"As a farmer growing maize on my 6-acre farm for domestic use, it's difficult to imagine having much left over for other projects. Needless to say, GiveDirectly transfers arrived just in time. I was able to improve my three-bedroom house, add a verandah, and basically make it what I wished it had been for the past 26 years. My son was also sick at the time, and home remedies weren't working, so I took some of the money and rushed him to the hospital, where he was examined and given medication. He recovered quickly and is now as good as new. I also prioritized food, making sure I had plenty on hand.Enough to get us by for a while. My five children are my pride and joy. My eldest lives in Nairobi, but I live with his four children since his wife left. He is a mechanic who is trying to make the best of the situation. My secondborn works at Ganze Secondary School, while my thirdborn works as a chef at the Shanzu Hotel in Mombasa and has two children with his wife. My fourth child, along with his wife, lives with me. He works as a casual laborer here at Ganze Center, barely scraping by. My fifth and final child is married and lives in Mombasa, while my husband works in Dubai. The funds enabled me to not only provide for those I share a house with someone, but I also need to be able to send money to my children when necessary. GiveDirectly recognized my plight as a single mother and supported me throughout my ordeal. I will be eternally grateful."

"My long-term goal is to expand my company. I'd like it to grow to the point where I can provide for my family and give them a better future as a result of the extra money. Give them opportunities that their father and I did not have."

"Currently, the only challenge I am facing is lack of food. Last week I did some piecework in someone's farm in Rivirizi where I was paid a 5 litres bucket of maize and I managed to make flour off that which I have finished yesterday at supper. Now, I am back to worrying on how and where I am to find another casual work so that I get paid and find food for myself. It has always been this for me ever since my husband left me 6 years ago and with my old age and weakened strength it's an everyday struggle."

"It's unbelievable that we only managed to harvest a single bag of maize for food this year from our 1.5 acre farmland. This yield only lasted until July and ever since we have had to rely on buying maize at $2.5 for food which is costly for us. This food sustains us for a week. Jointly, thus, me and my spouse, West, here make about $12 a month from the bamboo mat selling business and casual labour that is. Having to manage this amount in terms of having to buy food and take care of our house in areas such as re-thatching the roof with grass and plastic sheets, for it leaks yearly during the rainy season, makes life difficult for us. To add on that, this two roomed house is not enough for the 4 of us and we know our children are growing and will need their privacy and comfort soon which this house can't offer. Whenever we think about that and the fact that there's nothing we can do to change that due to our financial situation, we feel helpless. So yes, lack of food, means to find food and poor housing are our current hurdles."

"My biggest challenge is money. I fail to buy food and clothes for my family because using have a stable source of income. I go find work to make money. I am the primary carer of my mother who is deaf and dumb. Because of her condition, she can't go out to look for piece jobs like I do. So she stays home and needs someone close with her all the time. This limits my time to go work because I still to keep an eye on her."

"At present we are dependent on two things for our survival as a household, thus, casual work and my husband's mat selling business. From these two, we are able to realize $10 a month, collectively, and this is far from enough to carter for our family needs and as such we are facing numerous challenges but one stands out and that is lack of food. As we speak we are stocked out of food and we are in search of pieceworks so that maybe we get paid and go buy maize for food."

"My biggest struggle is food. This is because I rely on piece work to have money. When it rains, there's work available in people's field so that's better. But once the season is gone, there's no work available and no money being made hence living in poverty."

"The challenges I meet are lack of money and food. This is because I don't have a source of income. The piece work I do doesn't nearly pay me enough to afford managing my home. We live off hand to mouth basis."

"My biggest struggle in life is lack of money. Money to buy food and attain my wishes. This is because we don't have a stable source of income. My husband went to Nsanje district to look for work to provide but with the high living conditions, we fail to attain most things because the money he sends is not enough. I also do casual work to add on what he's providing but that also isn't enough. We lack clothes, beddings and adequate household utensils."

"Like mentioned earlier on, we depend on casual labour and as a household and on a monthly basis we make about $5 which is not sufficient to sustain our needs. As a result we seem to be facing two main challenges, thus poor housing and lack of food. We wish we lived in a 4 roomed house and not this 2 roomed which doesn't offer us the privacy and comfort we desire. We fail to do that due to our limited finances. Additionally, we are also facing a hunger crisis such that we only eat once a day, thus, usually lunch, because we don't have food stocks at present and the one we get after our casual works is not enough for us to have 2 or 3 meals that we want per day."