"We had been living in a single room with y family of six that was so small and could not accommodate everybody, especially at night. The receipt of the first transfer was a relief and gave me hope of making my family proud by constructing a new house. I spent KES 23000 on construction materials, including iron sheets, building poles, and nails, and also met the labor cost during the construction of a new house. My family and I now live in a spacious house. I also cleared a debt of KES 5000 that I had with my neighbor, paid tuition fees for my children worth KES 3000, obtained a water container that has been useful in collecting rainwater worth KES 1000, and also a new material meant for the school uniforms for my children worth KES 3000. I also needed a mixer and was lucky to obtain one from a neighbor worth KES 15000. The machine is useful for mixing cement and sand during the construction and decoration of the floors and I am looking forward to making the construction work we had been doing easier. I spent the remaining KES 4000 on foodstuff for my family that we are still using to date."

"We are always hit with frequent water shortages in our region and to curb this problem in my household, I purchased a 1000L water storage tank. My aim is to harvest rainwater during the rainy season. When the taps fail to produce water, then I have an alternative source of water once the tank is full. I will not be forced to travel over long distances daily in search of water. I will also be saving the money that would have been used to buy water daily. Having the tank also means that I will have enough water for my domestic use, which makes it to be the biggest difference in my daily life."

"I was on my way heading to fetch water because it was quite scarce in my area, and that is when I saw the notification informing me that GiveDirectly had finally sent out the donation. I was so overwhelmed with excitement because I was struggling financially at that moment and I finally felt like my prayers had been answered."

"I immediately withdrew the transfers and ensured that I paid tuition fees for my daughter because she has been out of school for over three days due to a debt in tuition fee that I was yet to settle, so I ended up KES 15,000 so that she could finally resume classes. Afterwards I went ahead and used KES 11,200 and purchased three goats because I had always intended to grow my farm and get more farm animals. I also bought a water tank of ten thousand litres and deposited KES 8,000 as an initial payment because water was scarce so I wanted to pump water and begin selling it back in the village. As for what I was left with I paid KES 50 per day for over forty days because I was paying for solar panel that I had acquired and had come to an agreement with the seller to pay for it gradually in installments. Lastly I used the remaining funds to sort out nutrition because drought was upon us making nutrition quite a predicament occasionally."

"I decided to use the funds to help renovate my house especially since it looked like it was about to collapse over the foundation being swept away by heavy rain during the rainy season since it was a mud house. Therefore I purchased twenty two pieces of iron sheets for KES 29,000 and timber worth KES 5,150. I was planning to replace my previous grass thatched roof with the iron sheets since they were long lasting and waterproof. Afterwards I decided to settle tuition debts for my children so I paid KES 8,000 in tuition fee for my children since it had been three weeks since they were out of school and bought then brand new school uniform which cost me KES 2,400 .Apart from that, I also bought a solar panel since I wanted better and proper lighting in my house and I paid a deposit of KES 7,000 for the panel a. As for what was left, I used the funds to ensure my family and I always had a meal."

"it was around 6 Pm I had gone to collect water, and when I come back to check my phone there was a message from GiveDirectly confirming that I have received KES 55,000. I felt so happy because I have never received such an amount of money before. I was at home with my children and we all celebrated with joy. I knew I would be able to purchase a tailoring machine for my daughter who had just cleared a tailoring course. I went and withdraw from the meeting the following day and started to plan with my family members. I am grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I now have a water supply on my homestead. Initially, I used to strain and could walk for a long distance of 10KM to fetch water which was tiring. It has been affecting me healthwise, especially the unending headaches. Apart from that, it was not safe at all because of the dangerous animals that have been hanging around the dams. I feel there is a relief for now because I do not have to walk all those miles like before. To add to that, I have started a new business of selling water to my neighbours and generating an income. I have now been able to take good care of my six children without straining unlike before whereby I used to sell charcoal for them to eat."

"The biggest difference in my daily life today is that I was able to acquire new professional skills with the transfer that I got. With it, I am hopeful that I would be able to look for a more reliable job or any of the government jobs since I have a certificate now. Secondly, we have plenty of water for our daily consumption thus, saving time that we used to waste in looking for it. The organization has lifted my life positively and also empowered me financially and I am forever grateful."

"It was around 5 pm when I was warming some water to bathe my children when I received a message on my phone. I took the phone to confirm what kind of information it was; only to find that it was the first transfer from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and thankful for receiving the money at a time when the drought was taking its shape."

"It was early in the morning when I left home to the lake to fetch some water leaving my phone in the house. I left it because I usually do not have early morning calls. When I returned at around 7am, I found a message on my phone. Upon checking, this was the best message I have ever received. It was the promised transfer of KES 55000.00 from GiveDirectly. Due to the happiness that engulfed me, I knelt down and prayed a thankful prayer to the Almighty God for connecting me with GiveDirectly."