"I dwell in one room with my spouse and my two female children, this does not give me the freedom of doing other things. I intend to build a new three-roomed house with ample space to give my husband privacy. This can be done by 35,000 KES, with the remaining amount I will buy two goats to the rear and count them as investments. Water has been a problem in my village I plan to open a water kiosk and sell water to my village people. I will buy water tanks for storage and sell them at a higher price KES 20 when water runs out of taps. Revenue from this business will help me buy food and irrigate kales and spinach which I intend to grow."

"I am happy about the weather conditions lately. For the past 5 months we have had consistent rainfall here. This helps us to produce garden vegetables for our consumption and have rain water for household use. This cuts the costs we usually spend on food and the time we usually spend in fetching water."

"GiveDirectly did well in helping me with money to make my life better it wasn't easy the hustle was tough. Before GiveDirectly program came I use to hurl water for people burning their coal so I can get money to eat but when i got registered for the program and started receiving the transfer payments my life changed. GiveDirectly did extremely and I want to say a big thank you to her."

"It was in the afternoon and I had gone to help a friend with some activity when I got the SMS confirming that I had received the money from GiveDirectly. I was so happy and thanked God when I received the money because I had suffered so much especially with getting regular water for domestic use as well as my income generating activity of horticultural farming. I couldn't afford to have these addressed because my casual job in ballast mining hardly raised enough to enable me to do so. Therefore, I was so happy and grateful to receive this kind of help."

"We used almost the entire first and second transfer to build a more decent house than the one we were living in. It had taken us as a family over 1 year to accumulate money enough to buy timber and when we received the transfer we thought it wise to start building our new house. I am happy that the house is now complete but what remains is the seats and a water tank that we are yet to buy. It is therefore one of my goals which I will be pursuing going forward. This will make our house more habitable and the water tank will bring to an end the long distance that we travel in search of water in rivers and also the cost that normally comes with it. We hope to achieve this soon despite the low income that we make from farming and casual labor that my husband engages in."

"It was around 5.30 pm when I saw an unread message on my phone after getting back from the farm as I was checking what time it was. I became so happy and immediately informed my spouse about the good news. He was equally overjoyed and he informed me that we should call the water tank dealers and book one as we had earlier on planned."

"I have always had an intention of renovating my existing old house to a better structure. The current house I reside in with my family is old and worn out and always stressed up during the rainy season as water seeps from the roof. This creates unfavorable living conditions for my family. To get out of this crisis, I plan to utilize KES 30000 to modernize my house to a better one that will accommodate my family comfortably. The remaining amount will be invested in my children educational needs."

"My husband had been working as a hired rider that used to give him an inconsistent income ranging from KES 100 to KES 300 on a good day. Mid last year, we opted to obtain a motorcycle, and even though it was on loan, we had been able to make consistent installments to the company that gave it to us. On receiving the first and the second transfer, we felt it was a good time to clear the debt so that we can start operating and making savings for our household from its daily proceeds. Out of the second transfer, I paid a total of KES 24000 to clear the debt that was still pending, obtained a valid number plate, and is now fully in operation run and managed by my husband. It was also a great time for my household in that the second transfer came just some weeks before my delivery. I was lucky that the government was able to cover most of the maternity cost and had to only spend KES 10000 on the weekly check-ups that I had to attend. I later bought a sack of dry maize grains that we used as foodstuffs with my family of three, bought two water containers at KES 1500 each that have been helpful in water reservation for the household use and the frequent laundry I had been doing, and spent the remaining amount on the clothing for my newborn baby and emergencies during that time when I could do nothing on my own."

"I was very excited about receiving my transfer. It was around 9 AM, I was sealing some holes on water storage jerricans when I heard a message alert on my phone. I ran to my helper, and they confirmed Give Directly had sent the promised funds. It was a miracle that sent celebrations across the village."

"At our old age we are living in a poor state as in we lack basic needs such as food, clothes and water. My wife has been ill (high blood pressure and mentally unwell) for the last three years. My immunity has been low due to my old age and this has really affected my health as I am most of the time falling sick. We only depend on our daughter who is working as a casual labourer at Mombasa. Receiving this money would mean I buy five goats and new clothes for my family of three. I will spend 20000 KES on this investment and the rest of the money will be spent on buying food and on medication. Through this I believe we will be living happily as we will be affording better health care."