"I have been running a hair salon in a nearby shopping center, while my husband owns a restaurant in a nearby town. Even though the burden of obligations would always overwhelm us, we are always motivated to leave the house every morning and return home with at least some daily earnings. We intended to invest in assets, but the small amount we were getting from the businesses was barely enough to cover household bills and clothing for my family of six. On receiving the first transfer, we bought two heifers at $230 to add to the lactating cow that we already had. Unfortunately, the lactating cow and one of the heifers died of varying severity, leaving us with only one. It was a heartbreaking moment for my family, and we considered it a loss because we had high hopes of breeding them. My husband also agreed to invest $200 in my salon business, allowing me to purchase a shaving machine and restock some hair pieces for sale. I am pleased that the business is doing well and attracting more customers than in previous months. In addition, I spent the remaining $100 on groceries and clothing for my entire family of six."

"I was working on the ongoing construction of a house after purchasing and 42 iron sheets and the timber used all around the walls of my new house when I received my first transfer. I still had to finish the exterior and install the gutters that would carry the rainwater from the roof into a massive capacity water tank 5 meters away from the building. So I spent $185 on two bags of cement to make a slab stand for the tank, three more iron sheets for making gutters and connecting pipes, and the timber used to finish a veranda, plus a $41 labor charge. Even though the house is not finished yet, I am glad I finished the part that required a lot of money. I also spent $95 on a Christmas celebration with my family of five, $35 on food, and $30 on a new pair of clothes for my mother-in-law. Furthermore, I am pleased to have offset a portion of the loan that I obtained for the initial portion of the construction after paying $60 from the transfer. I am a businesswoman running a retail business in a nearby shopping center that earns me enough money to pay back the loan at the rate of $130 per month. I am grateful for GiveDirectly's generous support, which has made a significant difference in my family's life."

"For the past year, I have purchased at least two liters of milk daily for my family of four. This would set me back at least $8 per week. I spent $200 on a heifer after receiving the first transfer, hoping it will be productive when it calves. I am still buying milk and expect to do so for another year before it matures enough to provide enough milk for my family. I also spent $50 on household items, including food for my children. I decided to save the rest of the money in preparation for expanding a bakery business I am currently running. Even though I have been selling cakes locally, I have always wished to expand by introducing a mixing machine geared to reduce labor costs, improve quality, and expand a venture into a wider range of customers. The machine costs $700, and I am hoping that the second transfer will help me purchase one. I am thankful for the progress I have made with the first transfer and hope to see more transformation in the coming months."

"Cattles ( I want to involve ) My goal is to become a successful farmer especially in animal husbandry. Therefore, I used the money I have received from Givedirectly to pay school fees and to pay for cow as a startup."

"After a long day of working on my farm in the scorching sun, I decided to go home, have lunch and relax. It was in that late afternoon when my neighbour appeared at my home to inquire whether I had received cash from GiveDirectly. I grabbed my phone and quickly checked. I didn't see any text at the moment but in less than a minute I had a message tone. On checking, I saw a text showing that I have received cash from Segovia technologies. At that time my wife wasn't at home and I couldn't hold back the good news. I called her and gave her the good news and she was overjoyed. She finally realized her dream of owning a dairy cow would be achieved. I'm grateful for the support."

"My business was on the verge of collapsing yet we solely relied on it. The stock was so little. Luckily, GiveDirectly came at the right time to save us. I can ultimately say that the big difference now is the fact that I finalized building my house and raised my business. My husband and I are grateful for the support that's brought us joy and happiness in life."

"I am a single mother of 3, and they all look after me to fend for them. I depend on casual work on other people's farms to get money to buy food, these menial Jobs have become so scarce to come by. The situation has further been worsened by the increased cost of living, the price of commodities has shot up threefold, and life has indeed become hard and unbearable. We are forced to survive on one meal per day, we delay lunch meal to around 5 pm and the same meal also act as dinner. This is not the life I desire or wish my children to have. I am shaken again and again, the suffering is not going away."

"I am old and sick, due to my age I can hardly walk, and I suffer from lower back pain and gout. I also have chronic ulcers that have persisted for some time now, efforts to seek medication have not assisted much and I have not gotten enough medical attention for the health challenges I have been facing because of a lack of funds. This has made my normal life extremely difficult since I cannot do household chores, I am assisted to stand and I use sticks to move around albeit for short distances. I depend on relatives and the government cash transfers have assisted me a great deal although it is meager and delayed to be released. This has caused me a lot of pain and has left me to live a life of misery and destitution."

"Water has been the greatest challenge in this area. Even though there is the availability of piped water, in the nearby shopping center accessing it is challenging. We then have to purchase and it costs us a lot."

"I am a father of six working as a small-scale business owner while my wife is a subsistence farmer. Five of our kids are still in school, and I plan to raise more money to cater to their education needs. To realize this, I plan to expand my mini-shop with $500 to maximize my profits. I will borrow a loan from our merry-go-round group which I will top up with the income from the business to actualize this goal."