"Giving birth to many children in our community is considered a sign of wealth and blessings. I was blessed with 10 children, bringing them comes with a huge burden of responsibility. My husband and I depend on the charcoal business to feed as well as educate them. My role in the business is not to burn the charcoal while my husband ferries them to the nearest town to look for customers. The high competition and lack of resources in this business have made it hard to bring good revenue. On a good day, we can make 350 KES which is also not consistent. The inconsistency makes it hard to provide for our children 100%, especially in paying their school fees and buying basic needs like food and water. Receiving these transfers will therefore be a boost to our business because we will now be able to take 50% of the monthly transfer to pay their school fees and use the remaining balance to meet other responsibilities in the house."

"The charcoal burning business is a kind of employment that does not give daily income because of the high competition and lack of trees. Sometimes I can even go for a week or more without making any sales and if I do the maximum amount that I can get is 300 KES. This money, however, is not enough to provide for my family's basic needs, especially food and water which are the most important things because we live in areas that are prone to drought. My current challenges are therefore lack of money to meet my family's daily requirements."

"I spent part of my second transfer on buying fifty chickens and two goats at a total of KES 10000. I settled for them because their offspring mature very fast as compared to the other domestic animals. Once they multiply, I am planning to sell some and sort any arising bills such as school fees. To add to that I settled the huge school fee balance of KES 5000 for my son who is in his second year. I now have peace of mind because he is studying without any hiccups that he has been facing before. Additionally, I gave my spouse KES 5000 so that he could boost his business ( selling charcoal). In addition, I bought a bicycle which cost KES 8500 which has been of help especially in transporting water from the dams. It has always been tiresome carrying the jerrican using our hands considering the dams are 5KM away from the dams. With the remaining amount of money, I bought foodstuffs for my family and other household needs like utensils."

"It was hard to manage my needs using the KES 3000 monthly earnings I get as a farmer. Therefore, this money has boosted my finances. I also got to buy some food for my mother (who depends on one) and I. I desire to renovate my thatch roof house to an iron sheet roof house. This will relieve me from the stress of monthly maintenance. Plus, in rainy seasons, my clothes and other belongings will no longer be drenched in rainwater as the roof leakage will be resolved."

"Upon withdrawal of my first transfer, I bought Iron sheets and nails at KES 21,000, sawed timber at KES 10,000, and paid labor at KES 11,000 that facilitated the not of a new house. I had been living in a grass-thatched house that would leak during rainy seasons which was a threat to the health of my young child.I also bought chicken at KES 3600 which will rear and later sell eggs to cater to the the family's basic needs. With the remaining amount, I bought a bicycle which we will use to go and fetch water since we normally walk long distances. I am grateful for the transformation that the first transfer had brought in my family so far."

"I was just at home fetching water for the basic use as I heard a buzz on my phone. I gave my son the phone to read to me the text and on hearing it was an MPESA message from GiveDirectly, I was so elated and knew that food would now be adequate in the house. I withdrew the funds on the same day."

"Going about the daily chores around the homestead, I received a text message as I was fetching water. Since I am unable to read, my son did the honours and we all shared in the joy of receiving the amount. I sent him to the MPESA agent to withdraw the funds so that we could buy food for the house."

"The transfers will bring a big difference because I have plans to improve my roofing structure which is old and rusty .Due to the anticipated rainy season,I have found need to have it repaired so as to avoid the heavy leaking of water from the roof.I intend to increase my number of chicken on monthly basis and plan to use the profits to pay my children's school fees."

"It was 9am and I was out to find food and water for my livestock.Normally I find it best to have animals grazing around my neighbourhood on my watch from a distance,I received the message and out of excitement I left the livestock and rushed to my shamba to find my wife who was also overly excited about her message as well.We were all filled with happiness as we all agreed on how to spend the cash."

"It was in the morning and had gone to fetch water when I had my phone beep and I asked my nephew to check the message and help me read .My nephew was excited to share the good news that left me confused because of my intentions in spending the cash."