"There was a lot of drought and famine witnessed in our area in the past four months, but my family did not feel much of its effects even though we do not have stable sources of income. These transfers have made our lives quite easy especially in the past four months which otherwise would have been unbearable due to the hiked prices of foodstuff and other vital household needs."

"I expect my life to change in the next six months because with the sale of short season crops, It will generate income at a shorter duration. The income generated will enable me to clear my children school fees as I am planning to supply them to the nearby secondary school hence ready market as well as at higher prices. I will also improve my family living standards as I will be in a position to provide for their needs"

"For the last four months, there has really been a big difference. Actually, since I received the money changes have been many and in the last four months is not an exception. I have improved in the agriculture sector where I have increased the land under cultivation. Although farming on maize has been hard due to the endemic maize-streak disease, we have been able to produce adequate food and surplus to sell in other sections too. I have majored a lot in beans production which has been so good due to their market prices at the moment. I have also ventured on potato farming though I have not harvested any at the moment but by the look of things they are able to produce a good number of sacks at the harvest. Farming has really changed my life right from the adequacy of food in our household to the paying of school fees in time."

"I must say that life has been bearable in the last four months despite the harsh economic times. Recently the prices of corn went up. I didn't feel much pressure not because I had enough stock but because GiveDirectly boosted my income. I have been able to comfortably meet the daily needs of the family because of the support I get from this organization. I am planning to save and invest some of this money so that I will be able to still handle such economic times in the future after this organization has left."

"My prayer in the next few months is to buy more sheep. I want to increase their number because they are always cheap but once they mature and get healthier their prices will become double. I have the means to feed them and ensure they get to the size I want. I also have the necessary equipment and skills to ensure this business doesn't fail any time soon. It is my biggest investment that will enable me to pay children's school fees and achieve other bigger goals that I wouldn't have achieved by depending on casual jobs alone. I want to be financially stable and this is the surest way of being so."

"Being a subsistence farmer with all the family needs to be taken care of, meeting all to the necessities was challenging. I engage in farming that does not have a predictable return since it depends on both climatic condition and prices in the market hence making unstable for me. Maintaining a family from one harvesting season to the next was had since I could spend most of the farm returns on my children school fees hence living us little for family consumption that could get finished. The biggest difference in my daily life currently is daily returns I earn from the motorcycle I bought using part of my first transfer. I currently have a daily income that had never happened before. I have a security of providing for my family through the motorcycle taxi that my husband operates daily and even save some for other financial needs that might arise."

"I spent KES 10,000 from my transfer to plough my farm in preparation for planting season. My desire has been to venture into farming of watermelons to sell in in order to generate more income since my salary is not enough to meet all our daily needs. I had my 5-acre land which was readily available and not utilized thus it is a big boost for the success of my project. I also spent KES 4600 to buy the watermelon seeds enough for the whole acreage. I am expecting to generate a good income in a few months to come for there is a high demand for watermelons in the nearby towns and cities in which I am planning to sell them. In addition to this, I bought 20 goats using the remaining amount. I added some money from my own savings in order to acquire these goats. I am keeping these goats and once they mature and reproduce, they will increase in number from which I will be able to sell to generate more income. I settled on goats since they are easily available at fair prices."

"I have an idea of starting up another business where I will be buying second-hand clothes in bulk at wholesale prices and then later re-selling them at retail prices. Through such kind of a business, I should be able to make an extra coin from my business every single month."

"The biggest hardship that I am faced with is inadequacy of farm land. The piece of land that I have is too small to support farming. This results into low yield which can not support the family the fact that prices of agricultural products are also so low. The more I work, the less I gain because of the low market prices."

"Life has really become very tough these days with the increase in the prices of basic commodities and foodstuff. This has made it very difficult to take care of family needs with the little money that I make from my motorcycle taxi business. To make things easier, my wife and I have agreed to combine our transfers for the next few months so that we can set up a grocery shop as a backup source of income."