"I'm honestly quite grateful that I got the chance to participate in this program and I would love to express my gratitude, because this funds enabled me to have some stability and ways of sustainability especially by allowing me to finally run a business."

"I operate a shop where I sell household items and I am the sole breadwinner to a family of seven ( wife and six children). Owing to the harsh economic times, the business was not doing well early last year and it was facing closure. I was therefore not able to pay school fees for my school going children because I was putting every coin to my business to save it and that saw them accumulate arrears of $200. I therefore spend $200 of my second transfer to clear the school fees arrears so that my children won't be send home for school fees. I spend the balance to add more stock to my business which is doing good now. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for the financial boost."

"The larger part of the funds from GiveDirectly went towards building a two-bedroom house. I had always wanted a house of our own, somewhere my wife could claim with pride, and the transfers from GiveDirectly allowed us to make our dream a reality. As a farmer with a 1.5-acre piece of land that we grow maize on, I saw fit to funnel some funds towards the same and bought maize seeds to plant. I also prioritized getting food to stock the house, as well as some clothes for myself, my wife, and our six kids. The funds allowed me to cover other recurring expenses, such as $150 each for my two eldest, who are day scholars at Later High School in Forms 3 and 1, respectively. I paid the usual $100 to Don Bosco Primary for the third child born in PP1 and made sure I paid in advance for a term or two. My fourth born through my sixth born are all at Laluat Primary School in Grade 5, Grade 4, and Nursery School. I pay $5, $5, and $3 for lunch for the elder two and porridge for the youngest. If it were not for the funds from GiveDirectly, we would have been hard pressed to do all we have with the funds, seeing as we would have been relying on the little I make and the $5 per child that my wife charges Laluat School to feed the kids maize and beans throughout the school term. GiveDirectly has helped us in ways we could never have imagined."

"The struggle of quenching thirst is now the story of the past in my household. With my second transfer, I was able to spend KES 35000 to purchase and install a 3000-liter plastic water tank and harvest rainwater. I am happy that I no longer walk long distances to fetch water for my family. This tank would last my household five good months without running short of water. Food and furnishing my house were not left out of my budget."

"I am a parent of three boys who are still in Primary school, they are in classes two, four and five. Before the GiveDirectly transfers, I never had any stable source of income and providing for my family had been the most difficult task I have ever faced. I used the whole transfer of kshs 53,000 to purchase a power saw for my business. Before I bought the machine I used to hire it from someone else and this was quite expensive as I remained with very little money for my family's basic needs like food, clothing and education."

"We value cattle so much in my community. At times people pity you when you do not own even a cow. They could not imagine how your children survive without milk. This makes me feel bad now that I am part of those people without cattle. I am working hard to see that I buy my family a dairy cow. This will enable me to produce plenty of milk for my family."

"I am a parent of two boys who are in form three, I used part of the transfers of kshs 25,000 to pay their school fees. Before the GiveDirectly transfers, I never had any stable source of income and providing for my family had been the most difficult task I have ever faced. I used the remaining part of the transfers of kshs 25,000 to build a two-bedroom house. I owned a small grass-thatched house which was leaking during the rainy season. Besides, getting the grass for replacement was tiresome as transportation was too costly. I thank Give Directly for the transfers as my peace of mind is finally restored."

"I'm a teacher by profession at Kietamer Primary School. I teach the little angels in the nursery, earning $160 per month in salary. As for my husband, he works as a driver at the Treasury, earning $500 per month in salary. The funds from GiveDirectly allowed us to finally have some disposable income to help us achieve those things we had kept putting on the back burner due to other responsibilities. As such, I undertook the purchase of a cow. Both for milk and for breeding, it seemed like a good idea! Considering we have a 1 acre farm on which we grow maize, I didn't see the need to buy food, so I chose to cater for the kids' fees with the transfers from GiveDirectly. We have three kids. Our eldest recently graduated from high school and plans to attend university to study nursing. The second born is in class 8 at Sigor Primary Boarding School, for whom we pay $280 per year. The third born is in PP2 at St. Francis Academy, and we pay $50 per term for her tuition. GiveDirectly was a blessing to my partner and me. We finally had the privilege of having more cash than we normally make, allowing us to do so many things that we had previously only dreamed of one day doing."

"In my opinion, what GiveDirectly does well in this program is that we receive the transfers in lumpsum amounts. This helps in planning as one is in a position to do something huge as compared to when the transfers are given in small instalments. The unlearned recipients are taught how to use mpesa. This has reduced the number of theft cases in the community as most of us managed to change our pins to a more secure code. To avoid household conflict, what needs to be done differently is enrolling all the individuals in the household. During enrollment, those individuals who did not have responsibilities by then were left out of the program yet these are the same people who steal from their old and vulnerable parents. Give Directly staff are very transparent during the enrollment process, they are so keen during the verification process and this ensures that none is left out during registration to the program. Another thing that needs to be done differently is enrolling all the communities in a specific village for uniformity purposes and this will prevent too many complaints coming from the communities that are left out during the registration to the programs."

"In the near future and beyond. I am planning to hire a piece of land for farming as I own a smaller one. I will as well hire a tractor for farming instead of doing it with the help of casual labourers. This is cost-effective as compared to when it is done by the labourers. In addition, I have plans of starting up a groceries business to be run in the evenings. Groceries business has high demand as food is consumed on a daily basis. The profits earned will be enough for my young family's basic needs like food, clothing and school fees."