"The county government of Kilifi brought clean water buzzer for community use two weeks ago. That relieved me of walking for along distance to go get water. The relief water brought happiness to me."

"The first money transfers helped me in constructing my house but I was yet to finish the roofing to the house and so I bought twenty pieces of iron sheet which went for KES 1,150 which accumulated to KES 23,000 and timber worth KES 1,600 which would help in finishing the house since the previous house was almost collapsing due to a faulty foundation and also for being aged. I also bought three goats worth KES 9,000 which I planned on rearing for domestic purposes and a water tank which cost KES 2,000 since our area was experiencing drought plus buying water every now and then was expensive and I needed to store water so that both my family and the animals could benefit. Lastly I saved KES 10,000 which I planned on starting a business mostly for selling lady clothes."

"In September, one of the politicians donated fresh water to our area because it is one of the affected by drought. This brought happiness to me because the water lasted for me for one month. During this time my children did not suffer from diarrhea which had become common."

"In 2015, I was diagnosed with tuberculosis. A condition that was brought about by the activities of charcoal burning. This disease has been disturbing me from doing my various activities. I now receive some medication but it has never healed. Am now subjected to very light duties of which its hard in our area owing the fact that one need to be active to be able to access some of the common services. I have to walk to long distances to fetch water and get other services like healthy facilities."

"My husband is a casual worker, he drills wells and pit latrines this comes once in a blue moon with fewer returns amounting to KES 5000 per pit. We have five children and with the pronged drought getting water and food has been a challenge. We have to buy food and water every day, staying without a reliable source of income challenges me. I am worried about providing for my 5 children, sometimes I wish they were less but I can not do anything."

"I spent KES12000 repairing my husband's motorcycle that had been sidelined with a mechanical problem for far too long which made things more difficult for us. This is because the motorcycle used to help us in fetching water since we have to travel very far to get water and hiring the services of a motorcycle taxi is very expensive and unaffordable to us. Therefore, repairing the motorcycle was a very huge relief to us, as well as an investment because we can offer motorcycle taxi services to other people. I kept aside KES25000 to buy some goats when the current drought and famine subsides because it is very risky to keep livestock in this state of the climate and I would not want to throw away my investment."

"A prolonged period of drought has been the biggest challenge we are currently facing. Over the past 9 months, we have received inadequate rainfall in our area; lack of water and low crop production has been part of us. We entirely depend on rainfall to survive as a farmer because we have 0.5 acres of land where we have grown maize. I am worried that if the situation persists, my young family of 4 will cripple in hunger."

"When I receive the cash transfer, I will use some to improve small business, pay children school fees and the balance will be used to plaster my house floor. I am currently doing a small business and wish to improve it because the earnings cannot meet all of my family needs. The intention for the business was to complete my house, the house floor is very dusty that disturbs us a lot, we always pour water on the floor to keep it in a better condition. If I am successful to receive the cash transfer, I would love to buy cement and plaster the floor, My kids are not in school due to financial constraints, I will send them to school."

"It was around 9 AM when I was from the waterpoint then I heard my phone ringing so loudly. I was so tired and opted to ignore the message notifications. I went ahead with my household chores and for about ten minutes another message popped in. I asked my brother to confirm for me what it could be. From the look on his face, I suspected there was some splendid news for me. He happily informed me that I had received my first transfer from GiveDirectly. I was so happy and I remember calling all my family members to inform them about the blessings."

"Before receiving the money I had the intentions to dig a well and pump water so that I could use since our village was experiencing drought and most times I had to buy water which was costly and also came from very far. I also wanted to at least manage to buy livestock so that I could rear."