"Because of the meager income my wife and I realize from burning and selling charcoal, we have been thinking about other alternative income sources. Therefore, as I continue to receive my transfer this year, my primary goal is to raise a herd of cattle. This goal comes second to supporting my children's education. I have five goats that I have bought with the previous transfers. However, I aim to buy more before the current ones begin to reproduce. I would wish to build a new house. The current one is old, and one side is falling off. It will shield my family from extreme weather conditions due to unpredictable weather patterns."

"My husband is a teacher and I currently sell things in a small kiosk. We really work hard with my husband to provide for our four children a better life they deserve. We had desired to build a hardware store but it was difficult for us. All the cement we bought, we kept it in our little kiosk together with the food stuff which seemed so unhealthy. The moment I received my transfers, we built a hardware using $300 so that we would keep our cement where it belonged. We used $200 to buy stock for our little kiosks. We believe that the more things we sell, the more profit we make. The remaining amount was $50 that I spent it to run my household."

"Being my family’s breadwinner, and considering the huge burden I bear to provide for my five children, it goes without saying the amount of relief the cash transfers brought to me. The earnings I made from selling sardines would never measure up to the weight of the support I received from Give Directly’s cash program. Before the transfers, my children were regularly pulled out of school to collect unpaid balances. They would stay home until I garnered enough money from the business to pay the debts, which would be after a few days or even weeks. My priority when I received the cash was to clear any pending school fees and possibly pay in advance so that my children would study throughout the year without interruptions. I paid $50 for the three who were in primary school and $300 for the two who were in high school. Am grateful that they studied throughout the year without being sent home. After that, I bought 15 pieces of iron sheets worth $150 to build a one-room house for my two sons. As they became older, I found it appropriate if they would stop sharing space with their sisters in my house, hence the need to construct a separate shelter for them. I used the remaining funds to buy maize flour to ensure my household never ran out of food. "

"Through the cash transfers, I built a spacious house and kept Kazungu in college. These accomplishments would have otherwise not been possible were it not for Give Directly. Hence, according to me, the act of giving money to needy people is the greatest to have ever been done by Give Directly. I would not say there is anything wrong with how the organization operates. "

"I commend Give Directly for designing an aid program that involves giving unconditional cash transfers to needy people like me. Not only did the money improve my livelihood by putting food on the table and acquiring a new house, but it also saved me from the physical strains of charcoal burning. Previously, my body would become sore from splitting tree stumps to make charcoal, which ceased after I started receiving the transfer. According to me, Give Directly need not improve on anything. "

"Am grateful that Give Directly came to help us with the cash transfers and enabled my husband and me to start the kiosk business. Granting families like mine unconditional money is the greatest job that Give Directly does. Even though I wish they would continue supporting us through other cash programs, I understand that they need to help others from villages that are similarly engrossed in poverty. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong that I wish Give Directly would improve on. I hope they carry on with the spirit of helping other communities, as they did with mine. "

"I used the second transfer to build a house for my five children, who were still staying in my two-room house at the time. As children become older they usually need their own space for privacy, so I thought it ideal to build them a separate structure. I constructed a one-room house made of mud walls and a tin roof, which cost around $268. Also, there was an outstanding tuition for those who were in primary school and I cleared the debt with $30. I also paid $20 for them in advance, so that they would study without interruptions the following term. Am happy that they are no longer being sent out of school anymore to collect pending balances. Next, I bought 5 goats, using $185. The aim was to rear the goats, and have a source of income that would raise my children’s school fees in the future. The remaining amount went towards food because there was no food."

"In my point of view, giving cash to people from poverty-stricken communities, such as mine, is what Give Directly does well. Take the case of my daughter, who unlike before the transfers, has never missed a day of school, thanks to the cash aid. Am certain that if it were not for Give Directly, she would have probably dropped out of school since I would not have afforded to pay her school fees. She is currently in grade eight and is set to join high school next year. Am more prepared to face her secondary school tuition than I was before since the cash transfers allowed me to bank on my future financial security through livestock keeping. I cannot pinpoint anything that the organization could work better on. "

"Honestly, the list of the things I wish to accomplish is too comprehensive to give details on. I feel like as my life progresses and transforms, the list of things I desire expands as well. Right now, am thinking of a possible future, when I will own a brick-walled house rather than the mud-walled one that I have. At the same time, I envision a future, probably in the next year, where I will be operating a small vegetable-selling business to raise money for needs like food and school fees for my children. Also, I wish to own livestock, as I could sell these animals to generate funds for my children’s education. Unfortunately, lack of cash is the only barrier between me and these ambitions. I wish I had enough from the cash transfers to accomplish even one of them, but I do not, since every penny was consumed by the hardships at the time. "

"Currently, I operate a business of baking and selling donuts to support the needs of my family. By next year, I wish to have expanded this business to a kiosk to increase my returns. I already have the shop space. The only thing that is left is capital to buy the stock, which I plan on raising through the current earnings. "