"I generally face a problem of poverty which has forced me to borrow money with high interest which at times fail to refund in time and be forced to sell my assets like goats to clear the debt. I also at times face hardships with getting food for members because diseases destroy our crops like bananas leaving with less options of getting food and we also low income that can not enable meet basic needs regularly."

"Being the first born in a family of 8 children, GiveDirectly transfers have meant a lot to me and my family. I have been able to support my mother pay school fees for my two siblings who are now in secondary school. While doing this, I have relieved my mother who is also a widow and allowed her to concentrate on the needs of other siblings who are still in lower primary school. Had we not received these transfers together with my younger brother and mother then things would have continued to be tough for us as a family. Relying on support from my mother who did charcoal selling to make some income was just not enough. We would have our brothers being sent home for school fees affecting their overall performance in school. At least things are now different in that we have shared responsibilities among ourselves. Going into the future, my goal is to start saving part of my transfer as I prepare to join college to further my studies. I had to take a pause after I completed my form four studies due to lack of school fees. GiveDirectly transfers have awoken my dreams and made me have a clear vision of what I want to do. This year I will be saving from both the casual work that I do and the transfer that I receive each month from GiveDirectly. My target is to reach $200 before the year ends and I will be good to go. After joining school then I will later invest more money on goat rearing and other livestock."

"Over 5 years ago, I was hit with a tragedy when my daughter passed on and left her little kids under my care. I love my grandkids, and so I had no choice but to take care of them while their mother was not around. This was not an easy task, especially considering the fact that I had no job. The opportunity from Givedirectly came a few years later, allowing me to care for my grandchildren. I intend to use the money to pay for both of their tuition fees and take care of their basic needs. I also plan on buying a couple of animals, because so far I have bought three goats as an investment for the future, and I will buy some more with the money. Lastly, I will ensure that we always have a meal because occasionally that is also a problem."

"The transfers have ensured that I do not lack food in my household since I was enrolled. I have been depending on subsistence farming which has not been doing well due to the drought that has severely affected us. The transfers are my only hope since I do not have anyone to provide for me. Despite the financial difficulties, I have been saving Ksh.1000 every month in our local merry-go-round and my plan is to buy goats. I currently have two goats which I acquired through the transfers. My goal is to buy more goats once my turn to receive the money comes, since these are the only assets that I can own, in my lowly financial status."

"In the upcoming years, I want to open a retail store to raise our family's revenue. My spouse, who provides the majority of our family's income, rides a motorcycle for a living. At the end of the day, the commission he receives from it is insufficient to support our needs and the requirements of our two children. I intend to invest the transfers I will be getting in the upcoming months in goat rearing in order to earn the necessary funds to establish the business. I've already purchased ten of them with the prior transfers, and I still intend to buy fifteen more.They reproduce every year, and I anticipate having enough by the following year so that when I sell them, I will have enough money to start the business. He will not have to suffer on his own once the business is up and going since we will work together to support our family."

"In the next year, I would like to have grown my herd of three goats to 15. This will provide me enough wealth to sell and generate school fees for my two grandchildren who are currently in grades seven and six. Their parents, who operate a small food point in the village, struggle to raise sufficient school fees for the children. It would relieve me to have the capacity to support them to that level. Besides, education is the best solution the children will have to end the hardships in the household."

"My husband and I both work on casual jobs. I make a living by selling charcoal and occasionally growing crops on my farm. My husband performs manual labor in Mombasa town by pushing a cart to sell tap water and carrying bulky items to the market. The job we undertake are short term contract jobs that last to a maximum of two weeks, so eventually I'll be out of a job and out of money to support my family. The oldest of my three children, who attends Ikanga Primary School, just finished her primary education and will begin secondary school in the coming academic year. I made the choice to spend my most recent transfer on a $30 goat. In the event that I need money to cover my children's school expenses, I can rely on the goat as a future investment. It will multiply and double my initial investment in a few months. With the last $4, I finally bought two packets of maize flour. This increased the amount of food already in the house and made sure that my family would never go hungry."

"I have always dreamt about owning livestock but financial constraints have hindered my capacity to acquire one. As a motorcyclist operating in the village, the little I make can barely cover anything beyond food. Am grateful for the cash transfer as they present an ideal opportunity to buy and expand my herd over the next few years. Having recently completed a house construction exercise using previous transfers, I aim to channel each of the upcoming transfers toward buying goats. I would be content if I own at least 12 goats by the end of the year."

"With my first transfers, I managed to buy eight goats because I wanted to do goat keeping as my main economic activity. Next year, I am looking forward to buy more goats and accomplishing this means that I will be able sell these goats in future when they will have multiplied and hence take care of my family."

"Receiving this money means that I will be able to buy 10 bags of maize to warrant me and my family food security until next harvesting season. Thereafter, I plan on buying 3 goats to breed and multiply so that I might be able to sell them at a profit later in life when need arises. This money is also to act as start up capital for my business. I intend on venturing into fish selling business right here in my village. I plan on venturing into this business because I feel like it is profitable here in my area for only a few are doing it and I see they are benefitting from it. I am unable to put price tags on my expenditures because I am unaware of their current market value. All these programs I would implement within a week's time after receiving the money from GD."