"I was cutting down trees, as part of my usual routine, to manufacture some charcoal when I got the message confirming the receipt of the funds. I dropped all that I was doing and headed to the house to share the great news with my husband. Jointly, we agreed to buy chickens in place of a goat since the money was not enough."

"Our new goal is to fence the whole of our land and to start a better business that can sustain us. I want to do the fencing so that I can lock up the sheep in one part of the farm and leave them to graze. This way I will have time to do other things and not worry about them going to other people's farms to destroy crops. I usually go to the market on market day to sell the woven ropes that I make and to sell eggs from my chickens. I, however, do not usually stay up to the end of the day since I am constantly worrying thinking that the sheep might have gone away to cause some destruction. As a result, I always end up coming early hence fewer sales and money. We do not have the money to do the fencing but that will be topmost priority if we get the money needed to do so. If we manage to do this, I will hence be able to concentrate on improving my business. I plan to buy more chickens so that I can get more eggs for sales. With the expanded business, I will be able to get more income that will help me in payment of school fees for my five children who are in secondary school. Payment of school fees has always been our biggest challenge since we do not have stable sources of income. My husband usually goes to do casual work in a nearby county so that we can raise more money for school fees and the family upkeep."

"With the GiveDirectly funds of KES 3000, I have been able to save up in order to pay fees for my kid(s) amounting to KES 600. Moreover, I have been able to add to food supplements at KES 1400 as we have been having abit of shortage. The remaining KES 1000 I bought 4 chicken which atleast lay eggs and offer an additional of the food supplements needed."

"I have earned a living for the better part of my life by working on other people’s farms. When the drought set in, I lost my source of livelihood. I opted to make brooms for sale. One broom goes KSH 100. The materials required to make the broom come from the coconut tree leaves. Because of the drought, the coconut trees do not provide enough materials to use in making the brooms. This then means in a week, if lucky, you can make three brooms only. The money is not enough to feed my family and also save some to invest in other projects or pay school fees. When I received the transfer I saved KSH 1000 in a chama. The reason for saving is to gain a loan that I will use to build my house well. Because of the strong winds and the weak poles used to build the house, there are fault lines on the walls and the house can go down. In addition, I bought a chicken at KSH 700. I want to venture into poultry farming so that I can have an additional source of income. I also spent KSH 600 to start a small business for myself. I bought some Omena that I have sold to my neighbors. This will earn me profit and use it to cater to my needs. With the remaining amount of KSH 700, I spent it on buying food. The food stock in the house was getting finished and, to avoid starving, I opted to add more stock."

"Receiving money from GiveDirectly has been of great help to me and my family. I am an old woman. I do not have any work at the moment but to depend on farming when it rains. In which we are experiencing extreme drought. I hence have no money but to depend on my children and grandchildren to support me through life. The transfer assisted me so much in buying three packets of floor at Kes.345. Two chicken at Kes. 600 and paid the remaining amount for my grandchildren school fees. Thank you so much for the transfer."

"When I received my second transfer, I spent KES 10000 on farming. I hired a tractor for land preparation purposes and bought enough hybrid seeds for planting. In addition, I bought some chicken at KES 3000 so that I can sometimes be selling eggs and use the money to buy some basic needs for my family. Also, I spent KES 6000 on new clothes for my children and KES 10000 on some foodstuffs and utensils. I still have KES 13000 that I am planning to spend on food and in case of an emergency."

"We had a plan to start a poultry project before receiving our second transfer and on receiving them, we spent KES 35000 to build a chicken coop and buy some chicken. We settled on this since this project is profitable and one can run it alongside other projects like crop and dairy farming. In addition, I spent 12000 to fence my compound by buying barbed wire, poles and paid for the labor. We decided on this since our neighbor's livestock had been destroying our crops whenever we are not around since our compound and farm were open."

"My husband bought land in this village two years ago. The house he built is not yet complete which exposes us to dangers from wild animals. Recently, we killed a snake that was trying to get inside the house. This scared me a lot because where we live is near bushes that have different kinds of wild animals. I get worried mostly when my spouse is not at home and because I am expectant it is not good for my health. Receiving this money will therefore help me finish the house so that it can be safe for us. My plan for this money is to spend 50,000 KES to finish the structure and build a small shelter for poultry-keeping since that is my next project. The reason why I decided to venture into poultry farming is that this area is prone to drought and farming cannot be a good thing to do. The chicken can also be exchanged for money when they multiply or even food which makes it a good project to have. The remaining 60,000 KES will help me to do some clearing in my compound, fencing, and also taping piped water that I can use to irrigate my vegetables."

"I have been practicing paultry farming for about twelve years now. The business would be great but there's still some form of set back. I deal a lot with all sorts of predators that eat chicks. Still when I close my chicks in the house to protect them, they end up dying. Now I have realized I need to just expand my business so that I can reap enough from it. First off when I get that money I will buy the right wire to face an open place for them. This would give them space to feed and roost while keeping a way predators. Again I would like to buy my own incubator so that I can hatch the eggs faster and in quick succession than chicken would naturally."

"The challenges we have include lack of enough food and inadequate land size. We are forced to eat almost the same type of food always because we cannot afford variety. It affects our health so much and it could detororiate further in the future. The small land size also keeps inviting continuous quarrels with family members because when the chicken by mistake cross the fence it brings a conflict."