"I used KES 30000 from my second transfer to buy the remaining building materials mainly timber, nails, doors, windows, and KES 3500 on labor for the construction of our house since I had already purchased 24 pieces of iron sheets using my first transfer. In addition, I spent KES 7000 on beddings to replace the old ones that we were using, KES 750 to buy a storage container that I will use in storing clean water for use, and KES 7000 on food for my family. Building a decent house for my family had been my desire since we were living in an old grass-thatched house. Its roof was always leaking during the rainy season and my children used to sleep in their grandmother's house so that we could have our privacy as parents. I work on people's farms for pay and I had not been able to save up for the construction of a house since I usually spend everything that I earn on our food and on paying school fees for our three children. I am happy that we now live in a bigger house and my children nowadays sleep at home courtesy of GiveDirectly."

"No one enjoys sleeping on the floor, neither myself and my family ( wife and seven children) but poverty has never given us a chance to enjoy our nights. Being a painter in a rural setting where majority of people build maddy houses, getting a job is not easy and most are the days when I go for hundreds of kilometers for me to get a job. With meager wages of KES 500 and given that the jobs are not frequent,( sometimes I can go for a week without job) it has not been easy to pay bills. With high standards of living, the little that get is usually enough to cater for the most basic needs such as food and water and therefore, I couldn't afford to provide my family with good bedding, clothes and pay school fee. My children accumulated fees arrears of KES 17000 and they had already been send home and weren't allowed back without clearing the bill. I spend KES 17000 to offset the fees arrears, KES 14000 to buy three mattresses, and KES 8000 to build a semi permanent kitchen. I also spend the balance to buy food, clothes and other basic necessities. Even though I haven't bought beds yet, it's evident that my kid's enjoy their sleep because they nolonger wake up so early as they used to. I'm happy that they would finally be allowed back to school when schools reopens and they can enjoy their studies as other kids. I wouldn't imagine how my life would have been in the next few years if it wasn't for the transfers. I'm really grateful."

"Before I heard about give directly, I was going through the most difficult phase in my life. My husband, who is a charcoal reseller, was the only breadwinner for the family (my two children and I). His income, however, was very inconsistent. There were days when, if he failed to earn, we would only have porridge for breakfast which would hold us up until late in the night when we would have dinner. There were also droughts in the area and water was a problem. To get some, I would need to leave home at 4 am so that by 8 am I am home preparing breakfast for the children. All this has been improved now that I have started receiving these funds. I started a business that has not only enabled me to provide for my family efficiently, but I am also able to make weekly savings of KES 700 for future projects. So yes, there is a great difference in my life."

"Getting earnings for my motorcycling work is uncertain. The motorcycle I use is also not mine. So, with the profits I get, I have to share it with the owner and also put aside some funds for the fuel. This leaves me with very little pay. Other than that, I also live in an incomplete iron sheet constructed house. Since I did not have funds to aid with its completion, I used Polythene to cover it instead. When it rains, water drips in and most of my belongings get drenched. Now that I'm receiving these funds, I feel like all this will be resolved as I will use the cash to improve my house. I have a deficit of 9 iron sheets to complete its construction. This will cost me around KES 7920. Therefore, every time I get the transfers, I will invest in buying one or two sheets. I believe my living conditions will be improved thus making me more hopeful. Therefore, there is a great difference in my life."

"Used KES 30000 to buy a dairy cow used kes 8000 to dig a wate pan. The remaining amount was useful in buying more building materials as I get ready to build a shop that will see me run a business in it once it is complete. I normally engage in farming which I support with irrigation water from a pan that I dug in my compound. The money came at a time that the pan was getting muddy and I had to use the money to make it good and be able to accumulate much more water. I am glad that the rains came after the clean up and soon I will embark on farming to improve our living standards furter as a family."

"I used KES 27000 to buy a water tank and used the remaining amount of almost KES 25000 to gather water from the roof of my house, buy clothes and food for the family. The decision to buy a water tank was because of the cosntant water shortage in our household and the long distances that we were often forced to travel in search of this otherwise very basic commodity. We are now extremely happy and reliefed as a family since we no longer have to travel for such long distances in search of water. Very often the water that we fetched from the rivers were unsafe for drinking but we did not have an option but to use it. I am personally so grateful to GiveDirectly for enabling me realize this. It means a lot to me and my family. My five children can now use the time that they would have used to go searching for water to improve their studies while I get more time to relax after hard days of work in peoples farms to earn income."

"Being able to settle all the water bills after receiving the transfer is the biggest difference in my life. Previously, I had huge water bills, something that bothered me a lot. I was worried that the water will be disconnected and the water department had already issued a notice of the same."

"Receiving this money means better housing for me and my family. We currently use a very old kitchen that was built fifty years ago. The roof is leaking making it uncomfortable to use especially during rainy seasons. We plan to use KES 30,000 to build a two-roomed, iron-roofed house. It will help us to collect clean rainwater as well as provide an extra room for visitors. For the rest of the amount, we will pay the school fee for our three sons in secondary school."

"My son has been sent home from school more than two times in a term. Getting food for the family is also a challenge . We have no safe drinking water and also getting pastures for my animals is also a challenge but the point of my children being sent home from school because of school fees is the biggest challenge in my house."

"Raising the standards of my living is generally what receiving this money means to me. Imagine since I was born, 78 years now, I have never owned a modern bed or a mattress and this means in my life, I have been spending nights on roped-beds and sacks. Sometimes, I sleep on the floor whenever I receive visitors. Changing this status quo is my greatest desire and I intend to spend my first transfer, 55000 KES to ensure I offset this plan. The first disbursement will also aid in renovating my house by smooth-finishing the walls and the floor using cement. Together with my co-wife, we will pool our second transfers to facilitate the installation of water pipes in our home to have fresh water for our domestic use because we currently get water from water pans."