"As the primary breadwinner in my family, I rely on casual house construction jobs to make ends meet. My earnings are only enough to feed the family and barely cover other expenses such as school fees. It has been difficult to pay off my son's pending school arrears of KES 15,400. When I received the transfers, I contributed KES 1,500, and with the help of my two wives, we raised a total of KES 8,000 to slice the balance off to KES 7,400. Also, the household was out of food, and I had no money from my hustles, so I spent KES 700 on maize flour. I also spent KES 600 to purchase two chickens for rearing. When these begin to reproduce, I plan to sell them and use the proceeds to pay for my children's education. I used the rest of the money to buy books for the children because the school had just resumed and they did not have any."

"I spent Ksh. 500 of my first transfer to buy two chickens for poultry farming project. I am planning to venture into the project as an investment which can be a good source of income in the near future. When chickens will have reproduce, I'll sell some in case of any financial problem. Currently, I depend on my son for livelihood and he has his own family too to support. I feel taking care of us all is a burden to him, thus I am expecting some good returns from this project to enable me to support myself. I spent the remaining Ksh. 700 on buying foodstuffs such as maize flour to serve us for some weeks. At least I could now afford to take three meals a day unlike before."

"With the prolonged drought we have experienced for two years, food has become scarce and expensive more so, cornflour. There are times when we have to walk for about 30 kilometers in search of it. When I received my second transfer, I had to prioritize it. I, therefore, bought a bundle of cornflour at KES 1500 while the remaining KES 1500 I spent on 5 chickens for rearing. I am a widow with children who depend on me the KES 200 I make daily from the charcoal sale is not enough to meet our needs. My projection is to sell the chickens in the future to raise money for purchasing goats. They are great investments and if goes well then I will sell some of them in the future to help me pay for my household bills, especially my children's school fees. Later on, I will also sell some and later use the money to purchase cows."

"I am a widow who relies on peasant farming as my primary source of income. Since my husband's death, I've been the sole breadwinner for my three children, one of whom is disabled. For the previous two seasons, I have been unable to harvest due to the unpredictable weather pattern, since all of my crops have dried up as a result of severe drought. This has made life a little more difficult for me because I am unable to provide meals for my wonderful children. As a result, as soon as I received my transfer, I set aside KES 1,000 to buy food for my family of four. I am delighted that as a result of the transfer, we have not yet gone for a day without eating this month. I also spent KES 1,000 on buying chicken, which I plan to keep and sell later to boost my other sources of income. Finally, on the merry-go-round, I saved KES 1000. In December, I plan to buy a dairy cow with my savings. I will be able to get milk and sell some to help sustain my family as a result of this. I also bought maize flour, beans, and sugar with the remaining transfer KES 1,000. I did not have any food on that particular day and was merely planning to borrow some."

"I spent all my transfers to acquire sufficient food for myself, this is because I have been sick with severe ulcers. I was advised by the doctor to avoid some food items. I decided to spend the transfer to purchase the required food as recommended by the doctor. Earlier I lacked the financial capacity to obtain them. I am planning to spend the next transfer to purchase more chicken so that I may boost my small-scale poultry farming a reliable source of income for myself. In addition, I intend to use some amount to seek medical assistance."

"My mother and seven children rely on me to meet their basic needs. Because I am unemployed, I make charcoal from tree stumps and sell it to make a living. Because of the low demand, I make at most KES 350 per week from the sale of one sack of charcoal. Since I have a heavy burden of responsibilities, I intend to use the transfers to address them one by one. As a result, I spent KES 1,000 on school uniforms for my two sons. I did this because their old outfits had become tattered (with large openings) and worn out over time. In addition, I spent KES 800 on food because the household had run out. I spent KES 200 to purchase two chicks for rearing. When these chickens reproduce, the flock will grow, increasing my sources of income for my children's school fees. Finally, I saved KES 1,000 through a self-help group with the intention of withdrawing the money when it reaches KES 20,000. I intend to use this lump sum to fund my house-building project. We are currently sheltering beneath a house with a leaking roof and crumbling walls that are deteriorating over time. My only option is to build a new two-bedroom house to accommodate our family of nine."

"I spent most of my recent transfer to purchase sufficient food for myself. This is because I am no longer able to work and I totally depend on my kids. The transfer has been of great help to me. I am currently able to meet my essential needs like food without struggling. I also used the remaining amount to purchase 2 chicks to raise a future investment for myself. I am planning to use the next transfer to boost my poultry rearing by purchasing more chicken. Once they multiply, I will be able to sell the to cater for any financial emergency."

"The tough economic and financial times have pushed us to the limit but GiveDirectly has been a guardian angel sent from above. I am married to one husband who is a motorcycle taxi driver earning his income by ferrying people and goods from one place to their destination. Together we have four kids two of whom are in school and with the KES 3000 received, I have been able to pay up part of the school fees amounting to KES 600. Food in the house was finished and despite my day to day job of cooking and selling food to revellers, I was short of purchasing more from my income but from the balance that remained out of the amount received, I was able to spare KES 1400 to add to the food supplements. Poultry farming too has been a major goal and I have been able to buy five chicken for a total of KES 1000 with the hope of adding more in the near future."

"The transfer from GiveDirectly has brought a very big difference in our lives as a family. There are more casual jobs to do than before with most people having received the transfers. People are also paying more well for casual jobs than before. We have thus managed to make more money which we have saved. We plan to start a project of rearing improved breeds of chicken with the saved amount. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for transforming our lives."

"We spent most of our recent transfer on building another house. We bought 24 iron sheets at a total cost of KES 20400. We also spent KES 3000 on sawing the wooden frames for the construction of the roof. I had already bought timber before for the walls. It was in our plans to build another house because the one that we have been living in it had grown old and is mud-walled. We had just not gotten enough money for the construction. We are small-scale farmers where we usually grow crops such as sweet potatoes, and vegetables and we sell them at the markets places to earn some income. The money that we get is little and it is only enough to buy food and the small household essentials. Other than that, we also spent KES 1750 on buying five chickens to add to the ones that we had. We bought the chickens so that we could increase our egg production. We usually sell the eggs and the money from the sales, we use in buying the small household items such as soap, salt, etc. We also bought a wheelbarrow at KES 3500, a spade at KES 1500, and 3 rolls of wire mesh for fencing at a total cost of KES 9000. We also spent KES 2000 on paying school fees for our son who is in secondary school. With the remaining transfer amount, we used it on buying a mattress."