"Being the family's breadwinner, who solely depends on casual jobs to fend for my family, life has never been easy at all. Most of the time meeting the family's needs like the daily meals was not achievable and we have at times been forced to skip meals all this while. However, this was not my major concern compared to the insecurity our family experienced due to living in small and unsecured grass-thatched. With the five family members, we couldn't shelter under the same roof. Therefore they had to sleep at their grandmother's house which was relatively small as well. During the winter seasons, we would all move from one compound to the other seeking shelter which was very embarrassing and stressful. Apart from that, some of the properties would get damaged or lost due to the poor condition of my house. Some of the valuable assets I have lost over the years are my utensils and a few chickens. I have reached this far because of God. All I can say is that all my three children grew up with God's grace. Even the coming of GiveDirectly is because of God's will and I can't thank them enough because through them I was able to build a bigger house. So far this is the biggest difference in my daily life. I no longer seek shelter from friends and the joy of living with my family under one roof is immeasurable"

"With the first KES 40000 of my first transfer, I constructed a new house after obtaining enough timber, iron sheets, and also paying the labor force. I had been living in a mud-walled house and receiving the transfer was a great opportunity for me to upgrade to a semi-permanent one. Currently, I have a family of three with my firstborn son joining the pre-school class. Getting things in order at the moment is a great step since paying school fees might be harder if at all I will be caught up with time before erecting any lasting structure. I also managed to spend KES 3200 on obtaining one sack of maize as we had been buying in small quantities all along from the nearby market at a bit higher prices compared to the bulk we just obtained. With the remaining amount, I managed to obtain new clothing for every household member and also constructed a new chicken coop with the plan to soon introduce indigenous breeds to enhance the collection of eggs and regeneration of young ones that will, in turn, be sold as an additional source of income in the future."

"As a widow, my life was taking an opposite direction which no human being would love their life to take such an angle. I depend on my elder son who is a casual laborer who fends from hand to mouth and it’s not a daily guarantee. Therefore, I took KES 4000 to pay school fees for my other two children who are still in primary school. I had to prioritize this because they are usually on and off due to school fees. Also, I bought poles and rafters worthy of KES 2400 and cleared a debt of KES 2800 to my house contractor. Previously, I have been leaving in an unsecured house covered with nylon paper on the roof to guard ourselves against direct rains. In addition, my elder son had hadn’t paid the dowry for my daughter-in-law and it’s against our norms and traditions so I took KES 30,000 and paid part of my son’s dowry. We were also bereaved, the 1st lady to my husband passed the exact day. In fact, my helper informed me of the transfer when I was mourning the death of my co-wife. In that, I had to spend KES 10,000 on her send-off and the remaining amount I bought was 4 chickens as my assets."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have started a poultry keeping project. This is my source of income. I had always wished to own a business before but I didn't had money to start. We depend on casual jobs in the village and sometimes to get this jobs is so hard. I do small scale farming and the harvest that we get is only for consumption. I didn't had surplus to sell to earn an income. When I received the transfer from GiveDirectly we decided with my spouse to start a poultry keeping project. Currently we have 50 hens and rooster. We collect eggs daily and sell at the market. This has enabled me to earn an income daily. Currently I am able to meet all my needs and save some money for merry go round group that we have started in our village. I am also in a position to buy chicken feeds and without delaying. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard."

"Since I have been longing to sleep in a better shelter, I spent KES 36000 from my first transfer on buying building materials such as iron sheets, building poles, nails, and timber. I settled on constructing a new house becasue the initial one was small. Also, I used KES 7000 to buy a matress, bed and two blankets to replace the old ones that we were using and also spent KES 5000 on seats. With the amount that remained, I spent KES 3000 on foodstuffs for my family and we are grateful because we no longer skip meals like before and invested KES 4000 on poultry through buying 10 chicken."

"Most of the time I stay in my home . I do not engage myself with active work because of my old age except tending to my chickens here at home. My happiest part is in the evening. I enjoy listening to a local radio station called Taach ,there is a favorite program that I follow in the evening and that explains why I am so happy that time."

"I was not fortunate enough to pursue my education but I want my daughter to prosper in her's.I'm a single mother of one and I stay with my niece. They both depend on me for their education. Since they are day scholar's they have to come back in the evening and do their homework at the house, bit I have no electricity nor a solar panel to aid in studying through the night. Sometimes they have to stay in School till late so as to use the school's electricity but I fear for their safety. I hope to use an amount of KES 17,000 for a solar panel to help in lighting and phone charging, KES 20,000 on their School fees and other school expenses. As for the remaining amount I will use on buying wiring equipment to build a house for my chicken and food for the family."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have been able to start a poultry-keeping project. I was able to purchase 10 chickens using part of my transfer and my aim is to continue buying more till it reaches a point where I will be earning KES 500 a day. I settled on this project since it does not require a lot of capital and close monitoring as one can operate it alongside other projects."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that my children now own some assets as I was able to buy each one of them a goat. This has made them so happy and this brings satisfaction to me as a parent. They had always persuaded me to buy for them goats or even chicken so that they will later use in supporting their education but I had not been able to due to lack of money. Being able to grant them their request has changed my daily life as I am at peace with myself."

"My eldest son owns a poultry business in Kilifi which he uses to pay school fees for his three siblings, as well as provide for his family. The burden is too much for him and at some point, his stock reduced from 200 to 50 chickens. He is of great support to me and I have always wished to expand his business. Now that I am guaranteed to receive this money, I will form a partnership with my son. Every month I will dedicate 1500 KES an amount that is enough to acquire 20 more chicks. This will not only improve our financial status but also make the business sustainable."