"The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving money from GiveDirectly is that I was able to add two mature chickens to the number that I was already having which wasn't as large as I desired. This is something I am very grateful for, since it wasn't possible to add mature chickens to the ones I had before but it was only made possible by GiveDirectly. I am so grateful."

"I am the bread winner of my family and most financial matters fall on me, which at times is very stressful and hard because I have a couple of mouths to feed, clothe and cater for in matters of education. GiveDirectly has really come through for me because I feel the load is less heavy as compared to before and I even managed to start my project of rearing chicken which would have probably taken me a while to start."

"I spent KES28800 on a heifer because it will grow and multiply as an addition to dairy cow I had. I spent KES2100 on sofa set cushions, KES 3000 on a sack of maize, KES3600 on my kids clothing, and KES 4000 on 10 chicken layers and a cock. I also spent KES12000 on a generator for water irrigation and KES 2000 on household utensils and the rest on savings."

"I have always dreamt to diversify and have several sources of income to supplement the small retail shop business that I run. I have a small family of us three, which in future I look forward to my family expanding, so responsibilities may increase too. I have plans of having several dairy cows as they really help by providing milk for domestic use as well as income through the sale of milk. I already have two, one of my own and one that I borrowed from a friend. I plan to purchase one for KES 35 000. For the rest of the amount, I plan to start poultry farming, constructing poultry houses, buying chicks and chicken feed."

"Farming is the main economic activity in our area . Unlike crop and livestock farming which has been greatly affected by diseases and droughts, poultry farming has been a source of food and income during these difficult times. Receiving this money means expansion of poultry farming and hence more revenues.This money will facilitate the purchase of 15 hens , a wire mesh and other building materials for the chicken coop.With KES 30000 I will be able to do this."

"We spent the first transfer money on various things that are important to us. I have been suffering from tooth cavities and hence we had agreed that upon getting the transfers, I was going to seek medical attention. So, we took out KES 15000 that I used in doing so. Apart from the health expenses, we also took out KES 7000 that we used in buying food, and some KES 2000 that we used in buying clothes for the children. The remaining amount of money, we added to the little that we still had from a loan that we had borrowed from a SACCO. We then used the money to buy a piece of land. We bought a point of an acre. We live near a town center and we usually rear chickens. There is too much theft of chickens and other things going on in the place. The theft has become a menace, I hence thought that it is better to buy a piece of land in the rural area where there is not much theft. Also, the area that we live in has no title deed, it is a place that the government moved us to since they wanted to construct a hospital in the place where we used to live in. We hence fear that we might be chased away one day. We didn't have money to buy the piece of land. I practice subsistence small-scale farming while my husband has a small electronics business. The money that we make most of it usually goes to the payment of school fees for our three children and two in secondary school. We are hence so much thankful to GiveDirectly for their help."

"After the receipt of the first transfer, I had a lot of plans lined up that I needed to accomplish. At the top of my list was the establishment of a poultry farming that I needed to start small - first by constructing a chicken coop. I spent KES 6000 on the purchase of the construction materials, paid the labor charges, and later brought in three chickens that are currently laying eggs that in turn are sold to pay for other small household goods. I also obtained a piece of furniture that came with the sitting cushions at KES 3200 to replace the wooden bench that we had been using. I also added some food to the foods baskets worth KES 6000, repaid a KES 12000 loan that I had with then shopkeeper, tilled and planted my piece of land with a total cost of KES 1000, bought a sheep that came with a lamp, and saved the remaining that I had been using to replenish any household good whenever we run short of."

"The day before I received the funds from give directly, I was without a penny to buy food for my family. So, we all slept on empty stomachs. The following day I woke up to the message confirming the receipt of the funds. As I was contemplating how to use the cash, my child came home claiming to have been sent away due to fee areas of KES1,300. So, I took him back, paid KES600 and they allowed him back to class. For the love I have for poultry farming I use the remaining amount to buy two chickens."

"In my family, I am the only one still in school, a class eight pupil to be precise. Ever since the demise of my mother on December 26th, 2019, my father, who works as a handyman at a construction site, has single-handedly been supporting us. What he makes is not enough to fend for us, so when I received the funds from give directly, I used 500 shillings to pay for my school fee arrears of KES1000. Since sanitary towels are a necessity for me, I bought two costing KES200. Using KES300 I bought two chickens and the remaining KES200, I contributed towards food purchases for the family."

"We spent most of the transfer money on buying a cow. We bought the cow at KES 30000. This was our priority upon getting the transfer. This is because we didn't have a cow, and hence we wanted one so that it could help us in terms of getting milk and in the future with the children's school fees payment. We had a cow before but unfortunately, it died due to some disease hence leaving a calf behind. As a result, we have been incurring the cost of buying milk, where we usually buy a cup or two at times when we get money. We were not able to buy one before because we didn't have the money needed. I am a farmer and the little money that I get from selling vegetables is what I use in buying food for my family of seven, and some household goods such as sugar, soap, etc. My husband on other hand usually does the business of buying and selling chickens and the money that he makes usually goes to school fees payment for our five children, that is, one in university, one in secondary school, and three in primary school. Other than buying the cow, we also spent KES 15000 on paying school fees for our children, the one in university and secondary school. With the remaining amount of money, we used it in buying food and some household necessities. We are thus grateful to GiveDirectly because we no longer incur the cost of buying milk like before."