"Receiving this money means that I shall be relieved of the tiresome task of fetching freshwater from a spring that is situated almost 3 kilometers from home. I have been doing this daily since 1991 when I got married. Currently, I am feeling tired and aged. So, I will purchase a large water tank for storing rainwater. I could have bought a water tank before, but life has been tough since I am a widow without any reliable source of income."

"Prolonged period of drought has been the biggest hardship we have faced in life. We experience low amount of rainfall in our region hence low crop production and shortage of water. The land under cultivation is only 0.5 acres in which we have grown maize for domestic use. Owing to that, we harvest only 4 bags of maize which is hardly enough to sustain my family for a whole year. I am planning to venture into livestock rearing in the near future in order to supplement the little we get from our piece of land."

"It was exactly seven in the morning when I was heading to the dam to fetch water, then I heard my mobile phone vibrating. This was an indication to me that there was a new incoming message. Without wasting time, I decided to check its content, I was overwhelmed with joy after realizing it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly."

"In the year 2016, we were faced with long drought that led to lose of vegetation and water in our area. As a newly married woman, this was the biggest hardship I have ever faced in my life. It is still vivid in my mind how far, the much time I used to spend fetching water. I almost gave up in my marriage out of this."

"Receiving this money means a lot to me and my family. We have been desiring to purchase a dairy cow of our own. My source of income is from the casual jobs I do and it's not enough to sustain my family's basic needs hence I have not managed to purchase one. Our father has been providing us milk since he has two dairy cows. Sometimes it's not enough because my brothers also depend on this. Though this milk could have been his source of income, he gives it to us for free. I have been seeing as if we are now becoming a burden to him. In case we receive this transfer we will purchase a dairy cow for 20,000 shillings. For the remaining amount, we will pay school fees and pipe water into our compound."

"I will buy a relatively large water tank for storing rainwater upon receiving the transfer. Currently, I am fetching clean water from a stream that is situated approximately four kilometers from our homestead. The task is highly tiresome because I usually carry a 20-liter jerrican daily on my back. Hence, receiving this money will be a great relief to me and a blessing to my family. I shall no longer be fetching the water, and we will have plenty of freshwater in our household."

"A woman in our village is considered to be doing household chores like cooking, fetching firewood and water plus other household duties. This is very different when it comes to me because most of the men dominated jobs like charcoal burning are what I have been doing in my life. Despite this job being tiresome and time-consuming, its income is always very low and it can not fully cater to my basic needs. Therefore, the lack of a stable source of income is the biggest hardship that I have ever faced in my life."

"I lost my job due to COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020. Since then I have been home trying farming as a business but I have not been successful due to lack of capital. The dry season in this place is usually so prolonged so I would like to purchase irrigation equipment with these transfers because we have plenty of water around this farm which has not been put into use. This will enable me to be an all weather farmer and have an income throughout the year."

"In the evening when I have completed my home chores and i am resting. Durring the day I get so busy with the daily house chores. I get water from the nearby river which is about 1kilometer from my house this makes me even more tired.I n the evening I rest and relax with my husband"

"Supporting the needs of my 8 children more so educating them all through primary school level to the college level has been a huge financial strain on me, which has made me live a miserable life. I have had to skip meals severally due to scarcity of money to buy food. I ended up selling my livestock and my 5-acre piece of land 2 years back in order to pay their school fees. The House I stay in with my spouse is in an unpleasant condition (it is too old and leaks in water whenever it rains). Worst of all, I have had to face ridicule from my neighbors who usually help me host my visitors at night whenever they come visiting. This is the biggest hardship I have faced."