"I cannot express how grateful I am for the changes that have come into my life after receiving the transfers from GiveDirectly. Before receiving the transfer, I was deeply depressed and had almost lost hope after floods destroyed the crops that my young family relied on. The arrival of GiveDirectly in our village revived my spirit and gave me the motivation to start over. I sold my cow to restart tomato farming on my one-acre land. The transfer enabled me to effectively manage the farm: I used a portion of the money for irrigation, weeding, and purchasing pesticides to protect the crops from pests. Witnessing the thriving tomato plants has brought me immense relief and joy. Without the support from GiveDirectly, I doubt I would have had the energy or resources to restart this farming project. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for making such a significant difference in our lives."

"Since the demise of my spouse, I am left to be the sole breadwinner of the family. Currently I am struggling to put food on the table for my family of four. I want my family to be food secure, GiveDirectly's cash transfers will enable me to stock enough food, buy bedding and clothes. This will cost $140 of my transfers from GiveDirectly. I want to shift my focus to irrigation farming but I do not have a water pump generator. This is the greatest setback to kickstart my dream. I will use $235 to buy a water pump generator. This will be the turning point of my life, it will help me to support my family without struggling. I promised myself to support my daughters to pursue their education and succeed in life. I will therefore use $350 of the transfers to play school fees for the next term. It will give them humble time to do revision and work on their studies."

"When the flash floods struck our village three months ago, they wiped out my entire maize and tomato farm. Since then, I have struggled to recover because I lack the finances needed to replant. Currently, I rely on occasional casual jobs where I earn about $4 on a good day. Every penny from these jobs goes towards the school fees for my three children—two in secondary school and one in college. There is nothing left to save. Thankfully, I have upcoming transfers that bring a sense of relief. With these transfers, I plan to spend $500 in cultivating maize on my 2-acre piece of land. This not only promises income but also ensures food security for my family of eight. Additionally, I will spend $220 to purchase a water pipe for irrigation purposes, essential for nurturing my crops effectively. The remainder of the transfers will go towards covering the school fees for my children. This financial boost will significantly ease my burden, allowing me to spend less time on exhausting casual jobs and more time ensuring my family's future and well-being."

"I am planning to spend $150 towards improving my food kiosk business so as to maximize profits, enough to sustain my family of 5. I will also purchase a generator pump for irrigation."

"It was late in the afternoon, and I was busy washing clothes for my family. As I hurried to finish, my phone, which I had placed on a stool next to me, beeped, signalling an incoming message. I quickly wiped my hands dry with my skirt and picked up the phone to check the message. I couldn't believe my eyes; it was a Mpesa SMS indicating that I had received $200 from GiveDirectly. I had to reread it twice to confirm what I had seen. Overjoyed, I shared the good news with my youngest daughter when she returned from school that evening. That same evening, I also sent $40 to my spouse, who was at the farm that evening, to buy petroleum for the generator to help pump water to our tomato farm for irrigation. Thank you, GiveDirectly, for the transfer!"

"This is a lucrative farming area, we depend on crop farming. Crops such as maize, beans, onions, vegetables or even tomatoes. They do well here although it needs a lot of capital to pump water and general farm supplies. Since we depend on irrigation, we can farm at any time of the year. In order to succeed in farming, we need funds. I have enough farm area but cannot utilize it due to financial constraints. This has affected my ability to provide for my family. I have about an acre of unutilized land."

"I was alone on the farm, trying to prepare it for irrigation after witnessing a huge, devastating flood. I wanted to get my life back on track. Suddenly, I received a notification on my phone that I had received $180 from GiveDirectly. This news filled me with life and joy. I am very grateful to GiveDirectly for this support. Immediately, I thought of using the money to buy petrol for irrigating my farm."

"Facing financial constraints is really challenging for me right now. Here in Longewan, farming relies heavily on irrigation, which requires funds for essentials like a water pump and fuel. Unfortunately, I could not afford these necessities, so I had to lease out my 0.5 acres of land to my neighbor instead of cultivating it myself. If I had the financial means, I could cultivate that land and generate profits to support my family of six, helping us escape poverty and reducing our reliance on unreliable casual jobs. It is a difficult situation, but I am hopeful that I can find a way to secure the resources needed to get back to farming and improve our circumstances."

"When the flash floods struck my area in Longewan three months ago, I had already planted maize on my 1.5 acres of land. Luckily, unlike my neighbors' crops, mine were not washed away, and I was truly thankful for this blessing. Since then, we have only needed to irrigate the farm once, which saved me a lot on fuel costs since the farm is irrigation-fed. Right now, the crops are flourishing, and I am optimistic about having a plentiful harvest in September 2024."

"I had promised myself that I will work hard and give my children a quality education. However, financial challenges are making my dream fade away. Subsistence farming is our main source of family income, it is unfortunate that lately, crop farming is performing poorly due to the extreme effects of climate change. We are therefore struggling to meet our ends which is heartbreaking. Most households in my community are shifting to an irrigation farming system since rain is no longer reliable. This type of farming is costly and this disadvantages us since we do not have the financial power. It was in April when our 2 acre piece of land was swept away by the flash floods. The crops that we planted were also destroyed and as a result of this, we are faced with food shortage in the family."