"Since we are a family that depends mainly on dairy farming, prolonged droughts that are common in our area act as our main challenge. During such periods, it becomes costly and difficult to acquire feeds and water for our livestock. In that sense, I am worried that we might become overwhelmed by the challenge of running our project during dry spells."

"My husband works as a gardener, far away from home. I have for a long time been hoping that he will save up some money and come back home to start a business. Life is easier when he is around. He helps me with the farm work and that gives me time to do all other chores like fetching water, washing, and cooking. It also makes me happy to see him around us. This money could mean the beginning of his journey back home. Together, we will think of a business to start and run."

"Water around our village has been a major concern and usually I head out to fetch water on a daily basis. On this particular day, I had just arrived home from the water fetching errand when I received an MPESA notification. I was so elated and could not believe what I saw. I was able to withdraw the amount the following day and kick started some projects I had set."

"Like a normal day routine, I had gone to fetch water for home consumption. I received an MPESA text on my phone and with this came a huge wave of joy and happiness as it was unexpected. I withdrew the funds from my account the following morning and immediately put them to great use."

"GiveDirectly has greatly improved the living conditions as now I am able to pipe fresh water to my homestead and also I am now able to build a much bigger house to contain my family comfortably."

"It was around 6pm and I was still at work in my kiosk when I received the text message confirming that I have received the money from GiveDirectly. I felt so good when I got the money because it would help me address my needs easily since I had less ability before as my kiosk business couldn't enable me to do so. I was so happy because I knew at last I'll be able to get the water storage tank I had intended to get all along which would be a backup to my tap"

"I have been suffering from allergies for the past year. Due to this, I can not do heavy duties so to eat I rely on farming maize and sweet potatoes on a small scale. Additionally, I am allergic to smoke and needed another house. Fortunately, when I received my first transfers I used a total of KES 33,500 on building a second house. This is because initially, I had only a tiny Iron roofed house which was built two years ago and acted both as a kitchen and bedroom and couldn't accommodate me and my grandkids. Therefore, KES 9500 was used on twenty-two Ironsheets, KES18,000 on construction trees, and KES 6000 on payment of labor costs. This has helped reduce the effects of firewood smoke on my enemies. Secondly, KES 3,600 was used on my medication for the treatment of allergies. This is because it has been on and off for the past year. Additionally, I spent KES 2800 on a 140 liters water storage container. This will help in the storage of water, especially during rainy seasons. Lastly, I spent KES 2600 on a mattress. This is because I have been sleeping on clothing rags for the past 13 years. Nowadays, though I don't have a bed, I sleep comfortably and I am grateful to GiveDirectly."

"Since my husband passed on 10 years ago, I have been taking care of my grown-up daughter who is sickly. All the resources have gone into paying for her medication leaving me with no cow yet I used to sell milk to earn a living. Receiving this money means a lot to me and my family because I will buy two dairy cows with KES 55,000. I project to get 6 liters of milk when it calves and from this, I will be earning KES 240 which will enable me to cater to my family's needs like food and medication. The rest of the money will enable me to purchase a 3000 litres water storage tank."

"Receiving this money means better housing and a reduction of workload at home. Currently, I live in a mud house that needs to be smeared with mud weekly, especially during rainy seasons. This is because when it rains, our clay soil cannot absorb water, so it floods and it also affects the walls. Smearing it takes a lot of time and it is very tiresome. I'm growing old and I will not be able to smear it now and then like I used a long time ago. I, therefore, plan to build a two-roomed, timber house which can cost me up to KES 40,000. For the rest of the amount, I plan to purchase a heifer as an investment and to be giving me milk for domestic use in the future."

"I am a widow and the only breadwinner in my family. I earn a living mainly working on manual jobs such as fetching water for other people, working on other people’s farms, making and selling brooms and many others. The pay from these jobs is very little and I only spend it in buying food for the family. Because of the little pay that I get, I have been struggling to meet other essential family needs such as paying school fees for my children. When I received my second transfer, I spent a larger portion of it to buy food worth KSH 1900 because we had no food left in the house. Besides buying food, I spent KSH 1100 to clear a school fee date for my daughter, who was due to sit for her end of primary education examinations."