"I am a domestic worker and in the process of my daily chores I got a beep on my phone. Since I do not know how to read, I did not bother to check it. Instead, I went on with my chores knowing that my son would check it out in the evening once I get home as it has been the norm. Upon reaching home, I handed him the phone to check on the message and that was when he informed me that I had received money from Give Directly. That was the happiest moment of my life. I felt joyous and thanked God for the blessing."

"I used KES 25000 to buy a dairy cow and another KES 30000 was used to buy building materials and to put up the building structure. I did not have any livestock to keep yet its one of the most basic life assets especially for old people like me who depend on milk as a source of the so important protein. I thank God that GiveDirectly came to help me own one and be more independent now and in the future. The house that I was living in too was too small to accommodate even two of visitors who came visiting. I now feel comfortable having built a better and spacious house and looking forward to having visitors in my home who are even free to sleep over."

"I do not know how to read or write and it is for that reason that I left my phone with my daughter. I had instructed her to let me know when the money was sent to my account and on that day, she did not take long before she could share the news with me. She came full of joy to just let me know that there was money sent to my account from GiveDirectly. I honestly felt very happy. I was overwhelmed with joy because I knew all the plans that I had been unable to accomplish were finally going to be realized."

"I had just buried my sister on my way home from the burial site when I got a message notification. Since I was on the way, I did not bother to check on it until I got home. It was a moment of mixed reaction learning that I had received KES 55000 immediately after burying my sister. I still managed a smile amidst the somber mood that surrounded us. I later shared the news with my spouse, and he was equally happy."

"I felt very happy the moment we received money from GiveDirectly. I knew the stress that I had lived with for a long time after my husband passed was going to be a thing of the past. I felt very happy and shared the information with my children who celebrated the good news with me."

"The biggest difference in my life is that I am now self reliant contrary to before when I had to rely on my children to provide me with everything. I feel happy that GiveDirectly has given me a break from being over dependent on my children."

"I spent KES 5000 of the recent transfer money on paying school fees for one of my children whom I had not managed to clear his balance with the first transfer. I had a huge debt that I owed the schools that my children are studying. I am glad that GiveDirectly transfers came through and I was able to settle the debt. I have been able to rest a bit from stressing thinking about where to get money for school fee payment. The calf that I had has grown and the chickens have increased in number since I have not sold them. Other than that, I also bought another calf at KES 25000 to add to the one that I have. I bought the calf so that it can help me in the future with the children's school fees when it calves. I also bought a bag of maize at KES 3000 for our consumption. With the remaining amount of money, I used part of it in tilling my land and buying maize seeds for planting. The maize that I planted is about to ripen and be ready for consumption. I also managed to save up some of the remaining money for upkeep, that is, for buying household goods such as sugar, soap, etc. I am thus happy and grateful to GiveDirectly for their help."

"I spent the recent transfer money on buying another one point of an acre of land. I bought the piece of land at KES 40000. I had bought a point with the first transfer. I decided to buy the land because I wanted to move aside with my family. My mother is unmarried and there have always been family wrangles between us and our uncles. My wife is also not on good terms with my mother and that is why I bought the land somewhere else so that all these conflicts could end. I am glad that having done so, there has been peace and everyone is happy. Besides buying the piece of land, I also bought a calf at KES 5000. The calf is an investment that is going to help me in the future. I also bought chairs at KES 5000 and with the remaining amount of money, I used it in starting a hotel business. The business has picked up and I am able to comfortably provide for my family of four, that is, buy food and pay school fees for my child. He is hence no longer being sent home due to school fees arrears like before. As a result of this, I no longer engage in any casual job that I get to get money for buying daily food like before. I am thus happy and thankful to GiveDirectly for their support."

"GiveDirectly did well because they taught us well in the meeting and also when they visited our household. We learned a lot and hence I do not see anything wrong with the way they do their work."

"In my opinion, GiveDirectly has been doing good in my village and this is evident from the impressions on our faces. Currently, 99% of us have decent houses, livestock and we have been empowered to start businesses in town. Also, the officers were approachable and down to earth, we could easily interact with them. All our concerns were well answered and we were all satisfied."