"Upon withdrawing the money, the priority was to build a house. I made it a priority because I had no house at all, the field officers who came can witness that. I cannot clearly state how much the house cost but it took a better percentage of the money. I also bought six goals intending to start an investment in goats raring but unfortunately all the goats died for lacking pasture and water because of the drought that stoke our area. After building the house and buying the goats I used the remaining amount to buy food for the family."

"I spent half of the money I received from GiveDirectly on completing the construction of my new house that I started using the previous transfer. We lived in a small house that could not host all my family members comfortably. I had always wished to own a spacious house and invested half of my money in this. I am so grateful because currently, we live in a better house. I spent the part of the money on food, sky blast for storing clean water for domestic uses, clothes for my children, and finally bought some household items which we did not have before receiving the transfer We are so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards to be much better than before."

"The drought has made it difficult to find water for home use. Water from the vendors is very expensive and 6 jerricans of water go to KSH 200. Upon receiving my transfer, I spent KSH 1000 to buy food and water. With nothing to grow on the farm, we have to buy our food from the shops and at very expensive prices. I then spent the remaining KSH 2000 to pay school fees for my children. My eldest son is in form one. I sent KSH 1000 for my son to use as fare because he schools away from home. I then shared the remaining 1000 equally among my four children who are in primary school. It’s because of the transfer that they sat for their end of term exams. I could not pay fully for them all since I make brooms for sale whereas my husband is a mason. We both earn very little and it is not enough to cater to all our needs."

"Drought and famine has impacted us very negatively back here in the village especially since most of us are farmers and depended on farming to feed our families, and due to the lack of rain our living conditions have deteriorated. That is why when I received the transfers I went ahead to cater for nourishment for my family and I, and so I went ahead and bought a bag of maize which contained a dozen packets for KES 1,300. I was left with KES 1,700 where I used KES 400 to buy water since that was also very scarce and I would walk for almost an hour on a normal day to fetch and carry drinking water on my head so that my family and I could use. From the balance left I took KES 300 and bought two kilograms of sugar then used the remaining KES 1,000 to buy clothes for me and my child since the ones we had were old and worn out."

"After I received the money I was definitely so excited because I barely had any money on me and my business as a palm wine tapper was not doing that great because of the severe famine that we have been experiencing. The first thing that I did was settle my brothers tuition debt where I gave him KES 1,500 since he had been kicked out of school had had been staying home for five days consecutively. I was left with about KES 1,500 and so I decided to buy two turkeys so that I could rear and used the remaining KES 500 to buy drinking water since we were experiencing a major shortage."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is the purchase of a water tank which I had desired for the past four years but couldn't afford due to school fees burdens. Since I received the transfers I no longer go to the river and my family now drinks clean healthy rainwater. I am also grateful because through the transfers I have cleared school fees for my daughter who is sitting her final exam from next week. I am also relieved of borrowing chairs and cooking utensils."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is happiness because I no longer struggle with casual labor. This is because, with the transfers, I started an onion and sukuma wiki business with only KES 400 and this helps to feed my family without much struggle. Nowadays, I work under a shed in the market place but before I used to work under scorching heat without a sip of water to drink."

"The biggest difference the cash transfer has made in our lives is by assisting me pay one of my children tuitions, and am about to build a new house with zinc roof for my family. With the old tash roofed house we live in, when it starts to rain we get afraid because the tash can't hold rain for long. At times the walls get soaked with rain water and then the house breaks down sooner than you think. Thanks to Give Directly for coming to our rescue."

"Upon withdrawing the money, I sat down with my plan which I had already set. The first thing I did is paying school fees for my six children. I paid KES 20000.00 to two of them who are in secondary school and KES 4000.00 to the remaining four who are in primary school. Thereafter, I bought three goats at KES 4500 each. Since it was a dry season, there was a hardship in sourcing for water and food thus I opted to used the remaining amount for the family upkeep."

"I am a tailor. My sewing machine broke down three years ago and this has greatly affected my income. I have not been able to repair or purchase another one due to lack of money. Receiving this money will help me purchase a new one at a cost of 16,000 KES. I also have a piped water project that has stalled due to finances. I need a 10,000 litres tank so that I can collect piped water and sell within the village. The demand for clean water is high. This will cost me around 80,000 KES. This two projects will serve as sources of income that will help me fend for my family.."