"I had just arrived from the stream where I had gone to fetch water for our daily usage, when I picked my phone I saw a message alert showing that I had received money from GiveDirectly, I was so happy that finally, the transfer was here, It was a day like no other, I knew that all my plans would be accomplished, I am thankful that I was among the beneficiary."

"Before receiving the transfers, I had to walk for 4 km daily going to fetch clean water for drinking. This was time consuming and makes one so tired at the end of the day. The transfers enabled me to build an iron-roofed house for my family. Currently, I am able to harvest clean rain water for drinking and domestic use. This has saved me from the stress of walking far and also the money I usually use yearly in buying new grass for roofing. With this, I can gladly say that my life has changed for the better."

"Receiving this money means food security to my household. This is because I am a subsistence farmer and I intend to upscale my farming by tilling my 3 acres of land. Currently, I use a hoe during land preparation which is time-consuming and also very tiresome. My harvests are very low usually, 1sack of 90kgs and it takes me 2 months, then I supplement from the shop. I, therefore, plan to spend $400 of my transfers to buy oxen and ox-plough that will help me to have early land preparation and also to till a big portion of my farm. This will be a boost to me since I will be able to solve the food insecurity in my household. Part of my transfer ($100) will help me to buy a water tank that I will use to harvest and store rainwater for my consumption. The remaining amount will help me to buy 7 goats at $300 to act as my store of wealth that will support me in the future."

"I spent KES 10,000 of the second transfer on purchasing three goats. This is the best investment that I have always wished to start. I also bought bedding, clothes, sky blast for storing water for drinking. Paid school fees of KES 4,000 for my child in primary school and the rest of the money I bought solar panels for lighting up the house. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed my living standard."

"So we are making Pepper garden, and during that we need to regularly water the farm , But now we don't have watering can and also watering machine. And to get them now is a serious challenge for us because we don't have money to buy those materials. We can also experience insects attack on the farm regularly, with that, we also need insects killer for the farm. But we also don't have money for that, because when we do the sale from the farm after the insects attacked we used that money on our house project. That is how our house has reached this level.."

"Evening is the happiest part of my day because I get to rest after a day of working in the farm , herding and taking the cattle to the river to drink water."

"The biggest part of my day is in the afternoon. At this time I'm done with that day's activities I get to rest. I also get to read the Bible as I rest. My day is usually fully packed with farm and animal activities including fetching water from a river, quite a distance from my house, by afternoon I'm very tired."

"I am a livestock farmer, mainly keeping some goats and cows. However poor rainfall makes it very difficult to have a profitable venture from simply grazing the animals on the land. The only way is to improve how to do it by having a water storage tank and a chaff cutter that will make more feeds available for livestock, mainly from crop residue such as maize stalks. But I focus on education for my children whereby, I spend all my income from a small business on paying school fees. To improve my farm, I will spend about KES 30,000 on a Chaff cutter and KES 30,000 on a plastic water tank. I expect to increase my milk production from 10 liters to about 30, bringing my income to about KES 30,000 per month. I will be able to meet my child's education needs using this and also improve my home by building a better house."

"The biggest hardship that I face is scarcity of water in this area. This place is very dry, there is no piped water nearby. On a daily basis, I walk a total of six kilometers to fetch water for drinking and domestic use. When you hire somebody to do it for you, you will have to part with 50 Kenyan shillings per 20 litres which is expensive for me."

"My morning and evening hours are usually very busy. This is because I take my time to do house chores and other activities like fetching water and doing laundry. My afternoons are usually free. I take time to sit under the shade away from the sun. This is the happiest part of my day."