"My family and I never had a comfortable place to call home. Our house was very old and the roof needed to be replaced. Therefore, when I received my transfer from GiveDirectly, I rushed from my bed early that morning and joined the others in the town who have received transfer also. We sang new songs, danced and paraded the the main streets of the town for hours. I was glad and satisfied. I will use portion of my transfer to renovate my old house. The remaining portion will be used to construct a new and bigger house for me and my family."

"It was a joyous moment that beautiful morning when I received my transfer through text message. With great enthusiasm, I hurriedly got up from bed and rushed into the bathroom. I've been wanting to plaster my house. In addition, I wanted to start a new retailed business as well. However, I couldn't accomplish all these because of limited income. Nonetheless, upon receiving transfer from GiveDirectly, I was able to achieve all of the above. I will forever remain thankful for such opportunity like this."

"This money will help me buy what I am lacking in my life. For example I will buy iron sheets, timber, nails and other building materials to build a new house. I live in a semi-detached house which is very small and does not have a bedroom. As of now, I sleep on a mat which is very uncomfortable so I will buy a matress. On top of that, I will buy maize. I have a farm but I don't harvest enough maize to last for a very long time. Right now, I am only remaining with one bag of maize which I will eat up to January."

"Financial constrain is the biggest challenge. My wife and I are both casual laborers. On a good day, I can make KES 500 which is insufficient as this goes to purchasing food for my family. Having five children all in school is so hard paying school and meeting other school-related needs. Saving means denying ourselves some needs so as to meet others."

"The major challenge that I am facing currently is the lack of enough food for consumption. I depend on subsistence farming to feed and also pay school fees for my children by selling milk and maize. This has not been so because we receive low yields yearly due to the drought that occurs, which impacts majorly on the income that we receive."

"Receiving this money will enable me to expand my dairy business. I have 3 cows that enable me to sell milk to Siongiroi milk plant. The milk that I get from the cows is less and I plan to buy a good breed that goes for KES 50000 so that I can boost the milk that I get daily. Selling more milk means that I will earn more money. I plan to settle a few arrears for my children who are in school with KES 40000."

"I work as a charcoal vendor, a job that is currently not reliable because trees are no longer available. This means making $5 takes me utmost 3 weeks to prepare 1 bag and this is very little to cater to my family's basic needs. Hence, this is the challenge that I am currently facing in my life."

"I work as a seasonal beautician at my friend's salon where I am paid on a commission basis mostly $2 per day. Since I do this part-time, I have desired to start a salon that I can depend on but due to lack of capital, this has never come through. With the help from GiveDirectly, I am so optimistic that I will be able to realize my dream. I plan to save my 4 monthly transfers to use them as the initial capital for my business. This will guarantee me a reliable source of income that can support my family's basic needs like food and clothing. On the other hand, this grant will also support my children's education and hence a better future."

"Imagine being a casual laborer who prepares farms in our area where rains are no longer reliable! It has been a very hard time for me to support my family in terms of meeting some very basic needs like food and education. Since my work is not consistent my family has suffered a lot in getting meals and also in most cases, the children are sent out of school. Hence, the lack of a reliable source of income is the challenge that I am currently facing."

"Receiving this money means awakening my dream of starting a shop business within our village. This is because getting a packet of maize flour means walking a distance of 4 kilometers. I am very confident that this will be an opportunity for me to serve my neighbours and hence, a better profit since it will be the only nearby shop. I am planning to save my 5 months transfers (15000 KES) that I will use as my capital. On the other hand, this grant will also support my children's education because it will supplement my husband's earnings so that we can save for future use. Hence, a better livelihood."