"I had managed to buy a chicken wire when I received the first transfer and even built a poultry house. I was so determined to start a poultry keeping business and when I received the second transfer, I used $50 to buy chicken that I am now keeping in the newly constructed poultry house. I used another $120 to buy flour for the family and another $60 was used to pay school fees for my child who is in grade 2 at a private school. We also received the money at a time that my son had suffered a lot with some strange disease where he complained of regular stomach aches. We had been referred to a better hospital where we were supposed to do a CT scan and when we finally got this money, then we used it to take the baby to hospital. He wass diagnosed with a condition that was later treated and he was discharged. We are so happy as a family that a problem that had persisted for quite a long time is now sorted courtesy of GiveDirectly transfers. The money also brought so much relief to us as a family having received it during tough economic times. My husband had lost his job during the pandemic and since then, we have been relying on odd casual jobs to make ends meet in our family. I am so much grateful and happy for the support. It has brought a smile in my family that had been very rare to see before"

"We have always wanted to start poultry farming which can help us earn disposable income. We are lucky we live next to the Kapkwen market and we can easily leverage the available market. This dream has been in the pipeline but has never seen the light of the day because of a lack of finances. We are halfway glad that finally there is a light at the end of the tunnel now that GiveDirectly cash transfers are in the offing. We intend to use $150 to do the project which includes the construction of the chicken house and the purchase of chicks, and chicken feeds. We will use the rest of the money to build a better kitchen house."

"My husband has been working as a charcoal burner. Lately, it has been a struggle to actually support our family of six children. I also work with him but we hardly make enough to sustain our family. In a week, we only make less than $4 from one bag of charcoal. The business has been on the low and it has been hard to survive and meet all our financial obligations as a family. I live in a one-roomed house that has a leaking roof and have always wanted to expand and build an improved house to fit my family, but with the current situation; it is merely a dream yet to be turned into reality. I spent my transfer of $10 to pay school fees and bought a piece of iron sheets with $10. The remaining $10 bought two chickens and food for the family for two days. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for the support it has given my family"

"In August, I visited my parents whom I had missed for 1 year. The visit provided me the opportunity to bond with my family and I was welcomed well. They prepared different delicacies including roasted meat which I enjoyed most. In addition, they offered me 2 chickens to start poultry keeping back at home which I am now expecting them to multiply soon. What a parental love!"

"One of biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving these payments is that I am now able to eat all the foods that I desired..For example, I am able to eat bread, meat, chicken and drink tea with sugar..In the past, I did not have this privilege as with the little money I had I only focused on buying the food that was cheap just so to satisfy our bodies."

"I am passionate about poultry farming and I have thought about it since last year August. It does not require a lot of space and it perfectly fits my 0.2-acre compound. My husband works as a security officer in Nairobi where he earns $150 per month. This money is not sufficient to meet all the needs of my family and I feel it is time to support him and get some financial burden off his shoulders. I plan to set aside $100 to construct a chicken structure and $ 80 to buy grown chicken. In two months, they will have laid and sat on the eggs to hatch chicks, therefore, multiplying in number."

"When GOD helps me and GiveDirectly sends me the transfer, I will buy a plot of land at USD 810, I also plan to build a house costing USD 540 so that we can access a big shelter to accommodate very thing we have and visitors when they come. I further opt to buy a cow, three goats and five chicken costing USD 270,48 and 27 respectively. I then plan to use the balance to acquire beddings and Untecils to use with my family members."

"After building a strong fence around the chicken coop, I intend to purchase more birds and establish a larger poultry farming that will provide eggs and chicks for sale as an additional source of income. I am optimistic about the clothes business I am running right now, with a large portion of the proceeds going to my savings account. I plan to spend the savings on chicks and feed that needs to be replenished every two weeks. I am relieved that the project is currently manageable, and the few eggs I have been collecting and selling have paid for the majority of the household bills."

"Food security still remains my biggest challenge. I'm a house wife mostly dependent on my husband, but I also involve myself with subsistence farming to some extent alongside keeping chicken and goats. Recently, I also got a job as untrained ECD teacher in a nearby school earning around $50 monthly. This isn't paying so regularly and from that I still have to pay school fees for my niece who's living with me at $10 per academic term. I decided to take her in because I do not have children of my own. My husband on the other hand is a small time professional farmer who does horticulture and maize production through irrigation at River Galana. But I must say it hasn't been a wonderful time for farmers for quite some time. This is because he still has to hire and fuel a generator for watering crops. Whenever he's broke this fails and that translates into low yield which we have experienced for most of this year."

"Right now, I have a new goal of building a kitchen house that will see me start a poultry keeping project. I already bought the building materials using the first transfer and I have set aside some money for the people who will be helping me put up the structure. Once the structure is completed, I will then start buying chicken for keeping in bits. With this poultry keeping project, I will be able to give a helping hand to my husband who makes money through a small business that he runs here at home. Getting money from this project will also make me self reliant and avoid instances where I have to depend on my husband for all the needs."