"The mere fact that I received this money put a big smile to my face as it has enabled me t build my permanent house. I am now planning to move into my house without worrying about the leakage in case of rain." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"The biggest difference in my life is that I have saved and bought building materials i.e cement and sand to plaster my house. We had built a new house but could not afford to buy the building materials as my husband's motorcycle business generated minimal income which could only help us buy food for consumption. I am now a proud owner of a beautiful house. Thanks to GiveDirectly."

"Charcoal burning being our main source of income can no longer be depended on due to scarcity of trees and the hard labor it requires which mostly results in health complications. This makes limited financial resources the biggest hardship that we face. Last month, just before the end of first term exams, my son who is in secondary school was sent home to collect his fee balance so he can be allowed to sit his exam. I literally had to beg the headteacher to allow him in school and promised to clear it in May when they re-open for the second term. Also, despite it being the rainy season, we are yet to receive rainfall. This has made water a very scarce commodity in our village, I have to walk for three hours to access the nearest water point. Most times when am very tired due to the nature of my work, I have to spend fifty shillings per twenty litre jerican to be fetched and transported using a motorcycle while normally, l would buy a jerican at ten shillings. "

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I managed to buy a battery for my solar. I had been charging people's phone to earn a living but for over a year, this became a standstill because the battery was not in good condition. Now that I had bought a new one for my solar panel, I can earn a few coins from charging other peoples phones. My home is also well lit compared to the past year." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"Receiving this money will money will mean that I will buy some farm land that we shall cultivate because my household has been surviving on hiring dark land in order to sustain our household with food." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"Receiving this money means that I will buy a piece of land. I sold all my land to pay school fees for the children, therefore at the moment I donot have where to cultivate crops,so this transfers I will spend for buying land for farming. The crops planted will source food for my family. " (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"I spent part of my transfer on purchasing a sewing machine and also started a business of selling bedsheets. I have merged the two businesses in one place just to make sure that I attend to all my customers. My life has really changed in that atleast I get more income unlike before the transfer where I could sell charcoal to get income. Most of the people had dwelled into the charcoal selling business such that getting customers was a problem. I am happy that the one that I started is more reliable. I finally kept the remaining amount as savings hoping to buy a motorcycle that will be my other source of income since I plan to hire someone who will be giving me a few coins at the end of the day."

"Besides my motorcycle business I depend on subsistence farming for a living. However, I do not produce enough due to inconsistent rainfall. My desire is to improve food security for my family. I will therefore purchase oxen to scale up farming and also hire them at a fee. I will also purchase goats for rearing because they multiply faster and are drought resistant. I will sell them to respond to financial needs thus make it easier to take care of my children." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have peace of mind. I get a good amount of money from the ferrying goods and people using my own motorcycle which I recently bought using the first transfer. I am no longer worried about how to provide for my family who used to depend on the meager amount that I could get from hiring someone's motorcycle. Right now I have big dreams that I am comfortably sure of achieving because I get all the profit that I use by myself." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"I have been living as a single parent since September 2016 after the mother of my children passed on. Things have not been that easy since our children are still young and can't do anything to sustain themselves. It has been a period of toiling and moiling on the farms to bring food on the table. I have never gotten a chance to work on the casual labor jobs since I have got to be present any other time at home to look after them. I thank God I have been able to do all that by myself. When we received this money I was really very happy together with my children who would see anyone on a reflector even the motorcycle riders and they would shout "GiveDirectly!" To me, it was the beginning of the good things in our household. Happiness was overwhelming that I could not think of anything in the first week and I had to wait for sometimes before collecting the money from the Mpesa. We are really thankful that you finally brought back the lost smile into our household."