"I will buy softdrink, coldwater, kool aid, rice, onions. I will also charge phones."

"I went to the pump to fetch water and upon my return my Sister's husband said Emily your phone was ringing. I carried the phone to my Pastor because my in-law doesn't know about phone and my Pastor said Emily GiveDirectly sent you 40375LD,.I started to cry out of joy and later started dancing and singing praising God for GD coming into my life and blessing me this much."

"It was in the evening at around 5 pm. I was at home on the farm busy watering the vegetables. My wife had gone to the river to fetch some water. Suddenly, as I was going about with my duty, I heard my phone ringing notifying me that I had a new message. I stopped and I pulled it out of my pocket to check what it was all about. I was pleasantly surprised and I could not believe my eyes when I saw that it was an SMS saying that we had received the promised transfer of KES 55000 from GiveDirectly as promised. I became so happy on seeing this that I quickly finished whatever I was doing so that I could go share with my wife who was now back home the good news. She was so happy on hearing this and we celebrated together giving thanks to God and GiveDirectly for the blessing."

"We spent most of the first transfer money on buying a cow. We bought it at KES 38000. We decided to buy the cow because this was what we had always wanted to have the most. We do not have a source of milk and hence we usually incur the cost of buying a litre daily at KES 45. Apart from buying milk, we also usually buy maize for our consumption. These costs plus buying other household goods and clothes for the children are what usually takes up most of the money that we make. I am a subordinate staff at a nearby dispensary while my husband is casually employed as a driver to supply loaves of bread and other snacks. Due to the costs, we had hence not been able to buy the cow. We are thus grateful to GiveDirectly because with having bought the cow, we no longer incur the cost of buying milk like before. Apart from the cow, we also bought a bag of maize at KES 3300, and with the remaining amount of money, we used it in buying clothes and a water container."

"Clearance of school fees after receiving my first transfer could not come second after a devastating season seeing my children being sent home every week with the hope of getting some money before going back. I needed to pay a total of KES 28000 for the whole year and am now glad that they have ample time to study and catch up with other students. I also purchased a large plastic water tank that has stopped my frequent movement to and from the river as I have been doing previously. I can now collect the rainwater after fixing gutters that direct enough water from the roof to the tank that my family of four can use without having to worry at all. With the remaining amount, I used part of it on purchasing a dual purpose goat at KES 3000 and used the last bit of the remaining on buying foodstuff for the household."

"The water normally enters the house during the reany season. This was my worry, but my hands were limited especially when there was no money to pay children tuition neither to talk about renovation. I directed my money to the renovation of the house and payed the children school fees as well as purchased food for the family."

"We were initially constructing a house but due to financial constrain it had taken so long as none of us had a consistent source of income that made it hard for us to make consistent saving.On receiving the first transfer, we had to prioritize some amount to buy construction materials - cement , iron sheets and painting which costed Kshs.20,000.I also had to till my land and buy a certified seeds to prepare for rainy season at Kshs.7,000 .I also obtained fencing poles, a barbed wire, that has made my field to be completely fenced that costed Kshs. 6,000 .I also spent Kshs.5,000 in constructing a dam where I could fetch water for my livestock hence not having to go long distances in search of water.With the remaining amount, I spent in buying foodstuffs for my family."

"I felt sick last year July to the extent that my son have to put me in a wheelbarrow and carries me to the waterside and I was place into the canoe and taken to Cestos and then later to Monrovia. However, I was taken to Ahmadiyya Mualim Clinic for treatment and got well. I was very happy to restore my health."

"When I withdrew the money I first bought a mattress for KES 4500.00. For some years I had been sleeping on a nice bed with poor bedding. Looking and the water scarcity problem that has been bothering not only me but also the whole community, I opted to buy a water tank of a capacity of 240 liters so that I could store some water to curb the problem that had been bothering my family and also bought 2 bales of maize floor for the family. The tank cost was KES 1800.00. I also paid KES 7000.00 school fees for my five primary school children who had some fee arrears something that was giving both the students and I sleepless nights because they were ever being sent home for school fees. Having settled those pressing issues, I bought 20 pieces of iron sheets and construction poles for KES 27000.00. the aim of buying these construction materials is to build a new spacious house so that the one we are in I give it to my children."

"Receiving this money means access to clean and safe water. I am old and I have been affected with arthritis. My joints ache a lot and longer have the effort to carry heavy items. In our area, we fetch water from the river 2 kilometers away from my house. To walk this distance alone to me is hectic and to top up with 20 liters of water in my back makes it worse. I normally sleep with backache and joint pains leaving me sleepless overnight. I have desired to purchase a water tank to assist me in harvesting rainwater. So when I receive this transfer I will purchase a tank holding 3000 liters capacity. This will relieve me from regular visits to the river and concentrate on planting traditional vegetables which will then increase income when I sell them in plenty."