"The moment when I received my first cash transfer I felt so happy and so excited to the extent that I failed to hold the water bucket properly that I was carrying on my head since I was coming back from the borehole. All my life I have never received such a huge amount of money so it was a big relief that the money will really help in changing my life."

"Receiving this money means opening a kiosk in my village. In this area, shops are 5km away something that have created a business opportunity. With a capital of 50000KES, I will be able to open the kiosk which am very sure will have created an employment for me and a source of income for my household. My wife has very perfect skills in making donuts, so in that kiosk we will use that as a way of attracting customers and increase the income."

"Financial instability is the biggest hardship I am currently experiencing. This is because of the kind of job I am engaged in. I work as a casual laborer and the job is not guaranteed. On a good day, I make 700 KES which is not enough to sustain all our needs such as school fees. This has hindered me from clearing fee arrears."

"I separated from my husband 15 years ago and came back to my parents with my 2 children. According to our culture, once you are married you can no longer stay in your parent's house. This made me construct a small structure that looks like a kiosk because my financial position could not allow building a bigger one. Receiving this money means fulfilling my longing of having a spacious and decent house. I am planning to spend 70,000 KES of the transfer to construct a semi-permanent house so that I can live comfortably. In addition, I will invest the remaining part of the transfer in livestock which will be a source of income."

"My last born completed secondary education early this year and attained a mean grade of B plain. My worry has been how to meet his school fees requirements and accommodation after he secured a place at Kenya Medical College. Payment of school fees has been a challenge to us because we depend on the sale of bricks we make daily. These bricks earn me an average of KES 8000 a month and compared to the KES 80000 required for his admission in January next year it is difficult to save this much. Therefore with these transfers my worries are over because I will use KES 80000 to pay the fee and my savings to meet his other needs."

"With the first KES 38000 of my transfer, I bought a dairy cow. This is an investment to me that will help me in educating my children as I will be using money from the sale of surplus to achieve this. In addition, I will be able to save the money I would otherwise use in buying milk since I currently spend KES 50 daily on them. Also, I used KES 13000 to pay school fees for my two children in secondary school who had been sent back home and used the remaining KES 3000 on food."

"My current kitchen leaks during the rainy season as it is old and the iron sheets are full of rust. Because of this, I am usually forced to move my items from one place to another whenever it rains. Upon receiving my transfer, I decided to solve this problem at once and due to this, I spent KES 35000 from it to buy some building materials after tithing KES 2000. In addition, I spent KES 5000 on one sack of maize and other food items, KES 2000 on a dress and I still have 10000 that I will use in paying for the labor during the construction of this kitchen."

"My priority was to purchase a dairy cow with the transfer and upon receiving them, I spent KES 28000 to achieve this. I used to buy milk daily and it was expensive to me since I used to work as a casual laborer working on people's farms and it was tedious. In addition, I spent KES 13750 to start a business of buying and selling maize in our nearby market, KES 2000 on utensils, KES 4500 on a bed and mattress, and KES 6000 on clothes for every member of my family. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for enabling me to achieve this within a short time as I would not have been able to achieve them on my own."

"Receiving this money means improved housing. I have one grass-thatched house. My house tends to get smoky during cooking and it is uncomfortable to stay inside. So when I get this transfer I will use it to construct a more spacious house. I will spend KES 30000 of my transfer to construct it. I am passionate about business. I buy and sell goats during market days. So the remaining amount I will buy more goats to increase income and ensure sustainability. I anticipate that my business will grow and I will be able to meet my household needs like food."

"I am old, sickly, and economically inactive. I depend on my children for food. So when I get this money I plan to seek treatment for my ailment. For five years now I have been in and out of the hospital without proper diagnosis. This money will enable me to get further diagnostic treatment. I will also buy a dairy cow. This will give me milk for my household use and if in surplus sell to generate income so that I do not become too much dependant on my children. This cow will cost around KES 30000. For the remaining amount, I will buy certificate seeds and plant to increase food security."