"I was previously living in a small grass-thatched hut, which was not in a good state. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for their financial support. I managed to acquire building materials which include Iron sheets and building poles for the construction of a new spacious iron-roofed house. Being able to achieve all this is the biggest difference in my life."

"Owning the pair of oxen which I will be using to plough my farm is the biggest difference in my daily life. I used to hire these services from neighbours at a fee during the planting season which was expensive for me. I am happy that now I have my pair which will facilitate ploughing and cultivating on time."

"I was overwhelmed with joy the moment I saw the transfer notification on my phone.GiveDirectly had finally honoured their promise by sending us the first transfer. I was thankful to them and I began to plan on how best I would spend this money to improve my livelihood."

"I expect my life to change in the next six months in that I will have livestock in my compound. I am planning to use part of my transfers to pay for a sheep or a goat. Livestock is a good investment and I would also want to invest in it. This is because its value increases on a daily basis which is a sign of wealth."

"My life will be different in the next six month in that I will be having a business. I am determined to start the business because I know through it my financial life will be much better as compared to now. I would want to use this opportunity given to me by GD to change my life completely."

"My first priority when I receive this money is building a house for my boys.They are now grownups and need a separate house.I will build them a one bed roomed house.My second plan is buying a dairy cow to add to the one I have.This will boost my income mainly through sale of milk. The remaining part of the transfers will help me pay school fees for my children.I have five children in secondary school."

"I consider the lack of a reliable source of income as my biggest hardship in life. This is because I am just a housewife and a dependant to my husband whose work is to vend water, a job that does not earn him enough income to fully cater to the family needs. This has forced us to live a miserable life, a situation that has robed away my joy. "

"Expanding my farm has been my greatest desire in life since I depend most on farming. This wish has been met with a lot of challenges when it comes to land preparation, I always get hard times in hiring oxen due to the high demand and also the expense of paying the fee. My plan was to buy my own oxen and ox plow that I can use during land preparation season. This will help me to avoid rushing since I will be preparing my farm in time something that will give me enough produce. I will also be hiring my oxen to others on fee and this will earn me income to sustain my family's basic needs. Therefore, this is basically what receiving this money means to me."

"The biggest hardship I have faced is drought.I normally rely on farming to provide food for our family but for a few years now I have not had any harvest.As a result I have been forced to perform odd jobs in other farma even at my old age to get something to eat."

"My husband is physically disabled-he cannot walk.He works as a cobbler in a nearby town,a job which does not really generate any reliable income for our family.Therefore,all the burden of meeting the needs of the family including food,clothing,medical needs as well as school fees is all on me.Since I do not have a job or any skill to utilize too,am forced to work as a casual labourer as well as work in my farm to meet these needs.This is the biggest hardship I have faced"