"The receipt of the first transfer came as a relief as it marked the beginning of my journey towards achieving the dream of having water installed in my house. This was my plan the moment I was informed that I would be receiving monthly support from GiveDirectly. It was at 9 pm when I received a confirmation message of the receipt of the transfer. It did not come as a surprise since I was expecting it to help me achieve the plans I had in place. I felt happy and gained more trust in the organization for fulfilling its promise."

"I have a new goal which is to purchase a big plastic water tank. I believe by having it, will be of help since we have been experiencing a prolonged water shortage in my village. I will be in a position to store water and even sell to my neighbours and generate an income since I am jobless. I will not only benefit from my domestic usage but also as a source of earnings."

"I am a subsistence farmer in the village and am widowed. I rely on my older kids to look after me. Prior to the drought, I farmed a tiny area of the land where I cultivated maize and vegetables. The farm produced enough food, and I sold what little was left on the market to make a little money. However, this is no longer the case; I can now barely get by on one meal a day. We get our food from the shops, which is quite expensive and beyond my means. My first transfer ended my agony, so I was thrilled to receive it. I went two days without eating anything, only surviving on hot water and wild fruits. To get me through the next five days, I purchased three packets of maize flour, one kilogram of sugar, and one liter of cooking oil."

"I only realized I had received the money when I came back from fetching water from the well and I was really excited especially because I needed the money and I was almost getting kicked out of school so I felt really stressed out and stranded."

"I received a message alert at 4 p.m. when I was relaxing with my friend after returning from the stream where we had gone to fetch water. Since I cannot read, she offered to review the message contents for me and confirmed that Give Directly had sent me money. I was relieved because after sleeping hungry the night before, my children would have something to eat that evening."

"After achieving most of my goals with help of the transfer, I have a new goal which is to connect tap water to our home. At the moment, I am forced to travel a long distance every morning to collect water for household consumption. Walking for more than 15 kilometers while carrying 20 liters of water on my head is a very tiresome experience for me. In addition, it is not enough for washing and cooking for the family. On the other hand, my ambition is to renovate our structure by constructing an additional room. The one we own is very small with a single room which is hardly enough to accommodate our family of 5 members and the household Items."

"Since getting clean water has been an uphill task for my family and I, but anytime it rains the water always go into waste. I therefore, decided to invest in a water tank that has been helpful in storage of clean water for my family's consumption. We no longer struggle to look for clean water as it is now available. Besides, I bought 10 bags of cement which will come in handy when cementing my house which I constructed using the proceeds from the first transfer. Additionally, my children's school fees arrears got sorted. Finally, my family of seven also had an opportunity to change diet as well. Being a charcoal vendor and my husband a casual labourer, achieving the stated dreams would have been a dream were it not for GiveDirectly cash transfer program since whatever we do get most of the time is only enough to take care of the family needs. Thanks to GiveDirectly."

"That evening, I had just returned home from fetching water when I switched on my phone and immediately received a message notification. Upon confirming its contents, I realized that Give Directly had sent my first transfer. I was swept by a wave of excitement because I knew the money would help settle school fees for my two children."

"I received the transfer at around 3 p.m. when I was fetching water at the stream. A wave of relief rushed over me because I had been worried since the previous day after my friends told me they had received their transfer, while I had not. I was excited at the thought of clearing my son's school fees and getting him back to school after a day of missing classes."

"I received the transfer at 4 p.m. while I was selling half-cakes by the water stream in my village. I skipped with happiness because I had not sold anything to help raise money for the food that day. The money lifted a weight off my shoulders. At that moment, I felt the sun burns and dust I had experienced all day wear me off as a result of the excitement."