"Last month, My son who works in Nairobi decided to buy 2 bags of maize for me. Having been struggling to get maize due to high prices, I was very happy with the kind gesture. The maize will take me a long way."

"I have a son who is about to sit for her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams. To support him as him do well in the exams, I spent KSH 2000 to buy him the essential materials required for him to be comfortable to sit for the exams. I bought him a geometrical set, a set of pencils, erasers. I am thrilled that he is finally going to sit for the exams and I hope that after all the struggles he has been through from class one up to now; he is going to pass with flying colors. Besides preparing my son for the examinations, I spent the remaining KSH 1000 to buy food for my family. The effects of the drought are immense, as I can no longer harvest anything from the farm. I buy the food we consume from the shop at very high prices, making it difficult to buy a lot. I earn an income from fetching water for other people. The amount is little and I spend it all in buying food for the family."

"Drought has brought many challenges in my life. The poor economy has worsened things for my family because the food prices have hiked to a point I decided that we will be having two meals a day to keep the day going due to insufficient money. I am afraid if this continues people might start dying as a result of hunger."

"I am happy that after very many years I can sleep comfortably in a bed. Lying on the ground for those years affected my health. Back pains and chest pains are some of the health effects that affected me during that period. For the few days that I have slept in the bed, I feel much better. The chest pains are slowly going away and I hope I will soon be in good health. Besides buying the bed, I bought two chickens to start the poultry project that I have always wanted to have. I then spent the remaining amount of money in buying food and water. Because of the drought, finding water has become very hard. We have to buy water at very high prices. Food prices are very high and with nothing coming out of our farms, we have to buy the food or else we starve to death."

"I am planning to buy auto parts for motor bikes to sell them . Things prices are not stable for now in the market .I will purchase the amount of auto parts my transfer can buy . Givedirectly supports to us in is like a dream in this village. I really appreciate Givedirectly for the cash supports. I believed that with my transfer, my planned to start selling will soon come to pass."

"I have wanted to own my own livestock for quite sometime but I have had to push that idea away and prioritise mostly on my kids basic needs and that of the family's. Therefore when I received the money from GiveDirectly I went ahead to purchase a goat that cost KES 2,800. I plan to breed the goat and have as a many of them as possible because back here in the village they are highly marketable and on demand and they sell for good prices overall. The reaming balance was about KES 200 which I used to buy two packets of maize flour."

"I spent most of the transfer which was KES 38000 on buying three cows to add to the other three that I had bought earlier with part of the first transfer. I did this because I saw a lot of benefits in these cows because when they reproduce and increase in numbers, I will be able to sell one or two and address the financial challenges I will be facing in the future, and that their prices are relatively higher than goats which makes me so proud and hopeful. These cows will also provide food for my family, especially the milk that they will produce which will not only be food but also a source of little income as I would offer the surplus to our neighbors at a cost. I am so happy and proud to see them on my compound as they will always remind me of the assistance I received from GiveDirectly. I also spent KES 14000 on making additional payment for the motorcycle we bought initially on hire purchase with part of the first transfer. This motorcycle, which my husband operates as a motorcycle taxi is our regular source of income and through it as well, we will always remember the assistance we received from GiveDirectly. I couldn't afford to have all these before, since I solely depended on my job as a hairdresser which could only raise enough to meet my family's immediate needs, therefore, I am so grateful for the help I got from GiveDirectly."

"After receiving and spending all my first transfer on all that I had planned for in my household, I was glad to receive the second transfer that I spent a huge lump on buying oxen. I have been hiring from the neighborhood every time I was tilling my piece of land. That has always been very expensive and had to consider buying mine that will help in tilling my piece and my parents', and needed to also create a source of income. I was lucky to secure two each KES 20000. This was a relatively cheaper price compared to the market prices that were so high. I also purchase some foodstuff for my family of five worth KES 7000 that we used for quite sometime before exhaustion. With the remaining amount, I purchased clothing for some of my family members and saved the remaining that helped in meeting other household bills."

"As a single mother of six after the passing on of my husband in the year 2007, I have been working hard both in casual labor and on my farm to ensure maximum productivity that can settle all my household's financial obligations. At the moment, I am working as a school cook at the school where my children attend. The proceeds I get there are normally divided into two, the first half goes to the school fees and the other half to help in sorting my household bills. I am glad that all has been well and still working hard to ensure that my children get the best. After receiving the second transfer, I purchased a heifer at KES 20000 to add to the existing dairy cow that has been producing milk for our home use and surplus that have always paid part of the school fees. I am looking forward to better productivity from the two breeds in the future that will even make the school fees payment easier. I also bought 8 goats at KES 21000 instead of another cow since the prices were so high when I receive the transfer. I saw it good to save the money on goats that I will later sell out to purchase a good dairy cow at a bit lower price. I spent part of the remaining on a sack of maize worth KES 4000 and also KES 8000 of paying part of the arrears that my children had in school. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for this support that has given me more time to raise my savings and meet the school's payment timeline that I had been given."

"Yes. I have a new additional goal buying and selling goats. Goats are the main livestock people rear in our area and their demand is high. I will be buying them at lower prices from farmers and later selling them in the market for a profit. The income I will earn from it added to the income I currently earn from charcoal sales will be a boost for my family's needs."