"I have been living in this type of house ever since I was married in this homestead. Some years back, I had great hopes of transiting to an iron roofed house but the one whom I depended on passed away and this killed my long desired dream. When I had about the coming of GiveDirectly to our village, my wishes got renewed after knowing that, I have high chances of receiving the grant gift to elevate me from poverty. My plan is to spend utmost $200 to construct a small iron roofed house in order to have a better structure like others in our home. My other plan is to spend $600 to buy an oxen and 2 dairy cows so that I may have a long investment strategy. This will change my life for the better, a transformation that I have ever wished."

"Receiving this money means that, I can construct an iron roofed house and rent land for agriculture. Currently, I have only two acres of land to cultivate crops which isn't enough. In addition, I want to move out of the thatched to an iron roofed house because rats have always destroyed my roof hence making it leak during rainy seaons."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that for the first time in my life, I will be sheltering in my own iron-roofed house, after living in a grass-thatched hut for many years with no hopes of upgrading to a better house. Considering the financial hardships I had undergone, from hand to mouth life, I am now in the process of constructing a new house courtesy of GiveDirectly. I had longed to build but my hopes were slowly fading away since scarce resources could not allow me to realize my goal. I am happy and thankful to GiveDirectly because, for the first time, I will be sheltering in an iron-roofed house."

"The biggest difference in my daily life in the last four months is that I am economically empowered. I spent my transfer to buy a dairy cow because I had a vision that it would act as my financial security in the future. I am very happy because it had given birth and now I have to calves. As I had made my calculations, I thank God for blessing it because I now sell milk and get daily financial income. The little money I get from the milk business I use on use buying daily foodstuffs for my family, I also save part of it in my bank account, this is for the purpose of drilling a borehole come early next to enhance easy access to water. I thought of this because as the number of cows increases then there is a need for enough water for them. Apart from buying a dairy cow, I also build a house since this was my major priority. I am happy I stay in a spacious house with iron-roofed unlike before when I use to stay in the grass-roofed house."

"Charcoal burning is what I have known as the only source of income for the family of 5. Despite this activity being risky and low paying, I purely depend on it since I have no other option. Through the much exploitation I have faced from my potential buyers, I have long wished to have a charcoal selling center at Mombasa, to be operated by my husband but this has not materialized yet due to financial crisis. Receiving this money means realization of my desired dream since my plan is to offer $500 to my husband in order to start the business. I will use $100 of my second transfer to repair my house since as at now, the roofing poles were destroyed by termites and it can easily be blown by wind. $300 of the disbursement will help me to buy an oxen to aid in upscaling my farming and the remaining amount will support me in other basic needs like beddings and school fees."

"A spacious iron roofed house for my family is generally what receiving this money means to me. Imagine a polygamous family of 13 members, living in a small 2 roomed and leaking house! Our lives has never been decent considering that, I personally spend my nights on the floor, while my children on the bed without a mattress. I usually wake up in the morning with much body pains something that does not give me courage to take my day's work energetically. Our plan with my co wife was to contribute $300 each to aid in house construction and purchasing of beddings. This will assure us of a nice sleep and a promising future to our children since they will get better moments of sleeping and consequently waking up in the morning freshy and motivated to go to school. The remaining amount will help me to buy an oxen and ox plough in order to upscale my farming. This will mean a better living standards for my family, a life that I have wished for long."

"Receiving this money means I will be able to build an iron roofed house so that I can sleep comfortably. The house that I currently sleep in leaks because I have failed to repair it. Grass is scarce these days and at my age, I can not move to distant places in serch of it."

"Receiving this money means I will be able to build a small iron roofed house that can just be enough for me and my children being a single parent. I also hope to buy a cow that can reproduce and support me in taking care of some eventualities that may arise in the future."

"Receiving this money means I can buy construction materials for renovating the house I currently sleep in and also build another iron roofed house. I would like to build another house because the one I sleep in can't accommodate me and my children."

"Receiving this money means that my housing dilemma will be resolved because I intend to build an iron sheet roofed house. The current grass thatched leaks during rainy season and thatch grass has become too scarce to find. "