"This third payment will be used to buy planks to renovate my house and also develop my land I bought in Fish Town."

"It was around 3 pm when I received a message on my phone while at a burial of a relative. Despite being unable to read, I mastered what M-Pesa messages look like and I can easily know once I receive money in My account though I will not know how much it is. Upon checking on the message, I knew I had received some money. The amount and the source of the money remained a puzzle to me. Through my helper, I realized that I had received $550 fromGiveDirectly. My heart was engulfed in happiness and thanksgiving. I could not ululate since the environment could not allow but inwardly I ululated loudly. All this happiness was brought by the fact that I had gotten a solution to a problem that was depriving me of my peace of mind. My secondary school child was almost dropping out of school due to a lack of school fees."

"Mary Buteme is facing a challenge of poverty which has put her under a state of helpness.She hopes life can be better after receiving the cash transfer where she can set up a small business to sustain her family."

"I am a livestock farmer and this is the only source of income that I have been depending on ever since I settled here. Water has however been the single most challenging commodity here and it is so essential to realize meaningful and optimal production. I have tried to dig a water pan but since it is not deep enough it dries whenever the rains stop. I would have realized more profits in this venture only if I could get a good and constant source of water. I also have a 5 acre piece of land and it can comfortably accommodate 10 cows but the water problem has restricted me to 5 but I hope my profits to double if I can maximize on everything."

"Being a widow with 3 children has been the most challenging thing in my life. I unfortunately lost my husband last year and his loss came at a time that when the children needed our support so much in terms of providing school fees and also fending for them. I have been trying to put the pieces together after his demise but nothing seems to be working because I have no capital to start a business, the livestock that we had were wiped out by Foot and mouth disease thus complicating my fortunes more. It has been my wish to start a business to help me meet the demands of the family and am glad that it is almost becoming a reality."

"The most challenging thing at the moment is the rising cost of living. It affects us more because we do not have a good source of income. We only depend on livestock farming to meet our needs. This kind of farming is affected by prolonged drought and it is a common occurrence in this area. Once the dry spell starts milk production also goes down. This affects our $20 monthly income from this venture. At that moment we have to look for casual jobs around to supplement our income and it is not easy to come by these jobs."

"Lack of financial stability is the main challenge that has deprived my family of many essential needs like access to education for my children. I have four children who are in various schools and raising their school fees has been nothing short of a nightmare. Farming is not doing well in this region and this has forced my husband to relocate to Nakuru to lease land because he is the sole bread winner. In Nakuru he plants maize, beans and sometimes potatoes. Leasing land costs $ 100 per acre for a period of one year and buying farm inputs is also expensive. Every year we get a profit of $150 from the farm and this is $ 100 short of the yearly school fees. I feel that our hard work is not enough to sustain our children in school because they are always sent home because of unpaid arrears"

"I was infected with polio during my childhood days and the effects are still active in my body. I walk in a staggering manner that someone can mistake me for someone who is drunk. I cannot do anything task because my body is weak and it is sad that the condition is not treatable. I have one cow which produces 2 liters of milk daily and this is what keeps me going. I am worried of what I will survive on when the cow will get to it's dry period."

"My main objective currently is to ensure that my children's education is not interrupted because of fee arrears. It's the monthly transfer that has helped them reach where they are now, one in high school and three in primary school. I do not have a single source of income that would have helped me pay their fees apart from the transfers. As a parent, my prayer is that my children will achieve their career goals despite the financial challenges I am facing. I am also planning to save an amount in order to buy goats, which are assets that I can also rely on, even when GiveDirectly phases out since they will reproduce and increase in number."

"Lack of financial stability to meet the growing needs of my family has been a challenge. I have been employed by a friend to work as a motorcycle taxi operator where in a day I earn $2 or even less. Prices of food commodities are going up each passing day while the money I earn is not. There was a time I was asking friends to lend me money but since I cannot repay, most of them are not answering my calls. The presence of GiveDirectly speaks hope to desperate people like me."