"The challenges that we are having mostly include not having an assurance of where the next meal will come from. We are peasants and relay on subsistence farming and casual labour. In cases where it's a dry season or the food is not ready in the garden, we hardly get enough food for the day, thus sometimes sleeping hungry. Also, the area that we are sleeping in is risky and surrounded by stones where some roll from uphill. We there fore sleep in fear and worries, thinking anytime rolling stones may cover my home. Recently, in May 2023, a rolling stone came from a few metres up and destroyed the kitchen that i was constructing. This has gotten me worried as anytime they may hit my house, and yet i do not have anywhere else to go to."

"I am immensely appreciative of the organization's enormous positive influence on our life. Receiving the transfer has significantly improved our quality of life. The ability to choose our expenditures has given us power in ways we never could have imagined. Our emotions are so grateful for the program's justice that we no longer feel bound by our poverty. We can only hope that this inspirational project will benefit many other villages in the same way that it has benefited us."

"I currently have a goal that I want to achieve once I get some money. To strengthen my house, I intend to put up a few pillars. Because the topography of the home compound is not flat and water flows during the rainy seasons, by doing this it will be able to withstand swift winds as well as flowing water if it rains."

"My long-term goal is to launch an M-pesa business where people may conduct financial transactions. I had this idea after conducting extensive research, which revealed that residents of my area drive farther to use M-pesa services. Since individuals send and receive money every day, I am confident that before the year is out, I will have started this business and it will be successful."

"Since I had initially bought some building materials such as blocks, the next step was to purchase the remaining materials and construct the house. Upon getting the recent transfer, I used $165 to purchase 15 pieces of iron sheets and $50 was the contractor's labor charge. I decided to build a new house because the old one was leaking profusely and the rainwater had destroyed the walls thus renovating it was more expensive. Currently, a two-room block house shines my home. I am grateful and happy for GiveDirectly for enabling me to construct a nice permanent house. I cannot tell how long it would have taken me to build such a house considering that I am just a casual laborer. Thereafter, I bought two goats for $70 for investment purposes. As of now, I am happy I have a herd of 9 goats courtesy of GiveDirectly. I also used $65 to buy a sack of maize and some furniture for $46. For the remaining amount, I kept it for the family's emergencies."

"I was unable to construct a kitchen while still taking care of the family's necessities because I was a motorcycle rider. Thus, using my house as a store and a kitchen simultaneously did not make me feel at ease. Consequently, after receiving the current transfer, I put aside $80 for food, using it to pay for foodstuffs for my family, $90 to purchase three goats as an investment, and the remaining funds to construct a kitchen. This has made it easier for me to go to bed at a reasonable hour instead of staying outside my house until very late at night to wait for the smoke to dissipate after cooking in the evening. Furthermore, it has stopped the iron sheet from accumulating soot, which lessens the visual attractiveness of the property."

"Our quality of life has been greatly improved by the organization's help. The intentions of the initiative were clearly explained to us, and we were allowed to spend the monies any way we saw fit. According to me, the organization's aid has been extremely important in raising people's living conditions in my village. This unwavering support has allowed residents to take care of their basic requirements. I believe that everyone in the village should be able to take advantage of this program."

"I first used the money I had just withdrawn to purchase food for my kids, who I had left at home with their dad while I returned to school. As a result, I shell out $40 for a 50-kilogram bag of corn. Additionally, I paid a $35 charge to the shop where we previously took certain food items on credit. I paid two-month rent arrears of $26 to make things right with the landlord as I rent a house while I'm in school. Since our entire family depends on agriculture, I sent my husband $35 for crop production and $16 for some chicken as a token of our investing trip. Additionally, I spent another $21 on additional clothing for my three kids because the ones they already owned were ragged and worn out."

"The primary change brought about by the GiveDirectly transfer is the elimination of hunger. At first, our family went without meals for up to two days a week. I used to work sporadically at casual jobs that did not help me make ends meet since some days would go by without finding a job. We are content right now as a family since GiveDirectly has provided us with access to food."

"I was working around home then I heard the message and to check it was mobile money. I felt so joyous because I couldn't believe I had got that money. My first thought was to talk to my husband who's in Kenya and tell him of the good news"