"Since the rains ceased, life in the community has been challenging. I'm thankful that I can see the end of the tunnel thanks to the transfer funds. I'll be able to take care of my other necessities and buy food with the money. The chickens I purchased are the start of my achieving financial security because as they procreate, my wealth increases considerably."

"I support my family financially alone. My spouse is far too elderly to work. Since my income from selling charcoal is so little, it is difficult for me to support my family. The process of making charcoal is laborious and time-consuming. Each and every two weeks, I sell three bags of charcoal for KES 900. The amount is quite small when compared to the family's necessities, which include covering medical costs, food purchases, and education costs. My son, a secondary school student, was kicked out the day after I received my first transfer owing to unpaid school fees. I spent a total of KES 600 on helping him partially settle his school tuition debt so that he could pick up where he left off with his studies. Additionally, I invested KES 300 on two chickens for the future. To avoid my family being hungry, I ultimately used the remaining money to buy food."

"We have eight children, all in primary school. We do not earn enough money from our casual work to sustain them but still, we give them the best that we can. They are frequently sent back home due to school fees arrears , one thing that does not make us proud as parents because every parent wishes that their children excel in life. They owed the school KES 6000 tuition fee which we cleared with part of our last three months’ transfers. I paid half of it while my husband paid half. I also bought four chickens for rearing worth KES 2000 and used the remaining KES 4000 to purchase enough foodstuffs to sustain my family for quite some time before budgeting for more."

"I spent KES 28,000 on purchasing a heifer. This is because I buy milk and it's so costly for me since I do not have a stable source of income. I will cut this cost when it reproduces in the next few months. I am so happy because I have always wanted to own a dairy cow. I spent KES7,000 on purchasing hens. This is one of the projects that I had always wished to invest in. currently, I am focusing on this because it earns me some income through the sales of eggs. I spent KES 3,000 on purchasing a chain link wire. I have fenced my compound nicely and this also prevents my hens from destroying my crops. The remaining amount of money I spent on chicken feeds and food for my family."

"In the first place I will buy 3 bags of fertilizer and apply in my maize field which is about 1.5 acres. This would give a guarantee that next year I will have sufficient food stock. Next I would buy livestock like 2 goats and some chicken. These would come in handy in future as I have always wanted to venture into livestock selling business and I feel like these funds would help me start up that business."

"I used Kes 30000 to build a poultry house and used the remaining amount to buy poultry and food for my family. Poultry keeping has been a project that I have always wanted to implement but due to scarcity of resources I have not been able to implement it. I am extremely happy because out of the 30 chicken that I own, I collect not less than 60 eggs per week and the income from this has just been of great benefit to us. I have offered a helping hand to my husband who works as a casual labourer to make ends meet and this has made our life very interesting and much more affordable."

"My new goal is to be able to improve my businesses in order to make more money and be in a position to pay school fees for my children in time. I do poultry keeping and right now I have 50 chicken that I keep. My goal is to see the project improve and I am looking forward to keeping up to 100 chicken. This investment will see is pay school fees much more comfortably than we now do and hence the overall goal of seeing our children get the best in terms of education shall be achieved. We have three children with the first one having just started school."

"I love farming and the support which I got from GiveDirectly came in handy with my plans. It enabled me to add more livestock and build structures to accommodate them. I spent KES 40000 on buying two cows which they have now reproduced. I then spent KES 5000 on buying them chickens and another KES 5000 on buying a sheep. The remaining amount of KES 3000, I spent on buying building materials for constructing a poultry house. I am glad that GiveDirectly empowered my farming and I am so happy for the support."

"I rely on splitting and selling firewood for a living. Due to the low demand, I can only make up to KES 600 per week from the sales. This amount barely provides enough meals for a week, considering the high food prices. Sometimes, things get so rough that I ask my two sons, working as hawkers in town, to chip in for food. When I received the transfer, my household had run out of food the previous four days and I had gone to bed hungry consecutively. As a result, prioritized purchasing food worth KES 960. Also, I spent KES 100 on a chicken to mark the start of investment through the cash transfer. When this bird breeds, I will sell the chickens to meet my financial obligations. Finally, my two grandchildren were sent home to collect examination fees two days after I received the money. Since their parents were yet to raise the funds, I gave them the remaining amount to clear the debt and take their tests."

"My palm wine selling business has not been picking well during this drought season since the palm trees are drying up. I make so little profits that can barely put food on the table for a family of seven people. So, the moment I received the cash transfer from Give Directly, I channeled KES 650 towards maize flour because the household had run out of food. I spent KES 2,000 on two pieces of iron sheets for a new house. My current house is in poor condition. The grass-thatched roof that has decayed over time, lets in rainwater which dampens the mud floor. I intend to assemble around 20 pieces of iron sheets before constructing the new two-room house to accommodate my family. I used the remaining amount to buy a chicken. The goal is to start rearing again after my chickens perished following a contagious disease that spread across the flock."