"I stay in a house that is in poor condition. Holes are all over. Still, that is where I cook. Sleeping in a house that is full of smoke odor is not only uncomfortable but can also be a source of respiratory diseases. Acquiring a respiratory disease at the age of 72 years is hazardous. I intend to build a new house where I will comfortably stay. It will approximately cost me 25,000 KES. The previous one will be fully be used as a kitchen."

"Poverty made me drop out of school in 2021. My parents being jobless, were unable to support me. Since then, I have been working as a charcoal burner with the hope of making enough money and rejoin school. My efforts have been futile because the money I make is so little. I approximately make 1000 KES a month where I use it in food contribution in our household."

"Receiving this money means safety to me. I am living in a house that is unsafe to live in. In the event of strong winds, the house can collapse. This is a threat to my life. To stop living in fear, I will use 30,000 KES to repair it by reinforcing it with concrete pillars. With the pillars, the house will be very strong."

"There is no form of privacy and self-worth when a mother shares a roof with two of her teenage children. My immediate plan is to build a new house and leave the other one to my children. Roughly, it will cost me 30,000 KES. By having a different house, I believe my self-respect will be regained."

"The only store of wealth for me is venturing into livestock keeping because once a need arises, I can comfortably sort it out. This has been my greatest desire but due to lack of money, it has never come to reality. Since GiveDirectly has reached my household, I am very optimistic about realizing this dream and to start with, I only need 5 goats which will cost me 15000 KES. This means I will spend my first 5 months' transfers to make this possible. The remaining transfers will cater to other basic needs like food and clothes since I do not have anyone to depend on."

"My greatest distress at the moment is the uncertainty that comes with the unreliable sources of income to my 2 children whom I depend on most. Their jobs are casual, mostly in the construction sites and their income is very low. This pushes me to forfeit some meals and in most cases, I survive on one meal in a day."

"Imagine seeking shelter in my mother-in-laws' kitchen because my house collapsed 8 months ago! This situation has brought me shame and I have desired to construct my house to earn back my lost dignity. My husband has already bought 15 pieces of iron sheets but he has failed to construct the superstructure due to lack of money. I need about 30000 KES to offset this plan. To ensure this comes to reality, I intend to be saving my first 10 months' transfers. This will cater to all the expenses of constructing the house. Receiving this money, therefore, means restoring my lost dignity for lacking privacy."

"The health of my family is something that I am concerned about. Currently, we spend our nights on roped beds and rugged sacks, which do not give us nice sleep. In the morning, we feel so much pain and this has directly affected our health conditions. To ensure this is solved, I intend to replace the old beddings with new ones and this means spending my first 6 months' transfers, 18000 KES to do this. Also, together with my husband, we will pool our remaining transfers, to reinforce our house with stones and cement because it's walls are made of mud."

"Expanding my livestock business and repairing my house are among my top priorities. To ensure these are achieved, I intend to invest my monthly transfers, utmost 2000 KES every month in the livestock business for a whole year. This will assure me of a high profit, to aid in repairing my house. The other transfers will support my children's education, also, it will cater to my family's very basic needs like food and clothing. Therefore, this is generally what receiving this money means to me."

"At the moment, financial constraint is what I struggle with most. This is because I work as a charcoal vendor, a job that is not reliable because of the scarcity of trees in our area. In a month, I make only 2000 KES and this comes with the stress of how to share it with my 5 children in school and also to support us for food. Hence, I consider this as the main challenge that I am currently facing."