"With the first KES40000 of my transfer, I managed to purchase 20 iron sheets, obtained timber, and construction poles that are currently useful in the construction of my new house. It has been so hard for my firstborn kid who is currently 2 years old since the hut currently in a state of disrepair had been leaking both on the roof and also allowing water in through the crevices on the walls every time it rains. This had been affecting the health status of my child making me frequent the hospital visit in search of treatment. I am glad that the construction is on, and even though I am currently being hosted by my mother-in-law, I am hopeful that I will soon be moving into the new house. With KES 1500 of the remaining amount, I obtained half a sack of dry maize grains meant for the household foodstuff, sent KES 10000 to my husband who needed to do the motorbike repair as it had been slowing down his daily operations to earn income on the road. I am grateful that GiveDirectly gave us this support that had brought a great difference in my household."

"Drought has caused water scarcity which is a challenge to me. At my age, I am not energetic enough to walk over ten kilometers to draw water. The only option would be buying from vendors but I have no money. My two grandchildren manage to fetch only forty liters a week. Many times I lack water for household use and I cannot even make a cup of tea."

"I had been hoping to expand, my livestock farming over a long time since it is the easiest investment that requires only grazing fields and enough water around. The one cattle I had been having had been giving us just enough milk for the home use, and the need for a second one was inevitable as I needed to be selling surplus milk to earn some income. On receiving the first transfer, I spent KES 25000 on obtaining a five-month in-calf breed. I also obtained a new piece of furniture at KES 10000 to replace the old wooden benches I had been having in my house, prepared my piece of land, and obtained two sachets of maize seeds to be planted soon at a total of KES3000. With the remaining amount, I managed to use KES 1100 on settling school fees for my two grandchildren who have been staying with me and used the last KES6000 on obtaining a sack of maize and a half a sack of beans that are currently serving as our daily foodstuff. I am thankful that I have managed to accomplish a lot and looking forward to the second transfer so that I can venture into other new projects."

"On receiving the first transfer,l was grateful and thanked God for the great favor that had come upon us that morning. It has been prayers every single day since I was enrolled in the program. I needed this money to help me in connecting the piped water to my home since I had been struggling a lot fetching water from the river. At my age, it had been so hard walking to and from the distant river with a water bucket on my head. I am still grateful that I now have clean water right at my doorstep."

"I was at home relaxing after completing my morning chores like fetching water from the water pan for family consumption. I was tired after walking a long distance looking for water. It was around 9 o'clock when I received the message notification on my phone. After checking, I realized that I had received my transfer from GiveDirectly. I felt happy with my husband for receiving our aid. We jointly celebrated and started to plan on how to spent our transfer"

"I spent KES 17000 to buy a water tank that I will be using to harvest rainwater for domestic use and to construct its stand, used KES 10000 to pay school fees for my son who had been sent back home, and saved KES 10000 in my account for emergency purposes. I am now glad since I will not be walking for a long distance looking for clean water for domestic use. Using the remaining amount, I used KES 8000 to purchase two sacks of maize for consumption, KES 4000 on clothing and invested KES 3500 by buying a goat."

"There is shortage of water in our village, therefore, we have to walk very far, sometimes to the neighboring villages to fetch water from the man made dams. This has led to scarcity of food that forces my family and I to eat very little in order to save for the days ahead as we do not know how and when this drought will ease. It is a sad state and I'm not happy seeing my children going to school on almost empty stomachs."

"My last-born son is joining class eight next year. I am unemployed, I used to hawk water in town earning 100KES per day. This has never been enough to sustain my family. My boy's performance is exemplary but the dream of taking him to secondary school level is piping. The GiveDirectly model is timely because I am planning to save the monthly remittance to accumulate what is enough to enroll, my child, in secondary school next year."

"I am so excited together with my husband to finally get enrolled into this program. We have been hearing that the program is no longer coming to our village but now it's here. The challenges we face are alot. We rarely harvest enough as rains are no longer coming like before hence maize harvests have declined. Even rice is no longer a good crop since it relies on more year round water which is scarce up here despite the lake being near. Sometimes my husband goes to help established fishermen to earn an income. I also sometimes earn an income through piece works of farming. On good days, we earn at least MWK3000.00 whichis used sparingly for about four days. The first priority for me and my husband is to have a better house than this one. This one leaks a lot and needs thatching every year. Since we have less beddings and no mattress, we are going to buy one and additional clothes too. Since transportation is a big issue here, a bicycle for my husband will also be bought so that he operates it ad a bicycle taxi."

"I have four cows that I rear and this drought situation has began to bite us really hard. I barely have enough water to give to my cows and this forces me to walk really long distances in search of water. Sometimes we don't find enough and I am worried that I just might lose my cows if the drought persists."