"I spent a huge portion of my first transfer on buying some iron sheets at 18000, the building poles 4000, snails, and threads at KES 2000 respectively. This was for the construction of a new house because the previous one was small with a single room and some of my children had to sleep at their friend's and relatives' houses. Apart from that, its roof could leak excessively whenever it could rain and these were the worst days in my life. In addition, I had to spend KES 10000 of the money on paying the mason as his labor cost. I later cleared school fees for my five children at KES 3000 so that they could sit for their exam which was about to start in two weeks. Finally, with the remaining amount of money, I bought sufficient foodstuffs that would at least take us to the next harvesting season and some other household items like utensils."

"Over the last six months, what has brought me happiness and joy is when I got a contract that offer me more money that I used to pay my children school fees."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that the financial support from GiveDirectly has empowered me economically since I own goats that I am currently keeping in my compound. For many years, it's been my desire to at least own livestock but because of the financial difficulties, I could not afford them. I bought these goats because the climatic condition of my region is favorable for them to thrive. They also reproduce twice a year and the offspring mature fast as compared to other domestic animals. My expectation is that by the time my children will be transitioning to high school, they will have multiplied. I will therefore sell the offspring and cater for the school fees. In addition to this, I will also be able to take care of any kind of financial emergency or even the household's basic needs like food. Owning the goats will be a relief because it's a source of household income because I am jobless. My spouse has been the family's breadwinner with a meager income that cannot sustain most of our needs. This makes me believe that having the goats will transform my life and that of my family."

"I have lived in extreme poverty conditions since my childhood days. This can be attributed to the failure of my parents to take me to school because during our childhood days education was perceived as a luxury. With these transfers we would like to spend mostly on housing, clothing and education for my 3 grandchildren who are orphans. These grandchildren were left behind when my daughter died 5 years ago. I will spend KES. 45000 to build them a house, KES. 10000 to buy clothing for all of us. We do not have enough beddings or any warm clothing for me in my old age and also the young children this making us exposed to the cold during rainy nights. The remaining KES. 55000 will help me pay their school fees."

"The biggest hardship is a lack of finances. Over the years I have sold all my cows to pay school fees for my children. Due to minimal income, I have not been able to buy any cows. I strain a lot to put food on my table. My farm is a dry pace, we do not harvest much produce from farming."

"One has no peace of mind when he has some loan that he is supposed to repay especially when he has no means of repaying them and this had been my condition before receiving the transfers. I had borrowed money from some of my neighbors last year and early this year to use in paying school fees for my son but I had not been able to repay them. Due to this, I always made sure that I do not pass a place where I can meet with any of my creditors as I had always promised to repay them without honoring this promise. I am happy since I was able to use my transfer to clear all the debts I had and I no longer live worrying on what to tell my creditors in case I meet with them. This has surely made my life different as I can now go on with my daily activities peacefully."

"Receiving this money means education for my children. I am planning to use KES 70,000 from the GiveDirectly transfer to educate my children. The teachers have been consistently sending my children home to get school fees. Whenever I lack money, they are forced to stay home for more than 10 days something that has really affected their academic performance. Paying their school fees means they will have enough study time in school translating to improved academic performance. I will use the balance to construct a two bedroom house for my family; one bedroom for me and the other bedroom for my children."

"Our region is semi-arid and this makes it very difficult to get food. What I get from my one acre farm lasts me and my family for only 3 months. This means that I have to look for other means to get money in order to buy food. This includes casual jobs and small businesses like selling fried potatoes. This has seen me struggle a lot in providing for the family's needs; not only food but also other needs such as school fees and clothing. Providing for my family especially food is therefore what has been my biggest hardship."

"Receiving this money will help me venture into livestock farming; something that I have always admired. I will start with three cows and three goats. This will cost me around 45,000 Kenya Shillings for the cows and 9,000 Kenya Shillings for the goats. With livestock, my needs such as school fees and emergencies like medical expenses will be well sorted."

"The biggest difference is i have managed to pay my sons school fees,my son is in form 1 and his school fees always gives me headache since i don't have any source of money,I'm now sleeping on a matress and i sleep peacefully this year we will have adequate food for all of us and I'm super grateful."