"Due to the drought we are experiencing in the region, the water pan which is five kilometres away and our only source of water is drying up. The water pan which serves the three neighboring villages has water which is not fit for human consumption. This has forced us to be depending on water vendors who sell a twenty litre jerrican at 70 KES which we sometimes can not afford due to lack of money. Therefore receiving this transfer would mean finding a lasting solution to this water problem because I plan to connect tap water from the neighbouring village which will serve both for domestic use and for business purposes as I will be selling to the neighbors around. I will spend 45000 KES on this project. Through this I will have achieved water security as well as source of income for my family of 8 members."

"I am a widow with no one to support me as the only child I had passed away. Due to my old age, I can no longer provide for myself. Receiving this money means food security and proper beddings. The bed I sleep on has neither mattress nor beddings on it."

"Receiving this money means a stable income. I earn around KES 500 from which I saved KES 20,000 to assist me to build a house because I was starting a family life. I purchase milk daily and it is much more expensive because I use KES 60 per day. I am planning to use KES 40,000 to purchase a dairy cow. This will be a relief to me since I will save the money used in buying milk for other projects and also sell the surplus to add to my income."

"The main challenge that I currently face is lack of a descent home. I live in one roomed house made of grass at the top. Sometimes when there is heavy downpour we experience leakage from the top. This situation is not favourable as we risk ourselves in contracting with pneumonia disease. We are super excited today that our ambition of building a new house will be realized."

"The challenge that I have is having a stable source of income. We rely mostly on our children to give us money for upkeep and doing some of the projects at home. Having a stable source of income will reduce our dependency on them and allow us to do the project we plan to do comfortably."

"Paying school fees for my son in grade 9 is a challenge I am currently facing. When the pandemic struck the country in 2020, I ran into losses to a point that I had to close down my maize business in Chebunyo. I resolved to rear livestock to support my family of 2 of which I earn KES 120 daily from the sales of milk. However, this income is insufficient to clear KES 10500 fees for the entire year and he has to be sent home frequently. When I see him at home while his peers are at school, I feel disappointed for I have failed as a parent."

"They say marriage is a bed of roses but in my case it was thorns. My husband was very violent and abusive. If I had not left I could have lost some of my fingers, and my face destroyed. The scars on my hands always remind me of the hell I was living in. Returning to my parent's for safety was the worst option I made in my life. They said it is a shame, and can not make anything good out of myself but a bad omen. This is something I never thought could come out of my brothers. They always mistreat my children calling them names and always pushing them away. My heart pains every time I see this happen. They deserve to be loved and protected. That is why I intend to buy at least one acre of land, a place they can call home. my children can also feel the bright side of life."

"I bought a 5000 litres water tank at KES32000 in order to ensure accessibility of water for livestock and domestic use. This is because our nearest water source is three kilometers away and everyday I used KES100 per day in water transport and this was quite expensive. I used the rest in upgrading my kitchen from mudwalled to a brickwalled house in order to relief my wife from heavy task of looking for smearing mud."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is self employment because from the sewing machine I bought using GiveDirectly transfers I now have a daily income. This has helped in easily catering for basic needs and household items. Initially, I used to rely on sale of sour milk in order to feed my family but it was quite tough."

"My husband is a teacher but he is not paid well and on time therefore, we do farming for survival. Due to the bad road conditions, our produced from the farm spoiled before reaching the city to sell. If God blessed me with this money, I will put zinc ontop of my house and used portion of the money to pay my children school fees."