"Before the Covid 19 pandemic, I was employed in Taita Taveta at a mining site getting a pay of $90 a month. This money would help me pay for food and pay school fees for my family. When Covid 19 was declared a pandemic, I was laid off and since then I have been at home. With the savings I had accumulated from my previous job, I started a business selling chicken in an open market every week. I buy one at $3 hen rear it for a period and sell it for 500. The profit from the business would help in settling house bills. I have seven children, three are toddlers who have not yet started school and four are in a government school. I pay $31 a term for all the children which have been a challenge before but receiving this money has enabled me to pay school fees without strain as I take care of other bills such as food and water."

"Givedirectly is doing a great job helping us, right now we are in a drought season and livestock are dying due to lack of food and water. Most of the villagers are using the money to buy food which we are grateful for."

"I was frustrated when all of my documents and dried meat bag left in the water. But I was over joy when I heard about GD. Because in my whole life I have never heard about such gesture. So the joyful thing that ever happened to me is the arrival of GD in my community."

"I separated from my husband five years ago and have been responsible for raising my children, including paying their school fees, clothing them, and providing daily food. This has not been easy, but I am grateful for the assistance provided by GiveDirectly.  I spent $9 after receiving the second $30 transfer to buy a piece of iron sheet that I used to repair my current house. The small holes that allowed water to enter during the rainy season are no longer a factor. I also helped my daughter get home from school, who needed $10 for transportation. I spent $5 of the remaining funds on groceries for my current family of five. This supplemented the meager earnings from the charcoal business I have been running in the village. In addition, I spent the last $6 on school fee arrears and examination fees for my four primary school children. I am relieved that they are doing well in school and are not being sent home as frequently."

"Boosting my goat farming has always been the longing that I had for almost a year now. This is a very profitable venture and it is easy to operate compared to cattle which are prone to harsh weather conditions. I spent $27 of the most recent transfers to acquire one goat. Currently, I own two goats that I would sell they reproduce to support me financially whenever I face any challenge in the future. I also used the remaining amount to acquire food and water for myself since we are experiencing drought at the moment."

"Prior to getting the transfers from Give Directly, it was extremely difficult for me to make ends meet. I could only buy one meal with the meager $2 per day I made selling charcoal. I have to spend a significant portion of my income buying water at extremely high prices as a result of the negative effects of the drought. I am thankful for the unconditional transfers I received, which allowed me to have plenty of food to eat at home. The biggest difference in my life since the transfer has been that I no longer experience hunger."

"After receiving the transfers from the Organization I decided to deposit KES 2000 into my savings account. The reason behind this is the fact that I have the intention to save up some money so that I could eventually buy iron sheets to finally renovate the roofing of my house which at the moment it is grass thatched who is always in need of repairing making it costly. Later on I was left with a balance of KES 1,000 and saw it fit to spend on nourishment due to the predicament in hunger. I purchased five packets of maize flour, sardines and drinking water as well because it was scarce."

"Life is becoming so difficult day by day because of the prolonged drought. The water that we used to fetch for free before, you really have to buy it at 25 Kenya shillings for a litre and If you have no plans of buying it, you have to walk for kilometers to get it because the source that we used to get water from is now dry. The money I got from GiveDirectly I was able to use all of it to purchase food and water. I bought food at 2000 Kenya Shillings and water at 1000 Kenya Shillings. The time I received my transfer I was in a bad state and the day before I received my transfers, we actually had to sleep hungry because we had no money to purchase any food. The moment I received my transfer I couldn't wait any longer rather than go buy food and water for my kids and put that beautiful smile back on their faces. I had cleared their school fees so I had nothing to worry about other than what they would have to eat. The prolonged drought is really bringing harm and life is becoming so unbearable."

"I work as a casual Labor in the construction site, however, last month, my job was very slow due to lack of water. It is 5 years since we last had it rained due to prolonged drought. My daily earnings of $ 5 is never enough to support the family's entire demands such as food and paying my mother's medical expenses which are quite expensive. I spent part of my transfer of $ 10 to pay for the merry-go-round contribution which assisted me in paying my children's fees . I am grateful for the support since my children have never been sent out of school again. This brought harmony to the family as my children became more hardworking, especially my firstborn in class 4. Furthermore, I joined  Imarika Sacco and paid $ 15 and I have been saving monthly. I joined the Sacco two years ago but opted out due to financial constraints. This was my own decision as I wanted somewhere to get a loan in the future to help me accomplish my goal. The savings also earns interest hence serving as future investments. I spent the remaining $ 5 on food for the family, this improved the health of the family greatly, at least the family don't go a whole day without a meal like in the past. I am not able to express the happiness I have in my heart but it is all written in my heart and my face."

"We used KES 35000 to purchase a water tank and used the amount that remained to buy food and other basic household needs. Made a decision to buy a water tank because of the perennial shortage of water. I do not have access to clean drinking water and I looked forward to purchasing it. I have a small piece of land and I cold not dig a pan. GiveDirectly came when I was building a new house and was thinking of how to get money for furnitures. I normally work as a businesswoman and the little that I got was used to pay back loans that I had borrowed."