"It was around 9.30 am and I was feeding my dairy cow before I could go for my daily work when I received a message alert on my phone. I decided to check and know who would have sent me an SMS while hoping that it was a customer who needed my services. Upon realizing that it was a Mpesa message from GiveDirectly, my heart was filled with joy as I read it over and over again. I informed my family about it and they were equally overjoyed because of the good news."

"It was a few minutes past 8 am when one of my neighbors informed me that GiveDirectly had sent her the promised funds and inquired whether I had received mine. It was at this time that I decided to check my phone and know whether I had any unread messages. My heart was filled with joy upon confirming that I was among the lucky people. This money gave me hope that I would soon fulfill my heart's desire and be a proud owner of a dairy cow."

"I am grateful to GiveDirectly for coming through at a time when I was in my worst financial situation. Our region has been hit hard by drought which has made it impossible to do farming. It has been a challenge buying foodstuffs daily since I do not have a source of income to rely on. I used to sell milk from my cows but because of the drought, it even became hard to maintain them. Ever since I received the transfers, I never lacked food in my household. I bought enough foodstuffs like maize flour that served us for some weeks. In addition to this, I also saved KES 400 in a savings group that I am a member of in our village. I am happy that despite the financial hardship, I managed to save part of the transfer to help me in case of an emergency."

"It was around 7 am while milking cows that blissful morning. That's when my kids came running joyfully informing me of the arrival of my transfers. I was very excited and this motivated me to finish milking the cows joyfully. And I withdrew the money the same day at the noon hour."

"Purchasing four dairy goats at the cost of KES 20,000 is the biggest difference in my daily life. This is because I used to buy milk daily and it was so costly for me. I depend on casual jobs and small-scale farming. The amount of money that I get through this is so small and I use it in meeting up on our daily bread. There was no savings or extra money to invest in any projects. Currently, I have four dairy goats. I am able to milk them and get enough milk for my family. This has actually made me not incur the daily cost of buying milk like before. I have devoted much of my time to this project and I wish to improve and grow it to another level. Goats reproduce faster and help whenever there is an emergency at home. The cost of feeding the goats is easy and simple. I am so grateful because GiveDirectly has enabled me to fulfill my dream of owning a goat rearing project. I will buy a dairy cow in the near future. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has improved our living standards."

"I burn charcoal for sale and the whole process takes a week with an outcome of not more than KES 1000. With a family of 10, the income can barely afford a whole day's meal. I am, therefore, planning to invest in goat rearing. I already bought one at KES 2500 with the second transfer. My target is 10 and once they will have given birth then I can sell some to raise money for both my children's school fees and for purchasing a cow. Cows are more beneficial since after giving birth then I will not only have additional cows, but they provide milk to both for sale and family consumption. At the moment we rarely use milk in our household since we can not afford and this will be a plus for my family's nutrition. KES 500 I spent on a pair of school attire for my child who had a torn one."

"The biggest difference that the transfer has brought into my life is that with having bought the cow, I no longer incur the cost of buying milk. I also no longer go out to do casual jobs to earn a living since I am busy looking after my cow. I get my income from the sale of milk. I usually supply 2 liters in the morning to one of my neighbors and he pays me at the end of the month. In the evening, I also sell 2 liters but on retail. The money that I get from the sales usually helps me in buying essential household items such as sugar, tea leaves, etc. My life has thus changed for the better and I am no longer poor like before. This is all thanks to GiveDirectly."

"When I withdrew the money, my aim was to renovate my house from a temporary one to a permanent one. The current one is made of mud but I am planning to construct a block one. Concerning that, I bought two trips of building blocks for KES 42000.00. I also bought two goats for KES 7000.00, I opted for goats since they are can resist drought over cows. Thereafter I used the remaining amount in buying some food for my family."

"I am a father of two, a carpenter, and a chick's house maker for the past three years. These ventures have helped to feed my family. Secondly, I also do agribusiness farming of tomatoes, sukuma wiki, and cabbages. But this is normally affected by long dry spells. So when I received my transfers I spent KES 23,000 on a generator that will aid in irrigating my vegetables. Thirdly, I spent KES 22,500 on a heifer which will be a source of milk once it reproduces. This is because I have been buying a liter of milk for the past ten years at KES 60 which has been quite costly. Initially, I had four dairy cows but paid out three as dowry about 8 years ago and the remaining one is now due. This will help in reducing milk expenses soon. Fourthly, I spent KES 5,000 on boosting my chick house-making business. This is because I normally sell one at KES 600 and KES 5000 profit every month. This is a venture I started when finished school about three years ago and has been my main income source. Lastly, I spent KES 1,000 on food and household items."

"The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving the transfers is availability of adequate food to feed my family. This has relieved me of the routine of waking up early just to sell githeri in order to feed my family.This came with me challenges resulting from customers delay in paying me and others not paying at all. And currently I am planning to start a potato chips business to replace the githeri business because an established customer base Secondly, owning a dairy cow is another big difference whose income will help in school fees payment. This is because I had desired to buy an additional cow for the past five years when my kids joined high school fees."