"I'm a small scale business lady , where by I sell fish and charcoal . My husband is a mason but on casual basis . We both assist each other to fend for our families . On the other hand I practice cattle keeping but on small scale . I spend $180 on 1 cow and $30 on 1 goat . I opted to invest in cattle since they will multiply in future and be beneficial to my family . I have 5 children and 4 of them are in primary school . They had school fees arrears totalling to $120 which I cleared using part of this transfer. My children have been using the traditional beddings which are as good as sleeping on the floor , I spent $100 on a modern new bed and $60 on a mattress , now my children always look forward to having a good rest every night ! We also needed to stock food because that is a basic need yet it was finished in my house , so I took the remaining $60 and bout 2 bales of maize flour and 25kgs of rice . Thank you so much for blessing my family ."

"Give Directly does everything perfectly well . It saved my family from hunger and poverty . It gave my husband self employment through the motor bike . It has brought us all the way from a deep hole of darkness ! Thank you so much ! There is nothing to improve since you are already doing a good job. Just keep it up."

"In my opinion GiveDirectly does very well by giving support in form of cash. This cash gives everyone an opportunity to choose for themselves what they would want to spend the money on. Looking at how I was able to revive my farming practices as well as meet some of the most immediate needs of my family makes not only me so happy but the whole family as well. I am so grateful to have been part of the beneficiaries of this program."

"In my opinion GiveDirectly does very well by giving support in form of cash. This cash gives people freedom to choose how to spend the money and prioritize according to their needs. Having cleared school fees for my children and the fact that I was able to seek medication for one of them really gave me some sense of satisfaction. I did not find anything that I thought GiveDirectly could have done better."

"The first thing I did with the GiveDirectly funds was build a two-bedroom house with a verandah. We had planned how we would build for a long time but were short on funds; thankfully, GiveDirectly allowed us to do so. In the same breath, I spent some of the funds on food as well as on debt repayment. The majority of the remaining funds were used to pay tuition for my three students. My eldest is married and has one child in Jaribuni; my second child is out of school due to a lack of funds despite having completed class 8, and my third and fourth children both attend Mbonga Primary School.One is in junior secondary school and the other is in secondary school. While my wife and I work on our 5-acre maize and cassava farm, we have little money to meet our own and our children's needs. Needless to say, GiveDirectly has been and continues to be a blessing."

"In the near future, I would like to start my own business. A supermarket. Selling cabbages, tomatoes, and onions, among many other items, would improve our household finances and, in the long run, our quality of life. This would be ideal for my long-term goal. I'd like to see my child graduate from high school, get a good job, and afford a life that we, as their parents, couldn't provide for them."

"I can only speak for my own experience with GiveDirectly. They came into my life and made an immediate impact like no other. Because of them, I was able to educate my children while also achieving personal goals that I thought I would never achieve. GiveDirectly excels at making dreams come true, as they did in my case."

"I used the GiveDirectly funds to upgrade my house to a two-bedroom with an attached verandah. This had been a long-held ambition of mine, and GiveDirectly enabled me to realize it. This was closely followed by my purchase of pvc water pipes, which I installed throughout the house to ensure we have a consistent supply of piped water. I went on to buy a female goat, food for my children and myself, and school supplies. I'm a single mother of six children. I had seven children, but both my last child and my husband died. My three eldest children are all married and raising their own families. They have a sibling in Mombasa who is a college student studying tailoring.My final two are both casual laborers. I was relieved that the funds enabled me to meet the financial needs of my children without requiring my eldest to assist in their care. I was previously solely reliant on burning wood to make charcoal and selling it to make a living, so the funds from GiveDirectly came as a huge relief."

"Nothing would make me happier than to see my children finish their education. I am a firm believer that things will always get better, and I believe that in the not-too-distant future, we will be able to provide our children with a better life than my husband and I have led."

"My shop space currently costs me $15 per month. I'd love to be in a position where I could open my own shop without having to pay rent. This could also imply that, because it is larger, I can take on more clients and possibly hire more staff."