"We normally have a big water problem in this area because it's semiarid and so for most of the year it's drought. This means that we have to travel around five kilometers to access water points that normally not even clean water for drinking. Our only water sources here are ponds and water pans which offer stagnant water used both for animals and domestially. This results in extreme impurities that some times leads to outbreak of water bone diseases."

"As I was from fetching water at around 7.30 am, when I saw a friend of mine who asked me if I had received the promised transfer from GiveDirectly. I was not very sure since I had left my phone in the house. I walked in to confirm and it was true I had not been left out of the program. I felt so happy since it was my first time receiving such a huge amount of money for the first time. The highest amount I had ever received before was KES 30000.00."

"Receiving this money means a safer house for my family. I am a widow, my husband died over 2 years ago. Life has been tough since my spouse departed this life because I was left with 2 children to take care of. I depend on a charcoal-burning business that earns me as little as KES 3000- 4000 per month. This money is very minimal to cater to all our family needs. My house is in bad condition; the walls are almost falling off and water seeps under the roof during the rainy season. This creates unfavorable living conditions for my family and it's a shame to me especially when I receive visitors. To get out of this situation, I will use KES 40,000 to build a two-bedroom house with an iron sheet roof. This house will be spacious enough and decent to accommodate my family comfortably. The remaining amount will be invested in my children's educational needs."

"Our area has been affected by drought which has caused by shortage of rain. This has brought lack of water and pasture for the livestock. I have to walk 2 kilometers to the nearest water pan. Lack of food is also another challenge whereby I can go up to two days without food. This has affected my health as I am growing weak everyday."

"I am a single mother of 2 boys. They are both in secondary school and I struggle to fend for them. Receiving this money will bring a paradigm shift in my life, top on the list is to build a better kitchen. The one I have at the moment is small, old, and dilapidated. It seeps water through and during the rainy season, we suffer a lot since we cannot cook in it as a result of the aforementioned. I feel so bad about the situation and there is not much I can do to salvage the situation since I do not have the needed money. I am so excited that this help has come at such a time like this, it will bring me a new lease of life since I will be able to build a modern iron-roofed kitchen. I intend to use KES 25000 for its construction and the rest of the money to pay for school fees and if it will remain I will use it to buy clothes."

"I was once attacked by thieves when I was working as a security officer in one of the companies in Mombasa and since then my life changed. I can no longer do any casual work to earn a living, I now depend on my wife and this has been disturbing me mentally. Culturally, it is the wife who needs to depend on the husband and not vice versa. My wife is working in Mombasa and I have to use a motorist to fetch water for me, with the rise in petrol prices, my motorist also raised the charges from150 KES per trip to 300KES which have made me at times sleep without taking a shower and repeating my clothes without washing them."

"Lack of a reliable source of income has been the biggest challenge. My main economic activity is charcoal burning business which pays very little amount of money. A sack of charcoal is sold at KES 350. In a week I can only make four or five due to lack of trees for this business. All the profit I earn is solely used for food and water. Besides I have four children in school. More often, they are sent home for lack of school fees . What pains my heart is when they cry seeing their friends going to school every day as they remain at home with me. I intend to fix this by using KES 30000 from givedirectly to clear the fee balances. I will then use the remaining amount to start livestock farming which does well in our village as an income generating activity for my children education."

"I had just gotten home from fetching water and then went to check my phone to see who tried to contact me. It was then that I saw a message confirming that I had received my transfer. This caught me by surprise, as in my entire life, never had I imagined or even planned to get such an amount of money. I was ecstatic. I told my children not to be worried about getting food that day because I now had the money and we rejoiced together. However, it was late, and there were no m-Pesa shops around. I talked to the shopkeeper to allow me to buy some flour on credit. Since I was not sure if she will agree to my request, I informed her that I had received my funds from give directly but could not withdraw. She consented. I went ahead to prepare a meal for my children. The next day I woke up early and went to withdraw the funds."

"Receiving this money means continuing education for my children. I have a family of 4 children, two in secondary school and 2 in primary school. Paying their school fees has been a challenge for me. This is because I depend on small businesses of selling fast food. The earned from this job is as little as KES 200-300 per day which is not enough to pay school fees as well as provide food for them. My husband is very old and he can not work anymore. I will use KES 50000 to clear their school fees for this term. My house is old, worn out and the walls are almost falling out and I am always stressed during rainy seasons as water seeps from the roof. This creates an unfavorable living conditions for my family. I will use KES 30,000 to renovate my house. This will give me peace of mind."

"The biggest challenge I am currently facing is lack of money to meet my family's needs such as water, food and education. This really pains me and seeing my children home because I have been unable to pay their school fees is traumatizing."