"The biggest difference in my daily life since I received the funds is buying the dairy cow which has helped my family save on the milk expenses and earn as little as KES 200 a day for our daily expenses. I also was among the customers who took advantage of the price of maize, because at the moment the price has gone up due to the high demand and the low supply of maize in our area."

"I was in a meeting that day in the village. I had earlier heard my phone ring but could not think it was anything serious or anything that required my attention. It was not until later in the day at around 7:00 pm that I checked and saw a message from GiveDirectly. It was one of the best messages I have ever read. They had finally made good their promise of sending us cash to our accounts. I shared the good news with my wife and children who equally were very happy. My children were so quick to advise me to buy a dairy cow since we had stayed long enough without one."

"We used KES 37000 to buy building materials for construction of our new house and used another KES 11000 to buy a cow for keeping and saved another KES 7000 that will help me in assembling more building materials like cutting of timber and meeting casual labour cost. I thought of building a new house since the one that we currently live in is mud walled and often affected by heavy rains. It has also made me loose my self esteem especially with friends whom we do merry go round chamas with. I often felt like I was lagging behind and I would not even feel free to have them at my home since it was not so pleasing structure. Right now I can comfortably host them knowing better that I will be able to show them progress of the construction work. As for the cow that I bought, it is one of the investments that will help me sustain my family even as I look forward to securing a job with he government. I recently got married and I am making all preparations such that by the time I have children I will be able to take care of them without having a divided mind and with all the resources that I require in place. I could not thank GiveDirectly enough for the transfer."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is the fact that I am more happy than I have ever been in my life after receiving the first payment.The good deeds that I have accomplished have really brought so much joy and happiness for me and my family. How I wish that I had someone with a smartphone here, we would have taken a photo of the cow that I bought and sent it to you to see. I feel so much happy to have benefitted from this program."

"I am a father and milk vendor for the last year. In a day I get up to KES 150 in profits which helps to expand my business. I also do small-scale farming of maize and beans majorly for household consumption. When the transfers arrived, KES 25,000 was spent on a heifer. This is because for fifteen years I have been buying a liter since my two dairy cows died about 12 years ago. Secondly, I bought high-density two high mattresses at KES 8,000, and two beds at KES 7,000. Due to the coziness of the mattress, I now wake up at 8 am unlike before when I used to wake up at 5 am due to a low-density mattress that had become thin and uncomfortable. Thirdly, I also bought three goats at KES 12,000. This is a long-term investment that will help with school fees payment. Fourthly, I spent KES 10,000 on two pairs of the latest clothing fashion for my family. Initially, I used to wear second-hand clothes but now we are decently dressed. Similarly, KES 2,000 was spent on plowing and planting maize seeds. This will reduce household expenses. Lastly, I also spent KES 1,800 on food and household items."

"I work with a mobile network operator company which lately has been affected by the Competition from other mobile network companies and Covid-19. I have been able to provide enough for my family of four members but cannot stretch to have any investments. I used KES 35,000 and bought a dairy cow, which has been providing us with milk for consumption and for sale. I also leased a piece of land for farming with KES 6,000 for the entire year. The remaining cash was spent on food and clothes for the whole family."

"I spent KES 30000 of my recent transfer on buying another cow. I have been rearing one cow and it has always been my wish to buy another so that it can help me in getting more income through the sale of milk. More income would mean me being able to provide for my family all the basic needs comfortably. This has not always been possible since the money that I usually get paid from doing casual jobs is only enough to buy food for them. Other than that, the number of cows that we own will also increase and hence our wealth status too. I also spent KES 5000 on buying a sheep. This sheep is my future investment since I can sell some of the offspring and get money for other important things such as paying school fees for my children. Other than the above, I also bought chairs at KES 3000 and I tilled and planted my land with another KES 3000. With the remaining transfer amount, I spent it on buying food, clothes, and paying school fees for my children. I am thus so much grateful to GiveDirectly for the support. May God bless you."

"It was around 6 pm and I was at home relaxing having finished milking the cow when I thought of checking my phone which I had left in the house. I went to get it and I saw that I had a new messge. I decided to open it to check what it was all about and I was so much surprised to find out that I had received the promised transfer of KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I was so excited on seeing this and I thanked God and GiveDirectly for the blessing."

"The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving the transfers is buying the cow, which is almost giving birth. It’s a blessing in disguise because when I bought the cow I did not know and thought it was very expensive, at the moment I am reaping the fruits which are enough milk for consumption and for sale. Milk has become expensive and quite a necessity because of its high demand which is good for business."

"I am a happy man knowing that I was able to accomplish so much in a short span. My life has been lifted amazingly a step further. The biggest difference in my life today is that I was able to pay back a debt. In that, I had acquired a piece of land though I was unable to pay for it fully due to an unreliable source of income. I am glad that I will not be required to sell any of my cows or properties to offset the debt. I am forever grateful for the support that lifted my living standard amazingly."