"We have been experiencing drought for a long time that resulted in the deaths of our livestock and scarcity of food and water but towards the end of last year, we started having rains which brought back life. We planted vegetables that pushed us for a while and also the sources of water were filled up which we currently use to date. This brought joy and happiness to my life because at least now I still do not have to walk for a long distance to fetch water as before."

"In my village, water is a problem. So, we walk far to fetch water and to do so we use a donkey to aid with transportation. Per trip, I will be able to bring home two 20litre jerricans of water and it will take about 50min. When I was on my way to fetch water, I got the message that I had received some funds from give directly. I felt happy. I went to fetch water as I planned then I headed home to plan on how to use the funds. Two days later, I concluded that I will invest some money in my business and buy food with the rest."

"In my opinion, Give Directly has brought good news to every household in our village. We are so grateful to God and Give Directly for changing our helpless situations which we have been through for a long period. Give directly has at least uplifted us from buying sheep, construction of new iron-roofed houses, buying dairy cows, purchasing tanks for storage of water, and many others. Give directly made us realize our dreams."

"We spent most of the second transfer on buying a water tank and the materials for building a sleeping house for our boys. We bought a 5000-liter tank, 22 iron sheets, and we cut down some of the trees to get timber and building poles. The remaining amount of money, we used in buying food. We decided to buy the water tank because we usually experience a dry season in our area for a long period, that is, five to six months. As a result, we usually buy water where six containers go for KES 200. This is hence costly. We had built a house for our boys before but the house is small and not enough to accommodate a guest visiting. We decided to make plans to construct another more spacious one. We were not able to do the above before because we did not have the money. We are so grateful to GiveDirectly because, with the water tank that we bought, we have been able to collect rainwater for our household use. We hence no longer incur the cost of buying water like before."

"I purchased a small water tank worth KES 7000 using my transfer. I decided on this since I had been walking for 1 hour per trip going to fetch water from the stream and I would make at least three trips a day. I will be using it to harvest rainwater for domestic use and get to relax from the struggles of fetching water. Also, I spent KES 9000 to purchase three goats since they increase in number over a short time and they can easily be converted to cash when need be. I bought two beds and mattresses using KES 9000 since we had been sleeping on the traditional beds and I usually felt back pains in the morning when I woke up. I used the remaining amount on food after spending KES 7000 on my son's medication."

"Getting a lump sum of KES 110000 without doing anything is the best thing that ever happened to us. People now have access to clean water, our children are in school and we live in decent, spacious, and modern houses. Everyone in the village including the children is happy to hear the name GiveDirectly because of their good deeds. I do not see anything that they did not do well."

"I used to operate a business of collecting sand from the water channels and selling them to people until the day I fell, became sick and since then, I have developed some pack pains. Because of this, I had to stop this business and it is now my wish to start another one of buying and selling maize in our locality. By doing so, I will be able to make money each day without engaging in strenuous activity."

"I spent part of my second transfer on buying six goats at a total of KES 18000. I settled for them because they require little supervision and they reproduce faster. I also cleared school fees of KES 12000 for my son who is in his third year. He has always been on and off because of the arrears. For now, he is at peace which has led to an improvement in his performance. To add to that, we bought a water pump at KES 15000 which will be specifically for our agricultural activities. With the remaining amount of the money, I bought new beddings (a bed and a mattress) at KES 10000 and a sewing machine at 10500 for my daughter."

"The area where I live is swampy and when it rains, water fills my house. Receiving this money will enable me to cement the floor and the outside walls of my house and leave them dry whenever it rains. I plan to use KES 30000 of the transfer to buy a dairy cow that will enable me to sell milk to my neighbors and earn money for food and pay my grandchildren's school fees."

"I had gone to fetch water early in the morning that day when the message informing me that the money had arrived and I was so overwhelmed I honestly thought I would tears of joy because just imagine I had no money and no food in the house plus my children are still very young and the thought that they would have to go to bed hungry exasperated me and made me so sad but my hands were tied. So seeing that money come in from GiveDirectly was blessing in disguise."