"I currently have a goal that I want to achieve once I get some money. To strengthen my house, I intend to put up a few pillars. Because the topography of the home compound is not flat and water flows during the rainy seasons, by doing this it will be able to withstand swift winds as well as flowing water if it rains."

"Since I had initially bought some building materials such as blocks, the next step was to purchase the remaining materials and construct the house. Upon getting the recent transfer, I used $165 to purchase 15 pieces of iron sheets and $50 was the contractor's labor charge. I decided to build a new house because the old one was leaking profusely and the rainwater had destroyed the walls thus renovating it was more expensive. Currently, a two-room block house shines my home. I am grateful and happy for GiveDirectly for enabling me to construct a nice permanent house. I cannot tell how long it would have taken me to build such a house considering that I am just a casual laborer. Thereafter, I bought two goats for $70 for investment purposes. As of now, I am happy I have a herd of 9 goats courtesy of GiveDirectly. I also used $65 to buy a sack of maize and some furniture for $46. For the remaining amount, I kept it for the family's emergencies."

"His area has water oozing from ground, but now hopefull and that they are optimistic about living good life in a near future,"

"I spent $280 on purchasing a 2000-liter water storage tank. We frequently have water scarcity during the dry season, therefore the tank will collect and store water during the rainy season which will later be used during dry season. By having the tank, we can avoid the high costs of purchasing water during times of scarcity. Additionally, I used $27 to expand the road to my home, as it was too narrow and posed difficulties for vehicles to pass through. Improving the accessibility and convenience of our road was important for our daily transportation needs. Given the unreliable nature of my income, which is heavily dependent on farming activities as it is susceptible to weather changes, I used the remaining funds from the transfer to buy food for my family of five. I am optimistic that the food will last us for a month."

"I have always wanted to build a large house with at least two bedrooms for my four children and myself. They have been sleeping in neighbors' houses at night for a long time, and I am not happy about it. My current house is very small and located in a waterlogged area, which is dangerous whenever it rains heavily because it could sink and also expose us to waterborne diseases. I intend to buy at least 31 pieces of iron sheets and building poles to facilitate the construction. I have so far managed to buy 15 iron sheets using the monthly transfers. Since I do not have a source of income that can allow me to buy all the materials at once, I am planning to continue saving monthly, buying them in bits until I achieve my goal. Building a new, spacious house on good ground is the only goal that I am planning to accomplish in the coming year and beyond."

"Receiving this money means improving my social status by constructing a decent house, installing fresh water in our home, and educating my stepdaughter. Doing this will mean living a life of joy like others in our community. At the moment, when you come home, you will be wondering how I perform all the tasks despite my health condition. I plan to ensure I spend my first transfer ($550) to construct a 2-roomed iron roofed house that will spare us from the shame of staying in a small leaking grass-thatched house. On the other hand, I will use $20 of the second transfer to install water pipes to have easy access to clean water at home. The remaining amount will help me to support my daughter's education. Hence, this is generally what receiving this money means to me."

"Long-standing health problems with my legs prevent me from working as efficiently as I once could. The only business I can comfortably run at my advanced age is livestock rearing. I decided to invest $90 to purchase 3 goats because they are easy to keep. I intend to use the proceeds of their sale once they are mature and have multiplied, to cater for my medical and emergency costs. Owing to a shortage in my area, I spent the remaining $12 to get food and water for my family. I am very grateful to Give Directly for enabling me achieve all this."

"One of my aspirations is to fix the deteriorated tin roof of our house, which allows water to enter whenever it rains. I would be thrilled to build an entirely new house that can offer a fresh and sustainable shelter for my family. In the next few years, I hope to construct a three-room structure with mud walls and an iron sheet roof. I am confident that with the cash transfers and the income I earn from my charcoal-burning jobs, I can work towards making this dream a reality."

"Buying livestock"

"Since receiving the transfers from GiveDirectly, my life has become much easier; now, I can fetch water from within my compound, which was before impossible, and I am overjoyed. I bought water pipes and had them installed at my door for $250, which spared us from having to trek great distances to get water from streams if we didn't have enough money to buy from our neighbors who had already piped theirs. Another issue I was having was the bad state of the mattresses we were sleeping on, so this offered me the opportunity to get two mattresses for $50 each, and trust me, we are having a pleasant night. On the other hand, food is a need, and without it, nothing can be done in our everyday lives. I have been doing small farming around so that I can ensure that we have something in store for each and every year, but the last two years have not been easy, we had consumed all that was in store until we were surviving on a daily basis, but fortunately, I had food worth $100 bought and we are now free from daily questions of what we are going to eat, at least for now as I ensure that the farms are well taken care of so that we can harvest better for this year seem promising."