"At present we are relying on finding casual labour such as farming in people's farms and get paid to buy food. When those don't come by then it gets hard for us to feed our family. On a good day we make about $5 which is far from sufficient to carter for our HH needs especially in terms of food for the 4 of us. Additionally, this house here gives us restlessness especially when it rains for it leaks. These are our only challenges that make our lives harder currently."

"The only challenge I am facing in my household is hunger. Last year I only managed to harvest a single bag of maize from my 3 acres farm. Apart from not applying fertilizer, erratic rains contributed to this low yield. This has brought about a hunger crisis for me and with my weakened strength it's hard for me to conduct pieceworks where I'd be paid and buy food on a daily basis."

"Currently the only challenge I have is lack of food. As of today I only have a single bucket of maize floor for food in my house which I hope will sustain me until next week then I have no idea where next to go and look for food. Of course my spouse, Mkondeni from Lunzu where he's doing pieceworks, sends help but it's intermittent and not sufficient to support me and my HH here."

"Currently the only challenges we are facing are poor housing conditions and hunger. We wish we lived in an iron sheets roofed house but we fail to do that due to lack of financial muscle. Additionally, at present we have zero food stock levels and this brings in a hunger crisis where we only manage to eat once a day, thus, after we find pieceworks and get paid to buy food. These are the hurdles that we are facing in this household."

"My main goal for the coming year is to expand my farming, both livestock and subsistence, in preparation for the purchase of a dairy cow. I had been buying milk, and when we don't have any money, we sometimes miss out. I am breeding my goats in the hopes that they will multiply so that they can be sold in the future to purchase a good breed of cow that will provide us with enough milk. My spouse is doing subsistence farming, which has been feeding my family, and with the plans we have, he has been encouraging me to also take good care of the goats as he improves farming activities in order to support the purchase of a dairy cow."

"I had previously relied on casual labor and livestock farming, which had never been enough to support my family of seven. Because of the inconsistent availability of casual labor, I would like to expand my livestock farming in the coming year by adding at least two dairy cows to the two that I currently have on my farm. This will increase milk production, which I will sell to cover other household expenses. Purchasing milk for a large family is costly. I have been saving money from the casual labor I am doing now, and I am hoping to buy at least one cow in the next five months."

"What I hope to accomplish in life in the next few years is to see all of my children acquiring quality education in order to become future leaders and also to help the family when we are no more capable of doing so."

"Moving into my own house will be my biggest accomplishment in the next year or two. It is my fervent hope to own a house one day. Seeing this come to pass through GiveDirectly is a long term happiness for me and my family."

"GiveDirectly's programs were fair and transparent; from the moment they entered our community, we were all treated well, and they made certain that they visited every household and ascertained the true situation on the ground. GiveDirectly's assistance raised our standard of living by transforming our lives. They helped and empowered our community while not discriminating against anyone. I didn't point out any flaws or things that weren't done with the utmost integrity."