"Life in this village is difficult. Planting is a problem because of the long droughts hence the unavailability of jobs. Securing a job here is difficult making it hard for us to support ourselves. We do casual jobs like weeding, planting, or harvesting. One is paid $2.50 per day which is hardly enough for us. The cost of living is high, one kilo of maize flour is $1 and it used to be $0.40. This has made our lives harder. Sometimes we're forced to sleep without eating food, just take porridge. Since the maize flour could do so little."

"I would like to see my four children succeed academically in the coming year and beyond. Since my husband's death, the burden has fallen on my shoulders, which seemed impossible at first because I didn't have a single source of income. Because my family's support has been minimal, I've been surviving by burning and selling charcoal, where I can earn at least $20 in two weeks. This was insufficient, given that I have six children to feed and four school fees to pay. Receiving the monthly transfer has been a huge relief for me because my children can now continue their education without interruption due to fees because I can pay for them on time. I have only one goal: to ensure that my children's education is not disrupted due to a lack of fees."

"GiveDirectly yakoze ibidasanzwe!!!Kubona yaraduhaye inkunga y'amafaranga ikaduha amahirwe yo kwihitiramo icyo dukeneye twayakoresha cyaduteza imbere?! NIcyo njye mbona yakoze neza cyane. Naho ibindi yazarushaho gukora neza byo ntabyo mbona byose narashimye."

"Njye ubu ndi gusaza ariko mu myaka iza ndifuza ko abana banjye naba narabateganirije, iyo nzu nteganya kubaka yazakorerwamo ubucuruzi, mfite n'umukobwa uri kwiga imyuga mu gihe kizaza yazabashaka kwibeshaho."

"I was still at my farm ploughing cowpeas when I noticed that two new messages were unread. Upon checking who had remembered me at that particular time, I confirmed that it was from GiveDirectly alerting me that I had received my first cash transfers. I was overwhelmed with happiness to learn that I will soon own a spacious house that will accommodate my growing family, which is now comprised of six family members."

"For now, I rely on casual jobs for survival, such as making charcoal and sometimes working on people's farms. Being the third wife has also been a challenge for me considering that my spouse is extremely old and ailing. Therefore, I have been picking up the slack to make sure that ends meet and at least bring bread to the table. However, this was sometimes unachievable. In a day, I earn roughly $1. Therefore, paying the fees for my children has never been easy at all. My children have therefore been on and off, which used to be a trend, and this has equally affected them both psychologically and academically. Therefore, the fact that I have been able to send them to school has made me strong enough to continue working hard for them."

"My spouse and I have been depending on the charcoal business, which is time-consuming as well as low-paying. In a day, we would make $2, which was not even enough to sustain our daily basic needs. This makes it evident that it would take years for us to construct a better house using our cash. As the days went by, I became hopeless since I couldn't see any light ahead. The challenges I have been through of sleeping at my mother-in-law's house in case it rains have made me unable to endure them any longer. Secondly, I never enjoyed my marriage since there was no privacy for my children, who were all teenagers. I am now feeling relaxed and happier for this positive change the organization has brought to my entire life. I can sleep comfortably in my room, and my children have their own separate rooms. There is peace in my homestead as well as joy, courtesy of GiveDirectly."

"Seeing my children miss out on learning because of the arrears has been my major challenge. This has, however, been happening regularly because the charcoal business that I have been operating with my spouse has not been profitable. In a month, our earnings could add up to around $30. Therefore, the disadvantaged ones were my children, who could suffer the most from being out of class regularly. I am currently seeing the light at the end of the tunnel because they are now back in class and I have goats that I can sell to pay the tuition fees as the years go by. I am certain that were it not for this financial support, they would still be at home. Sometimes I lack words to express my joy and gratitude towards this organization for what it has done for my life."

"Owning the goats feels like a blessing to me and my family at large. I am optimistic that these goats will allow me to generate money at any time to meet any pressing needs. First, the issue of raising school fees and providing food for the family is well sorted. Before then, I couldn't afford to own even one since they were a bit costly. For now, all three of my children are still in primary school, and by the time they join a high school or even college, the goats will have multiplied in number. Therefore, it will be easier for me to support them throughout their educational journey. This is therefore a lifetime investment, for which I can't thank GiveDirectly enough."

"My six children, who are in grades seven, six, five, four, three, and two, had been staying home for close to a week due to the tuition fees. For that matter, I used $250 of my first cash transfer to clear the deficit for smooth learning. I am so happy to see them back in class, which has motivated them to work extra hard in their exams and excel in life. Apart from that, I had the urge to build a spacious house so that I could replace the initial one. However, I could not achieve this because my spouse and I are both unskilled, and the little we earn from our casual jobs could still not be enough to even purchase basic needs like food. Therefore, I spent $220 of the recent transfer to fund this project. As a mother, I feel good about being able to shelter all my family members under one roof. We will no longer have to worry about the rain on securities issues. I later used the remaining cash to buy food for the family. At least we no longer go without meals like Becore."