"My biggest challenge is food and housing. We rely on farming but with yearly low harvests, we harvest enough for a few months and then we start looking for casual work and live off hand to mouth. Our house is not in good condition aside being small. It leaks and has cracks. They need to be fixed but we don't have money for that."

"My objectives for the upcoming three months are to purchase livestock, cover my children's school expenses, and purchase food. My husband and I both hold casual, low-paying jobs that prevent us from fully supporting our families. Putting the money into livestock will benefit me later on when I sell it and use the proceeds to pay my kids' school expenses. Because of the meager amount of money I make, buying food for my family is also a top priority for me. The family won't go hungry thanks to the assistance of this money in purchasing food."

"Owning a decent shelter for my family has always been my desire in life. The transfer from GiveDirectly came at an appropriate time when our house was almost collapsing. I spent $210 of the recent transfer to renovate it by purchasing the required building materials like iron sheets, and poles and paying the labor costs. At the moment, I am happy that we reside in a better shelter something that has restored our joy in life. Additionally, I used $30 to purchase one goat a future investment for the family. With the ongoing drought in our area, the remaining amount assisted me in acquiring enough food. The charcoal and firewood vending job that I depended on could not earn me sufficient money to feed the family and save for building a good house."

"Initially, my living condition was pathetic. Getting some food was a big challenge. I had to look for casual labor, make charcoals and fetch some firewood for sale; it was tiresome. Currently, I took a break from these kinds of work and I get enough food unlike before because of the transfer I got from GiveDirectly. In addition to that, I used to stay in an odor house since I lived in the same house with my goats and chicken. The smell was unbearable though I had to. As of now, I am very happy living like other human beings because GiveDirectly enabled me and I now have a decent separate house which I constructed using the transfer. I give my gratitude to GiveDirectly for seeing me through this situation."

"The primary goal I have for this year is to raise the money needed to cover my three children' school costs. My oldest son finished elementary school and did extremely well. Early next month, he is expected to begin secondary education. My other two kids are in grades 8 and 4, respectively. I'll be able to pay their tuition on time with the help of the money from the transfer. They will continue attending school as a result, and they will do well on their exams. The money from the transfers is helpful in assisting us in achieving our goal of educating our children because my job selling charcoal and my husband's job as a watchman cannot cover all of their educational expenses."

"My family is constrained financially because I do not have a stable source of income. I depend on casual jobs such as being a masonry helper to put food on the table. Such jobs are hard to come by because we are so many competing for the same. The much that I can earn in a day is $2 which is hardly enough to buy food such as milk, maize flour, and vegetables. Take note that I am a parent with three children in school where I am required to pay $30 every academic term. It has gotten to a point where I feel overwhelmed and when they are sent home I let them stay because I have no means to raise that much."