportunity for me to construct my own house, hence I used KES 40,000, I then used the remaining part of my transfer in paying school fees for my two children and also in buying foodstuffs. I am grateful for the support that gave me a place to call home"

"After completing my secondary education, my dreams of furthering my education were shattered due to lack of school fees, I started doing casual jobs to earn a living, I was blessed with a wife and a child unfortunately we separated because I was unable to provide for them, this was a bitter pill to swallow, life became meaningless when I received my transfer I bought two dairy cows worth KES 25,000 and KES 15,000 respectively, this is because I am hopeful that this would enable me convinced my wife to return, I then bought iron sheet so that I will be able to build a decent house for my family, I am grateful for the support that was given to me because it gave me hope of a better tomorrow."

"I already have a house with iron sheets which has been quite a good thing as i will only use the money to buy cement and put a floor in my house i will also make sure i have plustered the walls of my house. I will also buy a bed and matress so that i have a better place to sleep. I will also buy food to make sure my household is not in hunger. Lastly i have my daughter who is in secondary school. I will use the other money to square her school fees."

"I have planned to establish a hand to mouth business where I will purchase few bags of rice to be sold in the community per cup to keep us on a daily basis. I will use certain amount of my cash transfer to pay my children school fees as well if I am blessed to a recipient."

"As a returnee who assumed all the roles of the household 7 members, I have been struggling to ensure my children are getting a better education. However, I have been facing a lot of challenges including paying school fees for them because of the casual jobs like some construction work in which I am engaged. This job earns me very little usually 500 KES per day, and it is also not consistent. Since I have 3 children in secondary school, the only hope has been seeking help from bursary offices which are also not reliable. My plan once I receive this money is to spend 50000 KES of the transfers in supporting my children's education. This will mean giving them enough time to settle in school and eventually good performance. On the other hand, I intend to spend 10000 KES to start a grocery store to sell some vegetables and fruits, hence, this will act as my reliable source of income. The remaining amount will help me to buy 5 goats to have a long-term investment project. Therefore, this is generally what receiving this money means to me."

"I have a family of 8 children and I am living with my mother inlaw inside the same room. My house is very small and not enough to accomodate all of us. I usually sleep outside the house with my husband, giving a chance for my children and my mother inlaw to sleep in the house for 4 years now.I have been having a dream of building a good house for years but my husband is unemployed and we depend on charcoal burning business to cater for all our household needs. we are getting 2,000 KES a week, amount which is not enough to feed the family plus paying school fees for my 5 children who are in upper primary school. My dream of having a good and spacious house which can accommodate all of my family has been a night mare. Receiving this money means, I will build a four bedroomed house which will accommodate my family and live happy life like others."

"The moment I received the money message, I felt so excited and overwhelmed unconditionally since I knew I was going to settle some of the issues which have been bothering me. Initially things were bad, our living situation was poor. No food, no good shelter, on school fees. But since the day I received your support my life have greatly changed positively and am seeing bright days. My family and I live in a good house not as before, we are sleeping on beds but initially we used to sleep on the ground, we used to live in a congested house - single room house but now we managed to renovate it to a two roomed house plus a sitting room, it’s spacious enough for my family. We can now afford some food not as before when we used to sleep hungry. My family is now healthy, happy and their happiness gives me peace of mind. All this is because Give Direct is at my rescue."