"We usually come together as a family every December where we celebrate by slaughtering a goat and chicken. I was worried that last year will not be the same because I did not have enough money but my children surprised me. They came together and contributed enough money to take care of all the expenses and the remaining money after the budget helped with some small repairs in the house. This brought joy and happiness into my life because I never knew that all will happen."

"For us to get water, we are forced to trek or even hire the services of a motorcyclist. This was costly and time-consuming. I, therefore, decided to resolve this by using KES 12000 from the cash transfer I received from give directly to install water in my compound. In addition to this, I settled the KES12400 fee arrears my two sons and grandchild had. I also bought my monthly dose of the ulcer condition I have. I then got to buy two goats and two chickens to improve my farming practices and finally, I bought a sack of maize using the remaining amount."

"The transfer has brought a big difference in our lives as a family. This is because we have managed to achieve our goal of building another modern kitchen and buying more chickens for rearing. These are the things that we never thought we will be able to achieve soon since we didn't have the money. The chickens have helped me a lot. I usually gather the eggs into a tray and sell them. The money that I get helps me in paying the merry-go-round group contributions. These contributions have been of great help to me. I managed to build a chicken house with the lump sum amount that I got one time when it was my turn to receive it. Other than that, we now own a sheep which is going to help us in the future when it will have reproduced and multiplied in number. We can sell some of them and buy a cow. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for everything."

"I spend KES 28,000 on purchasing w heifer. This was one of our main priorities since we wanted to get enough milk in the future doe the family and sell the surplus to earn some income. Spend KES 4,500 on purchasing 15 hens. I have started a poultry project and this was an addition. Currently, I have 45 hens, I sell the eggs to earn some income to meet the basic needs of the family and feed my cows. I spend KES 4,000 on purchasing chicken feeds and saved 15,000 planning on purchasing two goats. This is one of the best investments since goats reproduce twice per year. This helps in case of emergencies since it can be sold out faster. The rest of the money I spend on food and clothes for my children."

"Since I had recently bought a plot of land and constructed a shade to dwell in, I saw it prudent to plan around building a nice house for my family to mark as the first house in the new home since the one I had built was just a structure to shelter my family. Therefore, I used KES 20000.00 in buying iron sheets. I also used KES 10000.00 to pay school fees for my children who had been sent out of school due to the fee arrears that had accumulated. Since the season we were in was very dry and getting some food was a challenge, I took KES 5000.00 and did some foodstuff shopping for my family. I also bought a cow for KES 12000.00 and some chicken."

"We spent KES 38000 of our recent transfer on buying a cow. We decided to buy the cow because we didn't have one before. We used to incur the cost of buying milk every day and we use to buy a liter at KES 40. It has always been our wish to own a cow but we didn't have the money to buy one. I usually engage in doing casual work to earn a living while my husband is casually employed as a security guard. The money that we make from our hustles is not much, it is usually only enough to buy food and some essential household items such as sugar, soap, salt, etc. Other than that, we spent some amount buying chickens for rearing. We had some that we used to rear but unfortunately, they got attacked by some disease and they died. We hence decided to buy others because the chickens were of great help to us. I use to sell the eggs and get money for buying the essential household items. We also spent some money on tilling our land and planting maize. We also bought some utensils that were missing in our household and some clothes for the children. We saved the remaining amount so that we could use it whenever we are faced with an emergency. We are thus grateful to GiveDirectly for their support."

"I spent most of my transfer to renovate my house which was collapsing, it was shaking on one side which was risky and always kept me worried. I spent KES 24,000 to purchase the building materials like 6 bags of cement, building sand, 20 building poles and paid the labour cost. Currently, I am happy that I am living in a decent and stable house. Furthermore, I spent KES 2400 to start poultry rearing by purchasing 6 chicken for the beginning. This is a long-term investment as well as a source of income for my family. Additionally, I bought new clothes for KES 3500 for every family member since we did not have enough clothes to change. The remaining amount assisted me in purchasing food because we are encountering famine in our area."

"I am a charcoal burner, and my husband is unemployed with seven children. Our life is a struggle and food and education are our biggest challenges because of the inconsistence flow of income. I spent KES 10,000 on buying a mattress because have been sleeping on the floor for the longest time. One son, who was a candidate, was joining a secondary school and used KES 9200 for school fees and rent to his hostel, and a weekly allowance for food. I sent my brother KES 5000, who needed my support with his university fees. I started poultry farming with KES 2000 for nine chickens. I also used KES 2500 to pay school fees debt for the other six children in primary school. The remaining cash bought foodstuff for KES 10,000 and am left with some for my daily upkeep."

"Receiving this money means investing in poultry farming because this is the only project that I can maximize my time on it. In addition, this project does not require more energy as compared to other livestock like goats or cows. With these transfers, it will enable me to buy some chicken and also construct a cage for them. Since there is a good market in our nearby town, Mariakani, I am so confident in reaping a huge profit. The profit from this project will directly help me to meet my very basic needs like food and clothing."

"I have experience of 1 year in operating a poultry project but it collapsed due to inadequate capital. This has equipped me with favorable skills and confidence and I desire to restart the project once I receive this money. Considering the local breeds are disease resistant, I prefer to buy 10 chickens at 200 KES every month, especially in the first 7 months of transfers. This will be a good start and since there is the availability of a ready market at my workplace, I will be supplying them. This will earn me an extra income to cater to my family's needs. Hence, this is generally what receiving this money means to me."