"I am a widow and a mother of one child running a small business selling omena within the village. I have always dreamt of expanding the business from retail to wholesale in vain due to a lack of enough capital. What I earn from the business is never enough to cater for the family's basic needs such as food, education and medical expenses. Therefore, I am planning to expand my business using part of the transfer from GiveDirectly. Furthermore, I am planning to buy goats to serve as a family future investment to support my child's education. Moreover, I plan to change my son's wardrobe, the clothes he currently has are worn and torn hence making him uncomfortable whenever he is with his friends. In addition, I have a new goal of buying a bed and a mattress. At the moment, we are using a traditional bed and old ragged sacks as bedding which are quite uncomfortable with most of the days having inadequate sleep due to extreme cold at night. I always felt backbone pain whenever I could wake up, something that lowered my productivity at work."

"Upon withdrawing the money, I first paid KES 1590.00 school fees for my two primary school children who had been sent home for the same. I also opted to pay the fee arrears of KES 1590.00 which I was unable to pay for the previous term. I also bought four goats for KES 14450.00. I decided to buy goats over a cow because goats are more resistant to drought than cows and our area has often been affected by drought. Thereafter, I bought seven iron sheets for KES 4900.00 to construct a house for my children. Having done that, I used the remaining amount for the family’s upkeep."

"I just recently enrolled to this program by the organization and this happens to be the second time I actually received the funds. Upon the arrival of the transfers, I decided to used KES 2,000 from what I had received and purchase a goat because I hoped to would eventually assist me financial in the long run after it reproduces since I could always sell. After selling I hope to start saving some of then money so that I could eventually open up a business. Then I went on to use the balance of KES 1,000 I was left with and used KES 550 and bought some clothes then as for what was left I used it for buy myself airtime for my phone and pay fees for charging my phone since I did not have electricity in my home."

"With the past last two transfers, I have intentionally gone ahead to purchase farm animals namely goats. This is because I plan to rear and breed them so that they could eventually be a hard and I could always sell them afterwards for financial benefit and even perhaps eventually buy a cow that will beneficial for milk and helping me plough my land since I am old. Similarly, with the recent donation received I went ahead to purchase another goat for KES 3,000 which totaled them to three so far which has all been possible through the cash transfers from GiveDirectly"

"Ever since I got enrolled into GiveDirectly, I decided that each time I receive the transfers I would invest in growing my farm and buying more farm animals. So each time I got the transfers I bought a goat and so far I have three goats, so when the recent transfers came in I decided to add one more goat making them four. The goat cost me about KES 2,500. The reason as to why I an purchasing the goats is that I want to rear and breed them so that in case of financial emergencies I can always offer them up for sell but eventually I would want to purchase a cow so that it could help me plough the land during the rainy season. Afterwards I was left with about KES 500 which I ended up using it to pay school fees for two of my children since they had been kicked out of school and had been home for about two days."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I was able to pay school fees for my children which I was unable to clear before due to financial constraints. Additionally, I started a goat rearing project. I have been able to accomplish my dreams in a short period. I am grateful to the organization for putting smiles on our faces and for transforming our living standards into higher ones."

"Two days prior to receiving the funds from GiveDirectly, my children had actually been kicked out of school for my failure in paying their tuition fee but this was because I had no money. So immediately I noticed the transfers had been sent out, I quick went ahead to pay KES 2,000 in school fees so that they would not have to spend another day staying home. I also used KES 1,000 and invested it in my business where I sell sardines from my home. Lastly I was left with KES 1,000 which I left on savings account because I planned of eventually building a house for me and children because the one we lived in at the moment was the shed where the goats used to stay previously."

"Investing in an alternative source of income is the biggest difference that the money has made in my life. Once the hens multiply in numbers, I will sell them and use the money to buy goats and attend to my needs. This will help me provide for my family's needs with no struggles."

"My children usually go to look after our neighbor's goats during their free time and they had requested me to buy for them. I had not been able to achieve this due to a lack of finances. I am happy that with the transfer, I was able to purchase a dairy cow and a goat. Due to this, I have been able to save the money that I usually spend on milk and my children are always full of joy while feeding the goat. I believe that they will soon increase in number and I will have assets that I can lean on in case of financial challenges."

"The biggest difference in my daily life that I will always be proud to mention is that I now have goats in my compound. This has been my dream to at least own one but I could not afford it because they were very expensive. I however settled for them because they grow and mature very fast. I, therefore, am assured of having many of them within a short period. I will therefore be in a better position to take good care of my family without straining like before. Since I am a casual labourer it has been so tough providing for me to provide for my family and it now feels like a relief. Apart from that, once the goats multiply, I will be selling some and paying fees for my children once they transition to secondary school. I am so grateful for this huge support from GiveDirectly and I blessing them as they bless others."