"Unemployment is the biggest challenge that I have ever faced in my life. I have no source of a stable income that I can depend on. Currently, I depend on charcoal burning business which is illegal, but because it is the only job opportunity I have, I have no otherwise but to do it. Again, this business earns me less that $6 a day which is not enough to meet the needs of my family. Having a family of four children who depend on me has never been easy to meet their basic needs, considering two of them are attending school. My wife also is jobless, so I am the sole breadwinner for the family. I will be glad to receive cash transfers from GiveDirectly so that my life can change."

"It was a normal routine day for me, I was busy in my charcoal business when I heard my phone ringing, at first, I thought maybe it was a normal service provider message, but upon checking I was able to confirm that I had received money from GiveDirectly, I was so happy and excited, I immediately called my husband to inform him of the Wonderful news that we had received, he too was happy and grateful."

"Receiving this money means a reliable source of income for my household. I am planning to spend $300 transfer to buy 10 goats which will act as long term investment project to my family. I will sell the goats at a profit when they multiple. I will use the remaining amount of my first transfer to pay school fees for my children at school. With my second transfer I will spend $250 my to construct a separate house for to restore to respect that I have lost for long. The remaining amount will cater for household needs like food."

"Hunger has been a big challenge in my family. This is mainly caused by insufficient finances .I work as an house help at chepalungu where I earn KES 4000 per month. I distribute this money into several activities such as fee payment ,food and clothing in my family. Sometimes I sacrifice most of the income for fees and thus we sleep on one meal a day."

"I am currently living in a single house and my dream has been to build an iron sheet house. When I receive this money I will build a two-roomed iron sheet house at KES 30000, buy a cow with KES 20000 to enable me to earn a living through the production and sale of milk. I will buy food and clothing for my children with KES 20000 and save the remaining KES 30000 to help me pay fees for my daughter when she joins secondary school."

"When I receive this money I will buy a cow with KES 25000, also I will budget KES 40000 to construct a two roomed iron sheet house for my children. I will clear school fees arears of KES 20000 of my son in secondary school to enable him study without disturbance of being sent to collect fee balances. For the remaining KES 15000 I will buy food and clothing's for family members."

"Receiving this money means adding capital to my business. I am currently running a book shop business and I started with a Capital of Ksh.20000. The market is big such that I cannot satisfy my clients fully with the stock I have. I want to add a stock of Ksh.55000 so as to satisfy my clients. I will use the remaining amount to start an Mpesa business at the book shop. This will add my income to approximately Ksh. 5000 every month."

"The biggest hardship I have ever faced in my life is food insecurity. I am a housewife and rely on my husband who does a security job. The money he gets is so little and can't sustain the family needs. Due to this, I have been struggling to put food on the table. Sometimes the children go to school without proper meal's or without food completely hence I feel so bad and can't do anything about it."

"I spent part of the transfer I received from GiveDirectly on building two houses. We used to live in old houses and we decided with my spouse to build better and decent houses.I bought three goats. This is the best investment because goats reproduce twice per year and it really helps whenever there is an emergency. I also paid school fees for my children in various schools and the rest of the money I bought food and clothes for my children. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard."

"My life is different than how it would have been if I never received the transfers in that I have bought a piece of land. I do small scale farming and sometimes do casual jobs in the village. The amount of money that I get through this is so small and cannot meet all the basic needs of the family. I had no extra money to save to buy a piece of land. When I received the second transfer I felt so happy because I knew I would be able to buy a land. Currently I own a piece of land, I have plough and ready to do horticulture farming. I am planning to plant beans and potatoes. I will get enough food for the family after the harvest. I will also sell the surplus at the market to earn an income to meet other household items. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has enabled me to own a piece of land. This could have taken quite some time to get it. I have hope that I will save some money to buy another piece of land. This has motivated me to work harder and ensure that my family get all the needs. I will also be able to pay school fees for my children."