"Since March 2022, I have been running a cosmetics business, which has always been the basis and primary source of income for my family. Overdependence on it had reduced the stock to the point where I was about to close it down. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for rescuing me with the first transfer, whose $100 replenished the rapidly shrinking stock. The business is now doing well, and I hope to continue expanding with the proceeds I am currently receiving now that I am no longer struggling to feed my family. We decided to pool our resources with a family friend who is also our neighbor to lease an acre of land that is currently under tomato cultivation after a careful discussion with my husband. We spent $50 each and later purchased seedlings, from which we anticipate a bountiful harvest in the next two months. I am hoping to get good market prices and thus use the proceeds later in a new construction project that we plan to start on another piece of land we purchased in a different village. In addition, I spent the remaining $50 on groceries for my family of five."

"The severe drought in our region has paralyzed most agricultural activities to the point where we must buy food from the market, in contrast to the last time we could harvest from our parcels of land. Most households in our village prioritize purchasing food with the first transfer, and we were no exception because we were struggling to provide for our children. I spent $110 immediately after receiving the money on two sacks of maize, which I later transported home for $5 from the shopping center. I have a family of nine, and we are currently down to 20Kg maize, which I am afraid will be depleted within the next week. Despite the fact that mangoes have been a source of income, the oversupply in the surrounding market has lowered prices to the point where we no longer have any buyers. I also purchased three bags of cement for $7 each, which will be used to lay the foundation for the construction of a pit latrine. I've already dug the pit, but the construction part remains, which I hope to finish with the subsequent transfer. In addition, we spent the remaining funds on Christmas celebrations, where we purchased a goat worth $45 and new pairs of clothes for my children, who were overjoyed."

"There's a lot of poverty in the community. Our place is dry and we depend on livestock mainly. The country's economy has also worsened. Prices of commodities are high. There's little to no casual jobs now. In this village, one cannot get any jobs unless you move to the lower part, near lake Bogoria. Irrigation is done there. Due to lack of rains and the fact all farmers depend on irrigation. I can only get at best two days of work in a week. One's paid $2.50 per day. It's difficult sustaining a family with that. When it rains, many people farm and we're able to get plenty of jobs to support ourselves daily. Lack of casual jobs has affected my ability to support family."

"The two biggest issues I'm now facing and hope to resolve by the end of the year are food insecurity and a nicer home. I live in a one-room, mud-walled house with grass thatch roof. Due to the current drought, there is a current shortage of grass, and the few that are available are exceedingly expensive, just like food. I used to be able to sell charcoal for less money because it was my only source of income. I won't be eager to sell them now that I have the monthly funds as extra income. I'll be transporting them out from the village to other markets where the prices are good and burning them in large quantities instead. While the monthly transfers will mostly be used to pay for food and school expenditures, the earnings I will receive from the charcoal will be utilized to support the construction of a new house."

"To fend for our four children and I, my husband works as a carpenter in Mombasa. Every two weeks he sends home $10 for our upkeep, which rarely buys just enough food for that period given the high food prices. In fact, my household had run out of food that afternoon of the cash transfer and my spouse had not sent any money to me. This is why I directed $12 from the most recent transfer towards food. Also, food is exactly how I spent the entire December and November transfers. Supporting my husband gives me so much joy for I know how relieved he usually feels. Also, from the recent transfer, I spent $14 on two chickens. Am glad I got to replace the three chickens that had perished over a pox disease. Rearing these birds will equip me with enough wealth in future that I can use to raise money for my family's needs. I used the remaining $8 to clear school fees for two of my children, which had been brought forward from the previous academic year."

"When I withdrew the money, I prioritized the construction of a house. I bought the building materials and their prices had been hicked after the suppliers knew that we received money from GiveDirectly. Therefore, I bought building poles for $100, 17 iron sheets for $150, and nails and ridges for $60. In the construction process, I spent $120 on the contractor. Currently, I am a happy woman sleeping in a nice secure house. The fear I had due to the state of the initial house is no longer there, courtesy of GiveDirectly. After that, I opted to use the remaining amount for the family's upkeep since getting some food has been a challenge due to poverty."

"Food insecurity is a major problem that has caused us untold pain. We are people of little means who depend on casual jobs which are erratic and hard to come by. The situation, therefore, makes it hard for us to put food on the table and some days we go to bed on an empty stomach. Recently there was an outbreak of fall armyworms that ravaged our maize crops and exposed us to the food insecurity we are currently faced with. We are therefore forced to buy the rare commodity at a nearby Kapkwen market at high prices of $ 2 Per Kg which we struggle to afford because we do not have a sustainable income-generating activity. Life has indeed taken a bad trajectory from bad to worse, it worries us a lot, and we do not have hope to face the next day since the cost of living has gone high almost threefold."

"The largest purchase made with GiveDirectly funds was a one-acre plot of land. I had wished for years to own my own property, and the funds allowed me to do so. Even providing food for our two children and ourselves can be difficult with my husband, who is a local medicine man. As a result, a portion of the funds were also used to stock up on food. My husband and I both work from home, with me sewing men's and women's clothing. My products are reasonably priced; for example, a pair of men's pants costs $3.5 and a dress costs between $2.5 and $4.5, so the prices are reasonable. A portion of the GiveDirectly transfers also went towards the payment of our children's school fees at Katoseni Primary. We pay $10 in fees for our eldest, who is in Grade four , and $10 for our youngest, who is in PP2. The funds arrived at a time when even the maize we normally grow had failed, making everything more expensive everywhere, and it was a great relief to have a financial cushion, thanks to GiveDirectly."

"My family of two wives and eight children solely depend on me to provide for their daily needs like food and school fees. I ride a  motorcycle to raise money for them. However, the $3 that I make daily hardly affords enough meals given the dramatically rising food prices. Even after I buy food, there is nothing left to pay school fees for my children, which is why they are always in debt at school. So, when I received the recent transfer, I paid $10 to the school to reduce the balance that had been carried from last year. I also spent $10 on food to ensure there were enough meals at home to buy me time for raising more money. Next, I paid an installment of $10 to the two-acre piece of land that my family and I relocated to last December. Finally, I bought three chickens with the remaining amount to start rearing. From the transfer I received in December, I spent $19 to pay for the land, $10 to reduce the school fee debt, and $5 to repay a loan I had acquired to buy my motorcycle. "

"I'm a widow and I live in a small, run-down house with grass thatching. My home's walls and roof are both in poor shape. Rainwater is seriously leaking into the house through the rotten coconut leaves ("Makuti") I used as roofing. I must put up with the chilly and cold weather at night because the mud walls of the house have broken. My health has been negatively impacted by this. This is the reason I saved $6 from my January transfers; I'll use it to fix and upgrade my home's condition. To make a living, I primarily rely on working on other people's farms. The severe effects of the drought have rendered the farms completely useless, making this impossible at the moment. Without a source of income, purchasing food from the store at exorbitant prices is the only option for surviving. With the remaining $29, I made bulk food purchases to ensure that I wouldn't go hungry."