"It was around 5 pm I was just relaxing at home when I heard a message notification from my phone. Since I do not know how to read or write I called my daughter who was around to check it for me. She said that it was a message confirming that I have received some money from GiveDirecty, I felt so happy because I have never received such an amount of money before. We aligned with my children and we went to withdraw the following day. I knew I would be able to buy a dairy cow. I am so grateful because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards."

"Life has been unbearable since I left my husband's house. We have been struggling to make ends meet because I don't have a reliable source of income. This is because I depend on farming and the land is small and unproductive due to harsh climatic conditions. I am a mother of four children who are all schooling. Upon the receipt of my second transfer, I opted to use it in purchasing a dairy cow worth KES 20,000 to cut the cost of buying expensive milk. I was unable to acquire one due to financial constraints. I then used KES 6000 to buy two goats and finally used the remaining amount on foodstuffs. I am relieved and happy that I would no longer be spending money daily on milk which would be a great saving. I am grateful for the support that lifted my life highly."

"For some time, I had a plan to buy livestock but every year I couldn't manage to earn enough money through farming as my maize crops wouldn't perform well due to drought. Lucky enough, I got these transfers from GiveDirectly and now I have what I needed. I always feel good looking after the cow every day. In the future, I will be earning through the sale of milk and wouldn't have to wait for the harvesting season so that I can raise some money through the sale of crop production."

"The biggest difference in my daily life today is that we were able to boost my husband's business. It is the main source of income in our home. Secondly, I managed to purchase a dairy cow to add to the one that had. I had the dream before but I was unable to execute the plan due to financial constraints. I am forever indebted for the aid that I got from GiveDirectly which lifted my life tremendously."

"I do not have any new plan. My focus will be to see to it that the resources that I purchased by the proceeds from the second transfer is well taken care of. I did buy a dairy cow and three goats. Going into this adventure will need more consentration."

"I constructed a house with the last three months' transfers but I ran out of funds to purchase a door. I since then improvised one using a papyrus reed mat. When I received my fourth transfer I spent KES 1000 on a new door. I am happy the construction is now complete and I now think of purchasing seats since the house is more secure. Besides, we had been struggling to live each day with at least a meal a day due to the drastic increase in food commodities, especially corn. I, therefore, spent KES 3500 on 16 kilograms of corn flour for our family consumption. I also bought a goat at KES 2500 intending to sell them when they get to 10 in number to raise money for purchasing a cow for paying my wife's dowry. It was devastating to witness my wife and children being taken away by her family because I could not afford her dowry. I need my family back and I believe with the help of the transfers I will be able to raise enough money to clear her dowry. I still have KES 2000 saved."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is the plentiful provision of milk from the dairy cow I bought and abundant food stuff for my family of five after spending a considerable amount on buying enough foodstuff. I am grateful to GiveDirectly and hope to do a lot more in changing my our living standards in the future."

"Farming has been our main source of income and the backbone of our family economy. The second transfer was instrumental to me in purchasing a dairy cow worth KES 30000. I am yet to get married and would not wish for my spouse to stay idle and fully dependent on me. She will therefore be fully in charge of the cow and once the cow will have given birth, she will be earning some income from the milk sales. Besides, we shall also be assured of enough milk for the family once it will have given birth. I also rented a two-acre piece of land at KES 10000 for farming maize and used KES 3000 to plow it. We have a small piece of land that is shared by my brothers and parents. Since I am yet to start up a family, I believe that this is a good investment and my income will improve. I still have KES 12000 saved to be used for both planting and weeding labor."

"I spent KES 15000 to buy furniture for my house and used another KES 26000 to buy a dairy cow.The remaining amount was used to pay school fees for our first born child and we are so grateful for all that GiveDirectly has enabled us to do. For a long time, we have had the desire to own a dairy cow having felt the heat of buying milk each and every passing day. We were lucky that we bought a dairy cow that was almost calving and right now we have the dairy cow which has already solved the milk shortage issue with us. I am looking forward to the rainy season where the production of milk will shoot up and we can be able to meet most of our immediate needs through the sale of milk."

"I am happy that my children can eat well like those others. I had bought maize and now we have milk from our dairy cow and we get a balanced diet meal every day. Before we would have anything that we could afford at that moment. Again, I am happy that I was able to plant maize in good time and my crops are doing well."