"Receiving this money means a better house for my family. This is because I am now living in a house that is not in good condition, the iron sheets are old and need replacement. I am planning to spend KES 40,000 on the renovation as well as buying one bed and a mattress. I will use KES 15,000 of the second transfer to buy five goats. As they multiply I will sell at a profit and address any emergency that will arise. The remaining amount will help me clear school fees for my granddaughter and other basic needs such as food and water." (Occupation: Small business)

"Food Security has been a big challenge in my house for a long time now. My age and the unreliable source of income has been a big pain since am unable to provide for myself and my family. On average, am able to earn about 1000KSH in a month. This amount is not enough to cater for my health issues and other basic need." (Occupation: Small business)

"Receiving this money means fulfilling my long-term dream of owning a food kiosk. I already have the necessary skills having worked in a hotel previously for 5 years. I intend to spend KES 10,000 to put up a structure and buy stock for the kiosk. I also plan to use KES 30,000 to build a proper house for my family and pay part of my children's school fees. Any remaining amount will go towards boosting my business and saving for my kids' education." (Occupation: Small business)

"Domestic violence saw me separate from my estranged husband 2 years ago. Thereafter, I had to bear the sole responsibility of raising my 6 children by engaging in charcoal production that gives me at most KES 1800 in 2 weeks. This money is barely enough for food. My eldest child did not get the privilege of going to school because of all these challenges. He now does casual jobs to supplement the family income. My biggest hardship is therefore lack of sufficient income for food, water, education and other basic needs." (Occupation: Small business)

"After losing my job of tailoring, which was my only hope, life has never been easy, because I struggle a lot to sustain my family basic needs such as food and shelter. Currently, I work as a charcoal vendor at our village. The earnings of KES 350 per week is not enough to cater for everything. Therefore, losing my job has been the biggest hardship I have faced in life." (Occupation: Small business)

"I am happy that GiveDirectly came to our village and told us about this program. I am old and I cannot do strenuous jobs like farming all day or even going far from home to look for jobs. I sell maize at Kabisimba centre since this is less strenuous and use the money that I get to feed my husband and I. Receiving this money will mean that I will be able to continue with my business. I will use some amount, KES 15,000 to add more bags of maize and buy a cow with KES 40,000 so that I can also sell the milk that I get from it"

"I have a family of eight children who depend on me. They need to eat, attend school and have shelter. I live in a one bedroom house that is unfinished. The roof leaks when it rains. This house is not enough to accommodate all my eight children. This forces them to borrow shelter from neighbours which is risky especial moving at night. I depend on charcoal burning business which earns me less than 2000 KES a month. This business is not reliable because there are no more trees in the village for charcoal production. Receiving this money therefore means finishing my house and add one more room for my children. I will then use the remaining amount of money to pay school fees for my family." (Occupation: Small business)

"I own a public address system that I manage and is my source of income. I work hand in hand with Inua Jamii Sacco in providing my services when they want to fundraise for its members, and get paid when I do that. Receiving this money will mean that I will be able to expand my business. I want to add another public address system with KES 40,000 of the transfer because my service is high in demand especially on Sundays and this will mean that the income generated will also increase." (Occupation: Small business)

"This transfer has come at a time when I need it. Mine has been a difficult path. I have been through ups and downs. I am a single parent of two girls and I depend on myself. I used to study a certificate course in Community health at Eldoret Technical Training Institute. My education was cut short as a result of my pregnancy, I came home to give birth and I have never resumed since then because my parents refused to pay for my tuition fee anymore. I feel that I have been a burden and a disgrace to my parents. My plan is to enrol back to Chebunyo Technical Institute to study hairdressing so that I can become self-employed. It will cost me KES 80000 to complete the whole course. I will use the rest of the finance to buy a dairy cow." (Occupation: Small business)

"I started my business with a loan of KES 100000 from Juhudi Kilimo microfinance. Repaying the loan has been an headache for me because sometimes the business is bad and cannot generate enough returns to repay the loan and make profits. This has weighed down on me especially during the time of the covid19 pandemic .I almost closed shop since I was expected to repay it with an interest. Business needs a lot of patience and commitment."