"Receiving the first transfer was the best thing to ever happened in my life. This was the first time in my life after such a long time receiving such a huge amount. With my family of seven with all my five sons in school, it has been a struggle ensuring that I meet all their financial obligations both in school and at home. This has brought all the projects to a halt since I could not run any other parallel project. On receiving the first transfer, it was a great opportunity for me to construct a new house as we had been dependent on one small house as the main living room beside an old kitchen. It was getting smaller since my sons always need a better space to complete their school assignments. I used KES35000 from the money I received on constructing a new house after buying 26 iron sheets and paying the labor force. I also spent KES 10000 of the remaining amount on obtaining a bullock to add to the lactating cow I had been rearing. I have a plan to keep it and will be selling it out once it has grown enough to gather for the school fees. I spent the remaining KES 9000 on obtaining enough foodstuff for the household as we had been buying in small quantities that were quite expensive compared to obtaining in bulk."

"The biggest hardship that I have faced is financial constraints. I did not get to finish my college education because my family did not have money to pay school fees. I had to drop out and be a board teacher so that I can save for my school fees and also support my husband."

"I spent KES 30,000 to purchase a Dairy cow. I used to buy milk daily and this was so costly. I am able to saved the money that I could have used to buy milk to spend on other household items. I paid school fees for my children in primary school.I started a business of selling maize. Currently I have enough stock to run my business so well. The rest of the money I bought food and clothes for my children. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have paid my college fees. I study at a teacher's college in Bomet. I do study during the weekends. I am also a teacher at a nearby private school. I had so many arreas at the collage, this was making me worried because it could have stopped me from during some exams. I do teach at a private school, The salary that I get is so small and cannot enable me to clear the fees. My spouse does casual jobs in the village and the money that he gets is for the basic needs of the family. When I received the transfer from GiveDirectly I felt so happy because I knew I would pay the school fees. Currently I have peace of mind because I know I will sit for my final college examination. Were it not GiveDirectly this could not have happened. We are so grateful for the support because it has brought us hope and faith that all the plans we have as a family will be achieved."

"Low rainfall in this region has led to drought. It is thus very common for us to skip meals up to two times a day. Water has also become very expensive due to its scarcity. A 20 litre jerican would normally be KES 5 but it now costs up to KES 50. All the income I struggle to earn, about KES 8000 a month, thus goes into buying food and water. This leaves me with little money to satisfy other needs like paying school fees. This puts me in a really hopeless situation making food insecurity my biggest hardship."

"Receiving this money means access to education for my children. I have a family of eight children. One finished class eight but has not transitioned to secondary school due to lack of school fees. Four are in primary school and three are still very young. Raising these children has really been difficult because I do not have a stable source of income. I depend on charcoal burning business which earns me less than 1000 KES a month. This money is not enough to meet the basic needs of my children. They have been on and off school due to lack of school fees. Upon receiving this money, I will use the first cash transfer to pay all the arrears in school and pay college fees for my first born to study a technical course. I will use the second transfer to buy beddings because we sleep on the ground which is not safe in case a snake gets into the house and the rest start a small business to generate income for my family."

"The biggest hardship I have ever faced in life is lack of money. I have two children who are school going. Clearing their school fees and also catering for their needs is a challenge for me. The money I get from my business of selling alcohol is not enough to sustain us all. Almost all of the money goes into buying food. I have also been unable to go to the hospital due to the lack of funds. I have a thorax problem that is yet to be diagnosed."

"Receiving this money means a decent life, good education for my children and food security. I am planning to use 30,000 KES to buy 3 beds and 3 mattresses. One bed for me, one for my son and the other one for my 3 daughters. This is because we have been sleeping on the floor with traditional mats for about 5 years. Due to the failed rainfall, we have failed to produce maize in our farms, this has made it difficult in the provision of food for my family of 6 children. To cover up for this problem of food insecurity, I am planning to buy 10 goats at a total cost of 25,000 KES. Once the goats grow and even increase in number, I will sell them at around 4,000 KES per goat. I wil use this income to buy foodstuffs. I am also planning to use 5,000 KES to clear school fees arrears for my 5 children and use 5,000 KES to pay for the next term fees. For the rest of the money, I will use it to buy food and sort other family needs as they arise. Needs such as medical bills."

"I spent KES 25,000 to pay school fees for my child who was joining form one. This was the biggest challenge that we had. We are so grateful for the support because we were able to pay on time. I have bought building materials ready to build a better house for my family, I am planning to start this soon. I bought wire and fence my farm to prevent neighbor's cows from destroying my crops. The rest of the money I bought food and clothes for my children. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has enabled us to do all this activities successful."

"Receiving this money means continued education to my grand children. I am a widow staying with my two grand children whose parents divorced.I plan to achieve this through livestock keeping. I will spend 40000 KES to buy three indigenous cow and five goats. As the livestock multiple I will sell them at a profit and use the earnings to pay school fees, uniforms, stationary etc.The remaining amount will help me to purchase three beds and mattresses as well as other basic needs such as food."