"The fact that I was able to construct a house in such a short period is the most significant difference in my daily life. I'm glad we have a decent place to live every day. Second, I was able to clear the fee arrears, which meant that my children would have plenty of time to focus on their studies without interruption. I am extremely grateful for the generous support that has enhanced my finances."

"When my husband died, I was left as the sole breadwinner for my two children. I work in a mine, but my daily wage is only $1.50. This is inadequate to meet our basic needs. When I got my transfer, I opted to build a decent house for my family for $300. This was because the house I was living in was small and very old, and the roof was leaking. Due to financial constraints, I was unable to build a house previously. In addition, I spent $130 on a bed and mattress that I could not afford before due to financial constraints. Finally, I purchased a sack of maize and set aside some money for our daily needs. I am so grateful for the transfer that brought happiness to my life."

"I used my recent transfer to pay my three children school fees and also paid for a bundle of zinc."

"My house was under construction when I received my most recent transfer. This came as a relief because I had exhausted most of my resources and was considering selling some of my assets. I spent $200 on the first transfer to create a partition in the house, buy doors and windows that were still missing, and settle some labor charges. My children were in tremendous discomfort, especially during the rainy season, because they could not sleep in a leaking grass-thatched hut. My six daughters shared that space, and while it was always cold and moist on the floor due to roof leaks, they were better off than my son, who would move to the neighborhood to find a place to sleep late at night. My husband was involved in a hit-and-run accident caused by a motorcycle rider, and he has been unable to work since then, instead making frequent hospital visits. I have paid $60 for the last two hospital visits. It is a relief, though, because his health has been improving, and I still have a third, and hopefully final, check-up scheduled. I also purchased nine iron sheets for $7 each, which I intend to use to build another small house for my son. In addition, I used a portion of the remaining transfer to purchase household goods, such as utensils and clothing for my seven children, husband, and myself."

"I was struggling a lot before receiving the first transfer because I had a lot of obligations, such as purchasing construction materials and paying household bills. This would not have been possible without the overwhelming support that has made such a significant difference in such a short period of time. The completion rate has been incredible, and I hope to finish it five months ahead of schedule."

"Around 5:00 p.m., a friend informed me that the majority of the people in the village had received the first transfer. I had to check my phone, and luckily, I had a message that confirmed the receipt as well. I could not believe it at first because the initial communication stated that the first patch would be available in January, but the fact that everyone had received it was a relief. When I returned home, my family was thrilled because they had already gotten the news."

"I was on the phone when I received a message that I immediately read and realized was from GiveDirectly. The indicated sender's name matches the description I received from the initial meeting, and the fact that I was not expecting any other money added to my confidence. I was at my regular job in the nearby neighborhood. It did not take long for me to spot my husband, who is a rider, at that point. I informed him of the exciting news. We decided to collect on the same day and take the money home to plan ahead."

"I am a single mother of two and had been working hard on casual labor and subsistence farming on a small piece of land owned by my parents to make ends meet. Since they could not live without a glass of milk, the cost of buying milk for my two children has been overwhelming. Even though I had a cow, the dry seasons were difficult, so I decided to purchase another heifer with the $220 from the first transfer. I also spent $80 on a sack of maize, which we are still using for food at the moment. I also needed better lighting in my home, so I spent $95 on a wet battery that I later connected to the solar panel to facilitate charging and lighting all of our rooms. I am relieved that I no longer have to charge the emergency rechargeable lamps that I was previously using. The remainder was spent on clothing for my children and a portion on Christmas festivities."

"The challenges am facing currently is high School fees payments for my 6 children, who are in different levels of classes at Arlington primary school. One child is in P.7, one in P.6, P.4, P.2, P.1 and the youngest in nursary, each child is paying USD54 per term totaling to USD 324 for the 6 children which is very hard for me because I don't have a stable income that may earn me such an amount to clear fees for my children. When it cimes to feeding it is also abig challange because i dont have enough to feed my children, this is because my garden was affected so much with flash floods and the harvest was very poorwhich in the long run has caused hunger in my family in the way that I dont have sufficient food fir my family."

"I hope I could build my house and be able to put my children through college in years to come"