"The biggest hardship i have faced in my life is having enough food"

"I lost my mother at a very young age, and it affected my life till date. I was unable to go to school because my Aunt could not afford to buy school material for both of her children and us."

"My life is different than how it would have been if I never received the transfers in that I paid all the school fees for my children in various schools. I do construction jobs and the money that I get through this is so small and cannot meet all the household expenditure including paying school fees. My children used to be sent home to collect school fees and this was affecting their performance since lessons were on going. I was so worried about this. When I received the second transfer I found it wise to pay school fees first before other projects. My children studied for that term without being sent home. This led to improving their grades in school. On my side I had peace of mind to do my daily activities without being disturbed. I saved some money in merry go round group that we have started in our village to enable me to pay for the next term school fees. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard."

"I spend part of the money I received from GiveDirectly on school fees for my son who was in form four. I am so happy because my son was able to do his exams without being sent home to collect the school fees. I also bought sofa set seats which I didn't have. My house look so decent now and whenever I have visitors I host them comfortably. I settled the debts that I had borrowed to pay hospital bills. The rest of the money I bought food and clothes for my children."

"My family and I currently live in a 0.5 acre land that is not sufficient for tilling, hence receiving this money will enable me to buy a 2 acre piece of land at $600. I will then use $250 to build a better house since the current one-roomed grass thatched hut we live in with my spouse and 2 children is too tiny and leaks in water during rainy seasons. I also intend to buy one dairy cow for milking, thus the lessening the daily worry of where to get money to buy milk for my family consumption."

"In this village, there has been an increase in lawlessness over the past six months.This is threatening when I consider myself being a woman who is living with small children. Since this house in poor shape,I stand a high chance of the little belongings I have to get stolen. The house also put our lives at risk as it can be easily blown away during heavy rain and strong winds. Hence, my inability to have a good house is my biggest hardship currently."

"In my opinion, GiveDirectly does well in such a way that the money was sent directly into my Mpesa account. This reduced the theft cases and even bribery because no one knew I had received the money except my family members. Also the I was given enough teachings concerning money and they have really helped me mostly in planing my projects."

"Iam a medical doctor who is looking for funds to boost my career."

"I spent part of my second transfer on buying some building materials such as pieces timber and nails. I purchased all these intending to complete my house which I was in the process of using the first transfers. Also the mason KES 8000 for his labor. Also, I used KES 20000 of the transfers for my son who is high school boarding. With the remaining amount of money, I bought three KES 6000 as the potential living assets that I can lean on. With the remaining money I bought sufficient food for the family that would at least last us for weeks"

"My life is different than it was before in that, through the transfer I was able to clear the fee balances for my child and now he learning without being sent home due to fees. Previously, he was always out of school due to fee arrears. Also, I am now sleeping on comfortable beddings, back in the days, I was sleeping on old sacks which were not soft and I was always feeling backache. In addition, I was able to construct a decent shelter for my farming and acquired 5 goats, my future investment for my family."