"Being a second wife in a polygamous family, I had to take full responsibility of raising my three children since my husband who is at his 70's now is unproductive. I have been selling charcoal to provide for my family a business which has been faced by so many uncertainties due to prolonged drought and deforestation. It's been hard to put food on the table and sometimes we end up sleeping hungry. I have been wishing to have livestock which I can sell to provide for my family when life hits the rock bottom but I couldn't afford to buy them. When I was enrolled in the program, my goal was to buy as many livestock that I can so that I can sell them and pay bills. I spend KES 500 to buy a chicken and KES 650 to buy six 2kg packets of maize which can take us for at least three weeks."

"When I received my transfer, I spent KES 15000 building a chicken coop and a feeding ground for my chicken after tithing KES 3000. I have been depending on poultry farming and the chickens would at times destroy my crops so much, especially when it has just sprouted and during the vegetative stage. I am happy that currently, I am no longer worried about running at a loss because they have destroyed vegetables or other crops at the farm. In addition, I spent KES 12000 on medication since I was not feeling well, KES 5000 on utensils, and used the remaining amount on food and clothes. I was unable to achieve these before due to limited cash and I am grateful to GiveDirectly for making it happen."

"Chicken rearing is the easiest and fastest investment. As much as I do not have it on a large scale but at least I have been keeping some. They reproduce faster hence the increment in their numbers and the eggs too are the cheapest source of proteins. When I received the first transfer, I bought a chicken at KES 300 to add to the few I had. The remaining KES 850 I spent on corn and some of the foodstuffs for my family. We had no food at that moment and being the breadwinner in the family, I felt relieved of the burden. I burn charcoal for sale which is done by nearly everyone in our area. The few people who can afford them purchase them at very low prices."

"I have only received my first transfer which assisted me mostly with the foodstuffs for my family. The current economy is tough coupled with the drought we have been facing. Raising money for the most basic needs like food for my family has been a challenge because I only earn KES 300 from the motorcycle taxi I am assigned to work in. I am glad the money came in handy to sort the foodstuffs for my family. I am also hopeful that the chicken I bought for rearing will be of great help in the future. Once it starts laying then we shall not only be assured of more chicken but some of the eggs will be consumed by my family."

"Back here in the village owning livestock and having a huge farm is a sign of wealth and not only a sign but it does help in acquiring wealth through farming and selling of the livestock after they breed which in turn earns people money. That is why I have always had plans to ensure that I grown my farm by further investing into owning livestock so that I could help in sustaining myself since I have aged and can no longer work as I used to before. Therefore when I received the money I decided to buy chicken and begin gradually investing in broadening my farm. Plus on the other hand chicken were affordable and since I did not have a lot of money on me I saw that buying hens would be most appropriate. I bought two hens each for KES 300 which totaled to KES 600. I also bought a packet of wheat flour for KES 150 and one kilogram of sugar for KES 120 since there was hardly anything to eat. I was left with about KES 300 which I still have in my possession and plan on using it for matters aligned with nourishment because back in the village starvation is the order of the day due to drought."

"It's quite fulfilling to be able to progress economically when you just started from scratch. I started off by raring chicken which multiplied, then I sold them all to buy goats. At some points I was also able to sell the goats and buy cows. I now have four cows that I'm hiding from my husband by keeping them at my maternal home. I felt when recently when my son was joining high school because without the help of my husband I was able to sell two to raise the fees plus all the requirements."

"Seeing my children enjoying a good meal is something which gives me happiness in my life. I have embraced difficulties in my house. All the years, I have never enjoyed a new year celebration better than this year. My husband got an off on the December end of the month and we had some money. We bought our children new clothes, slaughtered a chicken and enjoyed with rice. My husband bought me a material to make a dress . This brought joy and happiness to me seeing my children have eaten and satisfied in their own house unlike the other new year celebrations which I used to take my children to my marternal home for the new year celebration."

"Three months back, I sold all the chickens I had. This money enabled me to top up and buy four goats. I am happy because they keep me busy. I hope to sell some during the festive season and make good returns."

"I used KES 30000 to buy a dairy cow and used the remaining amount to complete a house that I had built using the first transfer and I also remained with some that helped me in buying chicken for rearing. Dairy farming is one of the main economic activities that we rely on here at home since the climate is favourable for the same. With these livestock at least I can be sure to put food on the table for my children."

"Our new goal is to expand the size of our house so that it can accommodate guests visiting our household. We have been rearing chickens and we plan to buy more once the disease outbreak that is there is over. We also bought three sheep with part of the transfer. We plan to take care of the sheep and the chickens and sell some of them in the future when they will have reproduced and multiplied in number. The money that we will make is what we will use in achieving our new goal."