"I spent part of my first transfer on buying some iron sheets, several building poles, threads, and timber at 300 USD. This was purposely for the construction of a new house because the current had collapsed and I have been sheltering at my relative's house. Also, I bought stationery and cleared school fees for my son who just joined the secondary school last week at a total cost of 200 USD. With the 50 USD that had remained, I bought foodstuffs for my family which has enabled us to at least take at least two meals in a day."

"Raising up my six children with very little income is what has been my biggest hardship. As a parent, it really hurts to see my children go hungry, wear worn out clothes or being sent home from school due to lack of school fees. This has been my predicaments ever since I got married. I depend on my husband who is a mason earning as little as 8 USD a day; to make matters worse, this jobs are sometimes not available. Getting to satisfy the basic needs has been an uphill task."

"Receiving this money means improving my standards of living. My wife died in the year 2003. Since then I have been living a miserable life because I have no one to take care of me. I want to marry a wife who will take care of me and also give me company. The dowry will cost Ksh.70000. I will use the remaining amount to pay school fees for my son who is in college. He wants Ksh.50000 per term."

"Receiving this money means continued education to my children. This is because I am planning to spend $300 of my first transfer to buy 10 goats. As the goats multiple, I will sell them at a profit and use the proceeds for school fees, uniforms, stationery, etc. For the rest of my transfer, I will use it to building a house and purchase 2 mattresses and beds."

"I spent part of the money I received from GiveDirectly on fencing my land to prevent neighbor's cows from destroying my crops. I also paid school fees for my child who is in primary school. I also invested some money in my fast food business. This business earns me an income to meet other basic household needs. Finally I bought food and clothes for my children. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard."

"Paying school fees for my son in secondary school is what I have been struggling a lot. Receiving this money therefore means that I will be able to pay his school fees and realize his dream of joining college and getting employment. I have arrears amounting to 150 USD and he is on the verge of being sent home. I struggle a lot since I depend on casual jobs and selling firewood as a source of livelihood. My house is also in a bad condition. It is so tiny, the walls are falling off and the roof leaks during the rainy season. This is a health risk for me especially during the rainy season. I therefore plan to spend another 150 USD to build a better house with two rooms and new iron sheets."

"Receiving this money means I will finish building my house, I will use 40,000 shillings to buy new iron sheets and timber to change the whole roof of my house. I will spend 20,000 shillings to pay for my children school fees for both who are in primary and secondary school level and spend the rest to buy two indigenous cows worth 30,000 shillings and the rest 10,000 will be my emergency money for my family."

"Receiving this money means self employment and investment for me. For the past five years, my biggest ambition was to start a business of selling second hand clothes in my community. For the first transfer, I will use 20,000 shillings to buy second hands clothes and 5,000 Kenyan shillings to rent premises for the business. I will be reselling the clothes at profit. I will earning a profit of approximately 100 Kenyan shillings per piece of cloth sold. I will then combine the remaining money of the first transfer and the second transfer to buy 10 goats. The goats will be like an investment for me. My 4 children are still young, the eldest is 8 years old. By the time they will be ready for higher formal education, the goats will have multiplied. I will sell the goats and get money to pay school fees for my children."

"Receiving this money means a decent house and good education for my children. My biggest aspiration is to own a decent house and see my 5 children excel in their education. For the past five years, my wife, my two children and I, have been living in a house that leaks during the rainy season. The moment I receive the first transfer, I will use 10,000 Kenyan shillings to seal the leaking points and replace the old iron sheets on the roof. By doing so, I will have sorted my first goal. The remaining amount of the first transfer, together with the second transfer, will go straight into school fees of my five children. I will use 35,000 Kenyan shillings to pay school for the whole year to one child who is in secondary school. The remaining amount will help me clear the school fees of the remaining 4 children who are in primary school."

"I am married to my lovely husband, who works in Mombasa as a masonry. Together, we have four children, three whom are in school. With the little earnings he makes from his job, we consolidate it with what I get as a subsistence farmer to feed ourselves and as well pay for our children's school fees. Since the income is not peanut, it has been difficult for us to save enough inorder to build a dignified house. Our house is leaking whenever it heavily rains, and also it is not spacious as it is one-roomed. So, with our growing children, we lack privacy as parents. This force us to send our children to their grandparents' house to borrow sleep whenever my husband comes home for a weekend. It's something that is disheartening and I usually feel ashamed for this. So, receiving this money means building a spacious house for my family."