"Immediately after I learned that my transfer had been sent, I felt extremely nice and happy. It was in the evening at around 3 pm and I was in the grazing field looking after our goats. Though I had been expecting the transfers because I had been enrolled in the program, in my mind I was always battling with the idea. How could one start receiving such kind of support as soon as they finish up their studies? This at times made me have some doubts that perhaps that could have been an empty promise. Having confirmed the Mpesa message, my doubts ceased and my joy multiplied. I had never felt such highly motivated ever since in my life. Thanks to GiveDirectly for such kind support."

"For a couple of years, I have been hired by someone as a caretaker within our village to help support in looking after his livestock. From him, I have learned valuable skills of doing poultry farming which I consider a profitable business. Therefore, when I received my most recent transfer, I decided to spend KES 2,000 on buying 5 chickens. I aim to raise them and later sell them to boost my level of financial income. Through this venture, I am optimistic to begin raising other livestock; goats and sheep, which are a form of live asset and a great help in the hour of urgent need. Therefore, supporting myself as well as my siblings will no longer be as burdensome to my mother as it had been in the past years."

"I used KES 48000 to buy livestock in form of goats and a dairy cow. I used another KES 1500 to pay school fees for my children and the remaining amount was used to buy clothes and food for my children. I am a single mother of four and I have been relying on small business of selling firewood to make income. The income that I made from the small business would just be enough to feed my family and I would often be left with very little to save and make such huge investments. I am happy that I was finally able to buy a cow and now I will no longer be forced to buy milk which is a very costly affair."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I now have livestock( dairy cows and goats) that I am keeping in my compound. I have desired to keep it for so many years but I couldn't afford it because I have been encountering financial hardships. I however settled for them because they have numerous benefits which include sufficient milk among others. My wish is once the cows reproduce I will start selling the milk to the nearby dairy shops and generate an income. This money will enable me to cater for my family's daily needs since I am a jobless widow who has been depending on my children for the daily bread. Also with the goats, I will sell one or two and help my sons in paying school fees for their kids. I believe these are the most fruitful assets that I will never regret having. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for this big support which has transformed us."

"I spent my recent transfer to purchase a one-acre piece of land for KES 46,000. This was because the place where we were living earlier was very small for me to practice farming as well as construct our houses. Similarly, our firm was infertile and could no longer produce enough harvests for my family's consumption. In addition, I spent the KES 7000 to purchase 2 goats to boost my livestock rearing as an alternative source of income for the family. With the remaining amount, I bought sufficient food for the family since I had no food in the store."

"I spent a fraction of my first cash transfer on buying six bags of cement at a total of KES 4800, sand at KES 12000 and bricks at KES 5000. This was for the renovation of my house since it was a temporary one and almost collapsing. I later bought two goats at KES 8000 which will be serving as the living assets that I will rely on in case of any emergency. Also, I built a pit latrine since I have been my neighbours and I felt its time to have our own for the sake of our hygiene. This project cost around KES 8000. With the remaining amount of money, I have been buying food for my family and other household needs."

"When I withdrew the money, I first bought two goats as a sign of gratitude to GiveDirectly knowing that they will make a mark on the organization through procreation. I also bought two beds and two mattresses since we were sleeping on the floor and I decided to make a change through GiveDirectly. I took some amount to do foodstuff shopping for the family and used the rest in doing some small renovations to my house which had no cemented floor."

"Upon withdrawing the money, I opted to renovate my house because the walls on the front part had collapsed. I bought some cement and repaired the house. Thereafter, I bought two goats for KES 7000.00. I also opted to do some clothes shopping for my family since the kind of clothes they had were old. For the remaining amount, I opted to keep it for the family's upkeep because it was a drought season, and getting some food was a challenge."

"Upon withdrawing the money, I first wanted to make a mark on GiveDirectly by buying something that will keep the organization alive and felt at my home forever. Therefore, I bought four goats for KES 16000.00. I chose goats over cows because they are more resistant to drought. Thereafter, I bought a bed, a mattress and some bedsheets for KES 15000.00 because I had non and I used to sleep on the floor. I also paid KES 5000.00 for school fees for my children who were almost to be sent out of school due to school fees. Besides using the remaining amount of money in buying some food, I also paid a debt of KES 8000.00 to a shop where I used to take some items on a bill."

"While in the field grazing my goats, I received a message on my phone, and if I can recall it was around 5.30 pm. Since I do not know how to read, I did not bother checking till I reached home. I gave the phone to my daughter who confirmed that the message was from GiveDirectly who had sent the promised transfer. Learning that I had received KES 55000.00, though I did not show it off I was the happiest mother in the village for receiving such an amount of money for the first time."