"It was around 7 in the evening when I was about to prepare our dinner when my phone started ringing. I couldn't read on my own I decided to ask my neighbor to confirm for me since all my children had gone to school. After checking she realized that I had received my first transfer from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and blessed for the fortune because I knew I would buy goats and build a new house for my sons."

"Receiving this money means food security for me. I am a 73-year-old widow. Charcoal burning is my occupation. Unlike before when I could make 6,000 KES, I can barely make 2,000 KES per month currently. This is attributed to my old age. The low income translates to struggles in providing myself with food because the food prices are increasing day by day. I am planning to purchase 5 goats at 3,000 KES each. Having a source of income from goat production will cushion me from food insecurity. By selling the goats and their products ( milk and meat), I will be able to sufficiently buy food for myself."

"I have a son who completed his high school education a week ago. I tried to pay his school fees through charcoal burning but I could not keep up. My income of 3,000 KES per month is very little. Bakari has fee arrears amounting to 43,000 KES. For him to join college, I will use 43,000 KES from the transfers to clear the balance. To counteract the problem of failing to pay fees for the remaining 5 children, I will buy 5 goats at a total cost of 17,500 KES. These goats will be my source of income in this manner, Once they start reproducing, I will be selling the extra animals and use the income to pay school fees for my children."

"When I received my second transfer, I spent KES 9000 to buy a dairy goat. I will be using the milk that I will be getting from it for our consumption while I sell the milk from my dairy cow to earn an income. In addition, I spent KES 3200 on clothes and a pair of shoes, KES 2200 on four chickens, and KES 11500 on two goats as an investment that I can rely on in case of a financial crisis. Apart from this, I used KES 2100 to purchase three pieces of iron sheets that I will use in building a sheep pen and I still have KES 23000. I depend on casual work mainly breaking large stones into gravel that can be used during the construction of houses. This work is tiresome and needs a lot of energy and I am happy that with the investments that I have made using the transfer, I am guaranteed of a meal even without working since I can easily sell eggs and use the money in buying them."

"Receiving this money means a source of wealth in my life. I plan to achieve this through livestock rearing. I will spend KES 30000 to 10 indegious goats. I will later sell them at a profit and save the money for rainy days. I will further spend KES 40000 to support my grandchild's education who will be joining college on July. The remaining amount will cater for other household expenses like food."

"Imagine living in a house without a door! Would you have peaceful night with kids inside? This has been my life for the longest time. Being the only provider of my family (taking care of my wife, seven children and having to pay school fees for six of them) hasn't been a walk in the park. Due to severe drought, it's been difficult to get manual jobs in the farm and this has made it more difficult for me to provide for my family. I resolved into selling all the livestock that I had and I have not been in a position to buy others. We've also been using paraffin for lighting at night which was both expensive and dangerous because we live in a grass-thatched house which can easily catch fire. My desire was to provide a permanent solution for this and that's why I bought a solar panel worth KES 17000. I also spend KES 12500 to buy five goats and KES 3500 to fix my house door. I have been using the balance to cater for basic needs such as food, clothing and other necessities. I directed the money I used to buy paraffin in paying other bills and my family is safe from dangers of fire by using the new solar panel."

"Being a housewife has not been one of the things that I enjoy most. Sometimes, I wish I could get out there and work to support my husband who is a farmer to raise our six kids but there are no reliable jobs available in my area. This has worsened the level of poverty in my family as we couldn't even afford the cheapest bedding and thus ended up sleeping on cartons. The two- roomed house that we've been living in was so squeezed and our wish was to add a room so that we share the space comfortably. Poverty has been the mother of all these struggles as we couldn't afford money to fulfill our goals. I spend KES 13500 to buy three mattresses and a bed, KES 15000 to add an extra room to our main house, KES 5000 to buy two goats and the balance to buy enough food to take us for at least two months. Am so grateful for the support as I don't take it for granted."

"The biggest difference in my daily life now is that I am very much relaxed since I paid the debts that I had.Our financially stability has now improved since the motorcycle is also earning us more income hence reducing expenditures. I also plan to save part of earnings from the motorcycle taxi busines and used to buy goats that can also be reared for sale later hence generating more income.We don't struggle a lot nowadays and I have even reduced on the burning of charcoal business and now takes care of the family something that I loved the most."

"I had wished to own a decent shelter for my family because we were residing in a temporary structure. I had lacked the finances to build a new house something that forced us to live a miserable life. The coming of the aid was a dream come true for my family. I spent the transfer to purchase 20 iron sheets, nails, and timber for the house construction. I also bought 2 goats a future investment for my 7 children who are still in school. I also bought a pair of school uniforms for each of my children because they were going to school with old and worn-out uniforms. Additionally, I paid KES 5000 school fees for my elder son who is in form 3, he had a huge fee balance that made him constantly being sent home. With the remaining amount, I bought food for the family of 10 members."

"For some years, I have been having a kidney problem and high blood pressure which has been disturbing me a lot. This has made me unable to work, I lacked the finances to seek medical care. I spent KES 3,000 on medication. Currently, I am happy that I am recovering well. Furthermore, I intend to undergo several screenings to identify the root cause of the kidney issues. I also bought building materials which I intended to construct a decent shelter for my family this is because the house ours had broken walls and I was suffering a lot due to the cold weather at night. In addition, I bought proper beddings for KES 11,150, earlier I was using a traditional bed and an old torn mat which was not comfortable at all. Lastly, I bought two goats as a long-term investment for myself since lam jobless and unable to work."