"I used the funds from the transfers from September to December to either buy food or cover my children' tuition. I'm the father of five primary-aged students who attend school. I operated a "Bodaboda" motorcycle taxi service for the entire four months. Fuel prices during these months reached a record high, which had an impact on our business because few of our clients preferred motorcycles as a mode of transportation. Being unable to provide for my family's needs, particularly their food, made life difficult. I therefore spent a whopping $72 on food for my family over the course of the four-month period. The high spending on food was also attributed to the significant increase in food prices; for example, a 2 kg packet of maize cost $2.5, which was a lot of money. The remaining $56 I had was used to cover my children' tution fees in Mnazimwenga Primary School. My tardiness in paying their school fees frequently had an adverse effect on children. They would frequently be sent home by the headteacher, which had an impact on their ability to focus in class. They hardly ever get sent home, so I'm glad that has gradually changed over the past four months. They now have the chance to put in extensive study time and pass their exam." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"I am planning to hire a tractor to assist in farming my piece of land of 10 acres, which is about kshs 50,000. I do subsistence farming for a living and when it is done by casual workers it is time-consuming and very expensive. I am expecting to have a good life, with the good rains I will harvest about 25 bags of maize and beans, of which I will use part of it for consumption while the rest will be for sale. I will therefore open a savings account for my children's school fees. This will help in paying school fees in advance and I am expecting them to have good grades which will be a factor when choosing the best courses to undertake in college education. I am having an additional goal of buying a brand-new motorcycle on loan. It costs kshs 400,000. This is meant for business purposes, especially during online deliveries."

"My house was under construction when I received my most recent transfer. This came as a relief because I had exhausted most of my resources and was considering selling some of my assets. I spent $200 on the first transfer to create a partition in the house, buy doors and windows that were still missing, and settle some labor charges. My children were in tremendous discomfort, especially during the rainy season, because they could not sleep in a leaking grass-thatched hut. My six daughters shared that space, and while it was always cold and moist on the floor due to roof leaks, they were better off than my son, who would move to the neighborhood to find a place to sleep late at night. My husband was involved in a hit-and-run accident caused by a motorcycle rider, and he has been unable to work since then, instead making frequent hospital visits. I have paid $60 for the last two hospital visits. It is a relief, though, because his health has been improving, and I still have a third, and hopefully final, check-up scheduled. I also purchased nine iron sheets for $7 each, which I intend to use to build another small house for my son. In addition, I used a portion of the remaining transfer to purchase household goods, such as utensils and clothing for my seven children, husband, and myself."

"I was on the phone when I received a message that I immediately read and realized was from GiveDirectly. The indicated sender's name matches the description I received from the initial meeting, and the fact that I was not expecting any other money added to my confidence. I was at my regular job in the nearby neighborhood. It did not take long for me to spot my husband, who is a rider, at that point. I informed him of the exciting news. We decided to collect on the same day and take the money home to plan ahead." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"My daily profit as a "bodaboda" motorcycle taxi driver is $3 at most. My family's expenses, which include buying food, clothing, and medication, are not enough to be covered by this sum. My wife is unable to assist because she is unemployed. I have not had a good financial situation for the last three months (decrease in customers), so I was unable to purchase clothes for my kids. They could only get by on two pairs of clothes each. When I received my December transfers, I was relieved because I spent $18 on more clothing for them. Since there are many pairs to choose from, I'm glad my wife doesn't struggle to wash clothes every day. I spent the remaining $16 on 5 packets of maize flour, 1 packet of wheat flour, 1 kg of rice, and 1 kg of sugar. We joyfully celebrated and developed relationships with my family members as we feast over the holidays." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"My wish would be to start my own mini-mart. focusing primarily on dry food items. The ultimate goal of this would be to significantly improve our lives. I am optimistic that these goals will come to pass." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"Give Directly is doing extremely well for us by making our dreams come true. I feel that i am already in school because i have money that will enable me to attend university and it makes me so happy." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. One of my relatives had already given me a call and he wanted to know if I had received money from GiveDirectly. I checked and confirmed that indeed I had been sent the sum of $550 by GiveDirectly. I made a call to my mother just to check whether she had received hers too and as we conversed I could hear some background noise from other villagers who were already in a celebration mood. The amount of happiness within the entire village was just amazing. To me this was a perfect opportunity to purchase a motorcycle that would greatly help me with mobility as my work required that I move from village to village in search of clients. I am so glad that this dream was made a reality courtesy of GiveDirectly transfers."

"I hope to complete building my house before this year comes to an end" (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"The scarcity of water is the most challenging for me . The rains have not been consistent for the past three years and as a result, the rivers have dried up completely. We walk long distances to get water for home use and even livestock. Sometimes we are forced to buy water at $ 0.60 per twenty-liter which is quite expensive. If we had water availability things could be better as we would be having enough food." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)