"Imagine spending a whole day doing manual work such as uprooting stumps only to sleep on a roped bed. I hardly rest well on these beddings and I wake up with body aches everyday. It makes it difficult to be productive in my charcoal burning job because it requires alot of energy. This has been my life for decades since I cannot afford a modern bed and a mattress. My desire is to have a decent place where I can sleep soundly and peacefully. My plan upon receiving these transfers is to procure modern beddings at a cost of 8000 shillings. Receiving this money therefore means improved comfortability."

"Receiving this money really means so much to me I'm so excited for getting enrolled in the programme and i truly can't wait to receive the money."

"The biggest hardship I'm currently facing is of shelter,i have big wish of building a big house with iron sheet roof,and buying a sleeping matress because i want a comfortable sleeping place."

"When I was about 10 years old, I dropped out of primary school because my parents could not afford a fee requirement of $3, which was needed to aid payment of teachers. When I dropped out, I had to engage in casual jobs in the village to help my parents with putting food on the table. As a result of not having an education certificate, I cannot get any decent employment due to disqualification. Accordingly, this has made it difficult providing my family of 5."

"I spent part of my first transfer on buying some building materials such as iron sheets, building poles, ropes, timber, and nails. I had to purchase all these to construct a new house since the previous one was a small round hut grass thatched. It was so leaking whenever it could rain so I had to seek shelter in my friend's house. I addition to that, I bought goats that will now be the living assets to lean on in case of any emergency. I also paid school fees for my children and bought some stationery for them. With the remaing amount of money, I bought sufficient foodstuffs for my family."

"I spent a large portion of my first transfer on buying some building poles, iron sheets, timber and nails, and a wooden door. This was purposely for the construction of a new house since the previous one was a very small temporary hut. During the winter season, it was so hectic and most of my properties were not safe at all. I later paid the masson KES 5000 as his labor fees in regards to the job well done. To add that, I bought enough foodstuff for my children that would at least take us to the next three weeks."

"Receiving this money means financial stability in my household. This is because I am employed as an M-Pesa agent but the income I currently get is only $50 which can not fully support my needs. I have desired to own my M-Pesa shop but this has not been possible due lack of capital. My plan once I receive the first transfer(KES 55000) is to invest in this business, and hence a stable source of income for my family. The remaining transfer will help me to renovate my house by reinforcing it with hard cores and also to have the floor smooth-finished."

"Receiving this money means a bright future for my son who is now a third-year student at the university. With my efforts of selling fried dough foods plus charcoal burning, it has never been enough. This has forced me to visit different government offices in search of bursaries to ensure my son's education is not interfered with. Since only 1 year is remaining to complete his 4 years, my plan once I receive this money is to use the first transfer to clear some fee arrears and also to start the fourth year's fee. This will enable him to settle in school and learn smoothly. On the other hand, I will use part of the second transfer ($200) to finish my house which is at its superstructure level and the remaining amount will aid in buying 2 indigenous dairy cows to act as my long-term investment project."

"For quite sometime, I have been trying to save towards buying materials for constructing a better house but it wasn't possible for me to do so because of low income from casual jobs. When I got my first transfer, I prioritize on what I was yearning for. I bought construction materials at a cost of KES 20000. I then bought a heifer for rearing at a cost of KES 25000. The remaining amount, I spent KES 2000 on paying a debt and the rest on buying myself some clothes."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that, I was able to clear school fees arrears and paid school fees for previous term. Now I have some savings which I set a side for paying school fees for my child next term. Were it not for the support I believe that I would be a stressful mother struggling to raise money for school fees. I thank GiveDirectly for coming up with the idea of cash transfers."