"It was around 10 am and I had gone out to do some casual work at a construction site in the nearby town. As I was going about with the job, I heard my phone ringing in my pocket. I stopped to check it and to my surprise, it was an SMS saying that I had received KES 55000 in my mobile money account. I was so happy on seeing this that I could not continue with the job that I was doing. I excused myself telling my fellow workers that I had gotten an emergency at home. I called my wife immediately after leaving as I headed back home and I told her about the good news. She was so happy, we celebrated together when I got home as we talked about how the transfer is going to change our lives for the better."

"It was around 5 am when I was still in my bed sleeping. I was with my children in the house when I heard the loud message alert on my phone. After waking up, I checked my phone and realized that I had received my transfer. I was soo happy and relieved at the same time for receiving my transfer which was to transform our life for the better. I had called my husband who was in town to inform him about the good news. He was very excited and we started planning on how to spend our transfer."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am now living and owning a decent shelter for my family. This has restored the lost privacy after our house collapsed two years ago. I am very grateful for the aid ."

"When I received the money, the first thing I thought of was a good house. The one I was living in collapsed half way so I have been risking by using the other part. Therefore, I used KES 38000.00 and set up another house. I also bought a solar panel for lighting purposes for KES 5000.00. Later on, I used KES 6000.00 to repair my motorbike which is used for business. Thereafter, I bought school uniform for my 2 lower primary school children. For the remaining amount, I bought some food and saved the rest for family food and other emergencies."

"Initially I was not enjoying my sleep. Every time I wake up in the morning I felt very tire and this was because of the poor shelter. After the transfer I opted to buy a good mattress. Currently I do sleep comfortable to an extent of oversleeping some times. I am very happy for the organization."

"Whole preparing breakfast at around 9am, I heard the message tone from my phone an asked my son to check for me since I do not know how to read. While checking he smiled and looked at me with a bright face and said, you have received the transfer of KES 55000.00 from GiveDirectly. I was filled with joy, I felt like some cold water has been poured on me at a time when I was sweating."

"Since I have some children who are in secondary school, I took KES 20000.00 and paid for them so that they continue with their learning smoothly. Thereafter I bought 7 goats for KES 28000.00. The aim was to invest in the goats business knowing that they will increase in number in no time thus brings some income to the family. I also bought some seeds after having a conviction that it would rain soon."

"Before the transfer was sent, I had already planned on how I was going to spent it on. Therefore, I first paid primary school fee arrears for my children which had accumulated since 2019. Thereafter, I bought a standard bed and a mattress because initially I was sleeping on a small poor bed. I also bought 3 sacks of maize for my family to ensure food security at home, a water tank and some basins because we used to take bath using some plastic jerricans that we cut them in a basin shape."

"Upon withdrawing the money, the only focus was the rental construction project. Initially I had bought a plot of land with an aim of building rental houses but due to lack of money I was unable to fulfill my dream. In that regard I used the whole transfer in building 6 rental houses though they are in complete. I am now waiting for the second transfer to finalize on them so that people can let. I did this knowing that rental business is a long-term investment and it will assist me and my family."