"I am fifty-five years old, I retired five years ago and I now stay at home raising livestock. I have nine cows, five goats, and twenty-three ducks. Animals have been a source of my livelihood since I was a young man. They give us meat, and milk and sell them whenever I need money. I used the recent transfer to buy two ducks for $15 and bought food for my family for $15."

"I was very happy to realize that the Organization had sent out the transfer this time round because I was really looking forward to purchasing a goat which I did for KES 1,500. I see this as a future investment because so far I have managed to get two goats and I'm hoping that down the line they can breed and allow me to have more so that eventually I can benefit finacially. I proceeded to spend KES 1,000 buying five packets of maize flour, sardines and groceries because there was barely any food in the house and we were almost going to bed hungry that evening. Lastly I spent the balance of KES 500 on tuition for two of my grandkids because it had actually been two days since they had attended school."

"After I had the opportunity to get time to withdraw the money, I went ahead and used KES 1,000 by purchasing five packets of maize flour because I completely had nothing to eat that evening. Afterwards I proceeded to spend KES 500 by purchasing two hens because I was planning to begin a project in poultry for me. I saved the balance of KES 1,500 because I was hoping to buy a goat since unfortunately the money would not be enough to afford one."

"Financial constraint is one problem faced by my family due to lack of employment. I am born into a family of six children, with my mother being the breadwinner of the family. I could not complete my high school education but did some training in electrical wiring. My mother works as a charcoal burner, which gives us little earnings to meet our basic needs, whereas my father is unemployed and ancient. My transfer was spent on buying a goat and a cock, which cost me $27. The remaining $3 was spent to buy a packet of maize flour to be used that day as food because it was one of those days that we had nothing to eat and it was a bad day for my mother’s charcoal business."

"It is difficult to make any sales now that the sale of charcoal, which is my main source of income, is in decline. I make an average of $1.5 per day, which is insufficient to meet all of my family's needs (paying school fees, buying food and clothes). My husbands business is in turbulence since he does not sell a lot of the local tooth brushes back in town. Our five school-enrolled children have racked up enormous debts as a result, which we are unable to pay. I spent a sizable portion of my transfer, which came to $28, on purchasing livestock (a goat and a hen) as I explored for alternative sources of income to increase my income. This is a wise investment because they will quickly multiply and double my original investment. I can eventually sell some of them and use the proceeds to take care of my immediate needs. Last but not least, $2 went toward buying stationery to make it easier for my kids to learn."

"Yes, after receiving my first transfer, I longed to build my house and a small veranda outside it, and buy a goat and good food for my family. Before I started receiving this form of aid for GiveDirectly, I had a very bad house with no door or a window the roof too was so old and had a lot of holes. During sunny seasons, the heat from the sun could penetrate in and burn us even from the inside, it could burn even my belongings. During rainy seasons, we could be rained on and everything in the house could be wet. My belongings could be ruined in the process. Chickens could enter from any part of the house, eat food and destroy my other belongings as they poop anyhow on their way out. My family used to forgo lunch, and only eat dinner and breakfast because the food was scarce. I thank GiveDirectly for the support, all this problems are now a bygone in my life."

"When I get this money, i will invest it business. Since most people didn't harvest here, there's a huge demand for maize. I will use my money to go to Ntcheu to buy maize and resell here. Then I will also use the other money to restart my goat business where in buy here in the village and sell in Lunzu, Blantyre. My family and I will survive off the profits from these business adventures."

"When I get this money, i will buy food first. There can't be any development I can do on an empty stomach. Then I will build a house and use the remaining money to buy clothes. I already habe goats so I won't have to buy more for now."

"When I first received the transfer, I used it to purchase a used motorcycle. The motorcycle has been extremely useful to me. Initially, I used to travel a long distance to work, paying $1.5 to get there. This was very expensive, and yet I received very little pay at the end of the month. Buying this motorcycle has helped me cut my traveling costs in half, and at times, I travel for free. This is because I frequently transport passengers who travel the same route. The motorcycle has also allowed me to engage in side hustles when I am not on a committee at work. I have set a new goal of launching a new business. The plan is to purchase goats at a lower cost, fatten them for a period, and then sell them at a higher cost. I already have twelve goats, and my goal is to have 30 goats before I start the business. The demand is already high, and if I start the business today, I would be able to sell at least one goat per day. This business presents no difficulties for me because I have enough land for the goats to graze on. I should complete this by the beginning of next year."

"My husband and I are in the charcoal business, I am mostly involved in the process of making it and my husband takes it to the nearby market. I make seven to ten sacks a month which I sell at $6 making a profit of $4 a month. I use this money to buy food for my five children. I used the recent transfer to buy a goat($25) that I would like to start rearing and buy food($5) for my family."