"The transfer has helped me and my family in various ways. I bought a cow with part of it, built another house with some of the amount, and with the remaining part of the transfer, I used it in buying clothes for our children and food. We have always wanted to buy a cow of our own and build another house but due to lack of money, we have not been in a position to do so. We do not have jobs and we usually depend on farming as our source of income. This farming has however not been promising. Maize has not been doing well in the past few years due to a certain disease that has been in our area for quite some time. This disease has therefore made the maize yields go down, at times the market prices are down too, this hence results in low income. The reason why we have always wanted to have a cow of our own is that our children have been suffering due to lack of milk for their consumption. Sometimes we resort to borrowing a cow from the neighbors to take care of it as it provides us milk, but after some time the owner takes it back. We also wanted another house that is roofed with iron-sheets because we have been living in a small house that is grass-thatched for quite some time. The new house was going to enable us to have more room that would be enough for all of us."

"The lump-sum amount from GiveDirectly has helped us in a very big way. We have never received such a huge amount in our lives and it has therefore helped us a lot. I was able to complete paying for my child’s’ school fees who is in secondary school. He had lacked school fees and he had therefore been forced to stay at home. The transfer has also enabled me to build a bigger house that is roofed with iron sheets. My family and I have been living in two small and old grass-thatched houses for quite a long time. I, therefore, wanted a proper house that was going to be enough to accommodate guests visiting and also for there to be enough room for my children to study. Achieving the above has not been easy due to a lack of money. I usually do a casual job at a local hotel where I am paid 100/= per day. This amount is only enough to buy food for my family and other small household needs. I thank GiveDirectly for coming to my rescue, may God bless you."

"The money from GiveDirectly has brought a lot of changes in my home. We now have more land for tilling. This will thus enable us to get more food that the family can consume. Having repainted the roof of our house, it now looks as good and new as the rest of the houses in my village. My husband’s carpentry business has also grown, he was able to buy wood that he can use in making the furniture. He will now hence be able to get more money from his business as compared to before where he was being paid for labor only. I am also now very happy having bought cushions for my chairs since guests visiting my household will have somewhere comfortable to sit on as we chat. Having bought some food with part of the transfer, I will no longer be having worries about what my children are going to eat, and hence they will not have to go hungry anymore. They now also have new clothes for themselves and they are very happy about this. Thank you GiveDirectly for making this happen."

"The transfer from GiveDirectly is going to change my life for the better. I will be able to reunite with my wife and children who had gone away due to poverty-related problems. She was very happy to hear that I have built another house for them to live in. We will thus be able to have an iron-sheet roofed house just like the rest of my neighbors. The few herds of goats that I have, will help me in the future. When they grow and reproduce, I will be able to sell some of the offspring and get money to do other important things. I will hence not be forced to do casual work all the time to earn a living. The transfer has also enabled us to buy new clothes for ourselves and food for our consumption. We will no longer hence go hungry."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I now own a decent house. I have been married for over twenty years now but I never had the joy of sleeping in a good house. All along I have been sheltering under a small hut with a leaky roof which was so hectic especially when it rains. During the winter seasons, I used to seek shelter from relatives and friends which was at times a burden to them since they also have a family. Therefore sometimes I used to stay at my house till dawn with the cold nights. My children used to be attacked by pneumonia as a result of that. This made me be so hopeless in life. However, all this is now history because GiveDirectly transformed everything in a positive way. Currently, I am sleeping under a decent shelter and I longer have to worry about the harsh climate anymore."

"The biggest difference in my daily life that I can proudly talk of I the fact that I now own a semi-permanent spacious house. I have been having h desire to construct one for so my yers, but due to the poverty life that had stricken my household, I could not afford it. The previous house was in a deplorable state, and it could not accommodate some of my family members. Therefore they were forced to sleep at our relative's houses which is far away from the village. During the rainy seasons, I also had to seek shelter from friends since the house had a leaky roof. The coming of GiveDirectly into my life transformed everything positively. I am now living happily and pecifuly with all my family members which have been my long time dream."

"I spent KES 20,000 of my transfer on a two roomed 26 Iron roofed house because the ones I had before were grass thatched and one had burnt up. KES 20,000 was spent on a heifer because I didn't have one before. I used to buy 2litres per day which is quite costly. I also spent two sacks of maize on 5000 because my maize stock was depleted, KES 9500 on my daughter's college registration fees, KES 4000 on farming and farm inputs and the rest on clothing."

"I spent part of my first transfer on buying some building materials such as iron sheets, timber, building poles, and nails. This was for the construction of two new houses mine and for my children. Previously we used to shelter under a very small hut which had a leaky roof whenever it could rain, we had to seek shelter from relatives. I also paid school fees for my children who are in secondary and primary schools. With the remaining amount of money I bought enough foodstuffs for my family."

"I spent KES 30,000 of my transfer on a dairy cow because it will act as an income source for my family in future.Before, I used to buy a litre of milk each day at a cost of KES 50 for the past twenty years and the journey has not been easy because I used to rely majorly on casual labor. KES 20,000 was spent on a 24 Iron roofed two roomed house because I used live in a grass thatched roof which was very tiny and couldn't accommodate my kids who are now all grown up. I also spent KES 4000 on a maize sack because I used to buy maize meal from my casual labor which most of the time wouldn't be sufficient to feed my family.As we speak my kids are very because there adequate food unlike before when we used to eat from hand to mouth right my kids are very happy. I also spent KES 5000 on latest clothing for my family because initially we used to put on second hand clothes which goes for as low as KES 30 because we couldn't afford the decent ones."

"I have received the program with gratitude. In my old age, all i desired was a good house with iron sheets on the roof. I see my desire being fulfilled with the coming of GD. I will be able to build a nice house now. I have been also looking forward to have livestocks. I only have doves and i will buy some goats when i receive my transfer. With my old age i cannot manage to carry out all farm activities. The funds will help me hire labor and buy some farm inputs."