"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."

"Nifuza ko mu gihe kizaza hari icyo nazaba nariyongereyeho mbikesheje inkunga mwampaye, itungo rizaba ryarorotse meze neza; inzu yari yarananiye izaba yarasubiye kuba nshyashya ikibazo cyayo cyararangiye kuyihangayikira bitakiriho mfite ibindi binshishikaje."

"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."

"I was hopelessly walking from the farm when I saw a notification on my mobile phone. I even decided to ignore it since I had a lot running through my mind. However, I heard one of my neighbors celebrating and ululating while mentioning GiveDirectly. I became curious, and upon reading what I had on my phone, I couldn't believe what I saw. It was an Mpesa message notifying me that I had received my transfer. I couldn't wait to reach home so that I could share the good news with my family. Also on that particular day, I had to buy food for my children, who had been lacking food for the last day."

"For the past four years, I have been undergoing a lot of challenges, especially concerning the state of my house. It was so pathetic in such a way that it would collapse at any time. Therefore, I spent a better percentage of the first transfer on buying all the necessary materials, like iron sheets and timber, among others. This posted around $460 together with the labor charges. I had intended to build a new house to upgrade the initial one, which was not in good shape. Also, it only had a single room, so it could hardly accommodate my entire extended family. Sometimes, whenever we experienced heavy downpours, I had to sleep at my mother-in-law's house with the children, leaving my spouse behind to look after our properties. As a result, he could regularly fall sick. Finally, I have been buying food with the remaining money. This has made my family more energetic, especially my children, who have become more active in school than before."

"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."

"I was bathing my newborn on that particular evening when I heard my phone ringing so loudly. I was nervous and even stopped a little bit from the task I was handling and checked who had sent the message during that hour. I felt extremely happy after reading that it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly. Without wasting time, I shared the news with my spouse and discussed how we would start one of our projects, which was to build a decent house."

"My helper informed me that I had received my first cash transfer at around 11 a.m. I remember being on my farm, planting maize. I was overwhelmed with joy and thanked God for bringing GiveDirectly into my life. I was sure that I would finally be able to build the modern house that I had been dreaming of."