"At the time when GiveDirectly was enrolling us, I was struggling to pay school fees for my spouse who was upgrading her teaching course. I had sold our diary cow which we had so that I can raise money for her school fees. When I got my second transfer, I spent KES 50000 on buying a lactating dairy cow which is now in calf. We now have milk for use at home, I am happy that I replaced the one which I had sold."

"My husband works as a Boda Boda rider and I am a consistent farmer, together we are blessed with three children. When we received our initial transfer, we opted to Build a decent house for our family because the house that we had before was small and unfortunately we were unable to build a new one due to financial constraints. Therefore, I used KES 20,000 on the house. Thereafter, we considered acquiring a dairy cow worth KES 28,000 to cut down on the milk expenses. Finally, we used the remaining amount on foodstuffs and clothes. We are so happy and grateful for the support that lifted my living standards amazingly."

"GiveDirectly has uplifted the lives of so many people in my village, individuals have gained financially, we have new houses, people paid for school fees and others bought dairy cows. It is a milestone like no other thus I am grateful for the support. In my opinion, I have not seen anything that has not been done the way it should have."

"Having acquired a cow and build a house, I look forward to buying a piece of land so that I can use it for farming. I work as a mechanic at a nearby shopping center and through my earnings, I can save through a merry-go-round savings plan so that I can achieve my goal."

"Earlier that day, before I got the transfer, the primary school where three of my children attend contacted me to remind me of the unpaid cost for the current academic session. Because I had not made any money from my masonry work at the time, my children were pulled out of class. Fortunately, Give Directly's cash transfer timing was ideal. I gave them KES 1,500 to cover their school fees, and they all resumed their studies. I saved KES 1,000 through a self-help group formed in the household to save money to buy two cows in the near future. These cows will help generate money for the family when we rent them out for plowing. I contributed the remaining amount towards the purchase of food, to boost the little that was left in stock and last us at least four days. "

"Since my house was leaking as well as congested because it was small, I did some renovations. I bought poles and roofing timbers for KES 4200.00, and six iron sheets for KES 5700.00. The contractor took KES 11000.00 as his labor charge. Having settled the housing issue which was not giving me peace of mind, I paid KES 3800.00 for my three children who were sent home for fees. I also bought a cow for KES 12500.00 and two goats for KES 8000.00. This livestock is an investment that will at any time stand in to cater for my children's school fees if the need arises. Thereafter, since I used to sleep on a traditional bed which was not comfortable, I opted to buy a nice modern bed and a mattress for KES 11000.00. Currently, I sleep well in a nice and comfortable place unlike before. For the remaining amount, I bought food for my family."

"At the moment, I have a new goal to expand the current livestock farming I had been running. After buying a dairy cow with the second transfer, I expect an increase in milk production from my cows. Alongside dairy farming, I had been growing my savings that will boost the purchase of sheep in my new goal. This project will ensure an uncomplicated payment of school fees since they will be at the secondary level in a year."

"I intended to cut the high cost of buying milk by buying a cow right after receiving the second transfer, but the pressure to complete the construction of rental houses we had started could not allow it. I had prolific breeds a year ago, but an unknown disease swept them away, leaving my family with only one that produces a few liters of milk. At the moment, I have no new goal since I am still working hard to buy a cow that I had in mind before receiving the first and the second transfers."

"I used KES 36000 to buy a dairy cow and used another KES 6000 to buy furniture for my house. and used the remaining amount to install piped water in my compound. We made a decision to buy a dairy cow since we did not own one before and I had really felt the heat of having to buy milk all that while. It was so costly buying milk but we did not have an option since we could not raise enough money to buy one. My husband works as a casual worker and the little amount of income that he received would just be enough to make ends meet and pay school fees. I just graduated from school and I could do very little to help my husband."

"When I received the second transfer, I combined it with KES 20000.00 which I had kept from the first transfer. Upon withdrawing, I first completed my house which I had started using the first transfer. The roofing was lacking 10 pieces of iron sheets which I bought for KES 8000.00. I also paid the contractor a labor charge of KES 7000.00. Thereafter, I bought three Galla goats for KES 24000.00 and a cow for KES 12000.00. I had desired to have high-breed livestock because they have a higher value when the right selling time comes therefore I bought them intending to sell to generate money. I also took KES 3000.00 and paid school fee arrears for my five primary school children. Since I was using a small traditional bed, I opted to buy a modern standard bed with a mattress for KES 11000.00. I did this to have a comfortable sleeping place because where I used to sleep was not comfortable at all. One could wake up very tired."