"Firstly i would love to thank this organisation for implementing this project here, most of us people in this village we are very poor,we have poor living standards with inclusivity of poor shelters,diet and dirty waters for example my self,I have been living in a very small house roofed with glass that always makes me sleep whilst standing during rain season because the glass fatched roof leaks so much ,during rain seasons i remove all my beddings and keep them some where safe from the leaking roof,and this lives me with no choice but to stand the whole night when its raining outside,and I'm no different with someone who is actually sleeping out side and this makes me feel pathetic. For this reason i have made a decision to begin with house project, since its not just a good house that i lack but also other essentials i decided to split the transfer,almost 80% went into the actual house project i had to buy bricks,ironsheet and other small necessities and the other 20% i have used it to buy matress,a blanket and 5 bags of maize for food which will cover us untill 2022."

"I received the money at around 8 am. I was just from fetching water. As I was resting I received the text message. I confirmed that I had received the money. I was very happy and without wasting I went ahead and withdrew the money and bought food for my family. I came back home immediately and cooked for my family."

"I received the money at 7 am. I was preparing to go fetch water. Finding water in our home area is very hard and we have to walk long distances of up to 50 kilometers in such of water. My phone did vibrate and when I looked I found that I had received the cash. I became very happy. I was not even expecting to receive such an amount from anybody."

"Receiving this money means an improved health condition for me and paid school fees for my children. Three years ago when I was still working in a nearby town, I was involved in an accident where I got electrocuted. I remember the fateful afternoon that would change my life for good so vividly. The main power line supplying that town had a fault and as I was passing by a pool of water by the roadside near the power line, I stepped on the water and suddenly I was shocked and immediately went into a comma. If it were not for the Kenya Power emergency team who were not far from the scene when the accident happened, I would have died. I stayed in the intensive care unit for 2 months and was discharged. This was however followed by endless trips to the hospital again for physiotherapy sessions since my legs were seriously injured and am still going for the same. My family of 9 was seriously affected by this ordeal since I was the breadwinner. My two elderly children dropped out of school to look for casual jobs to feed us and take their siblings to school. I am forever indebted to them for their sacrifice. We also sold all the livestock that we had and part of our land to settle the hospital bill which had risen to KES. 250,000. We would like to express our gratitude to GiveDirectly for this gift. It will help me attend the few remaining physiotherapy sessions and pay school fees for our children who are still in school. The other 2 who dropped out of school will also focus on going for vocational training."

"The biggest difference that I have experienced in my life having gotten this transfer is that I am now able to get water for my household consumption. Apart from that, my children and I now have enough space for us to live in with the new house. We thus now have some peace of mind because we no longer move about looking for water for our consumption."

"I recently connected tap water to my homestead after one of my children applied for it. Due to regulation rules, we usually have water twice a week and I am forced to go to the river to fetch water during the other days. It is not my wish to continue with this norm hence I have decided to buy a water tank very soon. I will use the savings that I will get from the group I was once a member though it has been dissolved. This will enable me to collect tap water that can be used when the tap runs dry."

"I posed constructing my house due to financial contain. The little I receive from my casual job goes to buying food and paying school fees leaving me with nothing to save or buy materials to complete the construction of my house. With this money, I will plan KES 60000 to finish constructing my house and renovating my kitchen. Water is now another hurdle in our area, this money will allow me to buy a plastic water tank at KES 35000 and harvest rainwater water. With the remaining money, I will food and clothing to my children."

"The current challenge that I am facing is a scarcity of food and water. This is due to the raving of drought that we are experiencing in our area. It has been almost 2 years without rains in the area and all water pans that we rely on have dried up. I buy 2 of 20litres jerricans of water per day that cost me KES 100. This is very costly to me since I have to buy food every day for my family of 4. My spouse and I depend on charcoal work and our earnings are very little of KES 600 per week. This amount can not fully support all our household expenses, we sometimes miss bathing for 2 days and even skip meals."

"We depend on livestock keeping as a source of income because we live in a dry area which is prone to drought. This has made our farms unproductive and also rivers dry up easily. I am forced to buy water and feeds for my livestock and this increases my expenditure. Sometimes I spend around KES 200 per day to buy animal feeds but produces around 2 litres that I sell at KES 70. I am counting losses and it is the biggest challenge I am facing."

"Am very happy to be in this program. I think the money has come at the opportune time. This money will enable me to finish up my house as you can see it's not in good shape;no doors,no adequate windows and outside plaster. Whenever I go to seek a job especially drawing water for households and building sites from wells, on a good day I usually get paid around MWK1000.00 per day and this is just enough for that day. Some days we go hungry when there is no job to be done. Once the money comes in I will make sure to split it between the house and food. The money will even enavle me to start a small business of selling tomatoes so that I can be earning some income for my family."