"I have been saving all my money from the three transfers I have gotten to buy a water tank. I have twenty-three goats and thirty chickens and nine ducks. They all need food and water and with the drought that we are currently experiencing water has been expensive. I plan to trap rain in the tank during the rainy season. The tank costs $15 and as for now, I have saved $6."

"I was at home when I received the transfer. I was happy and the first thing that come to my mind was to pay the $20 debt I had in school fees. I have five children, two did not complete their education due to lack of school fees and three are in school. I burn, package, and sell charcoal at the market where I get a profit of $4 a sack. I used the recent transfer to pay school fees which was $15, water at $5, and $10 for food."

"They employed my husband casually as a motorcycle rider. We have six children and one of them suffers from epilepsy, which takes up most of our funds at least to pay for his transport to a medical facility that offers free medical checkups every week. I use $10 for transport to and from for both of us and also lunch for him since the exercise takes the whole day. I am unemployed and mostly we depend on my husband’s source of income, which is unstable. He only earns if he leases the motorcycle and works only to share the larger part of his earnings with the owner of the motorcycle. Recently, with the prolonged drought, water has been our challenge, which means when buying food, we also have to include buying water. I have opted to buy borehole water, which is cheaper than tap water; I use it a week for at least $4 for 100ltrs of water every day. Tap water is expensive and $4 is enough for only a day’s consumption. My cash transfer of $18 was used in paying school fees, and I spent the rest of $12 on food and water for only one week. I am happy to be the beneficiary of these support programs because the funds have helped me manage some of the financial problems that were weighing me down."

"Drought and famine have been the biggest challenge that has faced my village this season. The impact has been dry rivers and a lack of water, which is essential in our day-to-day lives. I am married with six children because of the lack of jobs here in the village. My wife helps me in the charcoal business, which lately is a challenge because of the raw materials needed to generate charcoal for sale. As soon as I received the funds, I used $20 to pay school fees, and I spent the rest $10 on buying food and water. They sell water for $2, which is a minimum of 80litres that are normally used for my home consumption daily."

"Give directly did well to provide the funds in my village because most of us with the drought and famine, it has been a challenge to have enough food for our families. The funds have enabled us to buy water and buy food since the drought has destroyed our crops and livestock."

"Upon receiving the second phase of the transfer, I opted to complete the construction of a toilet that I had started using during the first transfer. Since we are faced with water scarcity in our area, I decided to build a laver (tank) for collecting and storing water during the rainy season. The aim of the collected water is for domestic uses as well as for agriculture in irrigating my vegetables. After that, I renovated my house by plastering the outside walls to prevent them from being washed away by rainwater when it rains. By so doing, it makes the house firmer to withstand the splashed rainwater on the walls than how it was before."

"GiveDirectly is an organization that came to make us proud and feels like the rest of human beings by empowering us. I am saying so because I have a water tap that supplies my home with fresh water through the transfers I got. Initially, I had to hire a motorbike to aid me in fetching some water which was at a distance. Apart from the time consumption, it was also expensive to hire the motorbike for $1 per trip and the water was also not free. Currently, I am happy because I have my tap water for family use."

"Before receiving the transfer, I owned a business selling sardines. The business was generating a profit of $1 a day which was not enough to take care of my family. My husband works as a rider transporting people from one place to another. In the evening we combine our income and use it to buy food and water for the day. Givedirectly money has helped me expand my business, I stocked tuna fish which has been giving me a profit of $5 a day. This money has helped me buy enough food for my family."

"My family of seven was struggling to find food before I received my transfer. This is due to my inconsistent income. In addition, my husband makes a living by operating motorcycle taxis. However, that sector has been underperforming for the better part of this year. As a result, when I received my recent transfer, I decided to spend $10 on food because we didn't have any at the time. We had skipped lunch the day before. I also spent $10 on paying fees for my four school-age children who were stranded at home due to unpaid fees. Finally, I spent $10 on water, which is in short supply due to the prolonged drought."

"I can no longer perform strenuous tasks, such as working on a farm, due to my advanced age. I own a small kiosk where I sell fresh produce and wild fruits. I can feed myself with the little I make each day (200). But occasionally I have bad business days and don't bring in any money. My youngest son helps me take care of my needs by working as a "jua Kali" artisan, fixing electronics and producing goods out of iron chips. My son and I were both experiencing financial difficulties due to poor returns from our individual businesses when I got my first transfer. I bought food with a significant portion of my transfer, which was $8. I survived on water for the previous two days, so this was enough of a guarantee that I wouldn't sleep on an empty stomach again. In addition, I spent the $4 in leftover cash on a hen. The fact that the hen will multiply and increase my initial investment makes it a wise investment."