"When I received the first transfer from GiveDirectly, I was working on a construction project. It was a relief for me because I had been struggling for months to obtain the missing materials that would have completed the construction. I spent $450 on additional materials after my first transfer, which included iron sheets, 12 bags of cement, gravel, and sand. Transportation was also an issue, so getting them home was difficult. In addition, I purchased metallic window panes and glasses, a steel door, some timber and frames for roofing and wall furnishing, and later paid the labor force $50. Even though I have not yet moved in, I am relieved that a large portion of the work has been completed. I am looking forward to painting the interior walls before installing the ceiling board and finally moving in with my family of five. The remainder was spent on Christmas celebrations with my family, where we purchased foodstuffs as well as new pairs of clothes for the four children, who were extremely grateful for the support."

"GiveDirectly did an excellent job in our village, which everyone appreciated. From the first meetings, where we were given detailed information about the project, to the final transfer, everything was made clear to us. We relished the freedom to spend our money in ways we never imagined possible after receiving such a large sum. I was able to pay off all of my school debts, purchase a dairy cow, and enroll my firstborn child in school. I am grateful for the help and hope that other villages will have the same opportunity."

"I was walking down the road towards the market when I received a message, but I was not able to check it right away. I assumed it was just a random notification from the service provider because I wasn't expecting anything. Soon after, I received a call from my spouse, who had heard the news from other village members and wanted to know if we were among the happy bunch. I had to confirm first, and then I informed her that we had received the same amount. I went to the market but couldn't spend the money that day because we still had to align our expenses with my family's. When I got home, my wife was still excited, and she needed the phone to see it and I did not hesitate to hand it in. We began planning and collected the following day from a nearby shopping center."

"The challenge I'm faced with at the moment is the lack of finances. Inflation has become great and the little amount we get from work is not enough to gather for our needs. We have four children who are in secondary school and college and it has been a great challenge for us to pay for their tuition. We are also building a iron sheet house for our family and it stalled because of lack of funds. This has forced us to stay in our small house with our children and sometimes I feel it's too small. I wish I had money to complete the house."

"The greatest challenge I have is not being able to reach the hospital easily, we don't have access to roads and the hospital is located very far from where I live and it becomes difficult for me as I am getting older , i have little energy left to walk that whole distance. I am not even capable of working to get money to use and the small land I have doesn't produce enough for me to eat and my grandson, I have to ask some support from my children. I live with my grandson who also have eye sickness as me and it is not easy for us to go to the hospital to get treatment."

"The first challenge we are facing in our life is not having our own land to cultivate , for us to survive we have to rent other people's land to be able to produce what to eat.Another challenge we are currently facing is having a small house which doesn't have a kitchen which requires us to cook inside the same house in which we live in. My husband Hangimana lost his mom 5 years ago and his father left them with his siblings without anything, they suffered alot living alone and after a while one got married and other two went to live with their relatives, my husband stayed alone fighting for his life and trying to survive day by day until we met 2 years ago and got married recently his father didn't want us to live in the house where he left them , he chased him out and my husband had to build ourselves a house to live in, up to now we have to work hard in other to get what to eat and build ourselves a sustainable life."

"Our life depend on farming but this area is surended mainly by hills and rocks in many places which make it hard terracing our land and when we are in sunny season we don't get as much production as needed because we don't even have access to water and we don't have access to enough fertiliser to use in our land either Organic and inorganic. Another challenge we are currently facing is lacking access to roads, when we need to go to the hospital we travel a long distance by passing trough small areas that are not even adequate and it is hard for our children to go to school as well because the shools are located far from where we live."

"We struggle to get what to eat because we only have one small land and to be able to produce enough for our family we have to rent another land to cultivate. Another challenge we are facing is not having enough money to use in our daily expenses , the little we have we get it from working for others."