"That day I was at home cooking breakfast and I heard my phone buzz. I went to check and was pleasantly surprised that I had received the money. I felt happy that one of my dreams was going to come true. I did not immediately go and withdraw their money. I waited for two days as I was researching which water tank would best suit me and my family. I am thankful to Give directly for this opportunity."

"It was around 9:30 am I was on my way home from fetching water from a nearby water pan in our village. I received a message alert on my phone. I had carried 20 liters of water on my head hence l did not bother checking my phone until I reached home. I did not believe what I saw on my phone after checking the message. It was the transfer from GiveDirectly which they promised us during the enrollment stages. I felt very happy and thanked the organization for the aid since I had a lot of plans to accomplish in my life."

"At around 9am while on my way home from fetching water in the swamp, is when I received the transfer message. I was exhilarated by the GiveDirectly promise of assisting us during this difficult time. I clearly knew that my problems were half solved just by receiving the money message."

"It was around 9am when I decided to pause to take a rest due to the long distance I had taken from fetching some water. No sooner had I took off the bucket of water from the head than I received a message in my phone. On reading the message, I was overwhelmed despite being tired. I had received the first transfer from GiveDirectly. Immediately I gained strength thus took back the bucket to my head and continued with my journey home due to the excitement I had for receiving a huge amount of money that I haven't received in my life."

"It was on a rainy morning at around 9am when I was trapping some water falling from the roof of a house. While in the cold my phone vibrated and upon checking it was an M-Pesa message. I scrolled down quickly to know who had sent me some money yet I had no appointment with anyone. I was very excited after seeing a huge amount of money I hadn’t received before and this money was from GiveDirectly."

"While sweating very early in the morning doing some digging in the shamba, I had kept my phone under a tree where I usually keep my bottle of water. The phone rang and since I was tired I got an excuse of taking a break. On reaching where the phone was, I checked on the message that had been sent. I felt stronger after seeing that the promise made by the Give Directly officers who came and register us has been fulfilled."

"Upon receiving the money, the first thought that came to my mind was my 2 secondary school boys who have been in and out of school due to school fees. Initially I used to fill bursary forms for them which weren’t a guarantee for them to get the funds. At a time, I remember taking my goats to the school to be converted for money so that my children are retained in school. For me to have peace of mind and also for them to perform well, I took KES 16000.00 and paid the arrears plus the current school fees that was needed; KES 8000.00 each. Also looking at the status of the roofing of my house which was full of holes because the iron sheets were worn-out, I bought 10 pieces of iron sheets for KES 10500.00 fearing that my living state will be pathetic during the rainy season if I won’t work on the roof now. Having been sleeping on sacks and torn mats for a while I decided to buy a mattress for KES 4000.00. I also bought a water tank with a capacity of 240 liters for KES 2000.00. I saved the small amount that left for my family upkeep."

"I bought four goats at a total cost of KES14000 because they are an investment that I can depend on in the future since it is only goats that can survive in this dry climate of our area. Also, goats will multiply and increase in numbers which means that I will be able to sell one or two when I am faced with a financial challenge. Then, I bought two sacks of maize at a total cost of KES3500 because maize is our staple food, buying a packet of maize flour every day is both expensive and time-wasting. I also repaired our motorcycle at a cost of KES5000 which will be helping us fetch water which is very far and at times we have to travel to various places looking for water, therefore , repairing our motorcycle is a huge relief to us."

"I received the text message that I had received the money in the morning hours. I was in preparation to go look for water far away from my home. So when I saw the text message I became very happy because I knew it was going to help me in a very good way."

"I was from fetching water from a nearby tap. so when I arrived home, I cooked breakfast for my family. As I was making breakfast I heard my phone ringing and when I looked at it I found that I had received cash from GiveDirectly. I instantly became very happy. I was very excited that I had received the money."