"My two children are about to sit for their end year examination and I am yet to pay their school fees. My son who is in grade 5 keeps reminding me of the same and I wish I could pay as soon as possible. I am working under pressure to be able to settle the arrears. I would not want to disappoint them, education means a lot to us."

"I have been thinking of starting a poultry business and raising livestock but I am stuck due to financial constraints. I recently spent all I had building my house and now I need to invest in something else, especially with the current economy (times are tough). My mind is fixated on this project and I wish I get the funds to accomplish it."

"Pain has become part of me, I am talking of my ears. They have very painful sores and discharge pus but instead of going through the ears, it comes out from the mouth. You would not want to be around me when it happens because the smell that comes from it is awful. This has affected my sight making it difficult to see. My movement is limited since I have to be assisted to go too far."

"I get so frustrated by the fact that I have to buy water yet water is in surplus in our village. A can goes for $0.1 and every day I use 5 cans. This is expensive for me since I am only a subsistence farmer."

"I do crop farming together with my wife. My last born son works as a teacher though he gets salary from parents not yet employed by the government. The village has faced drought for the past three years now. This has affected my work and caused famine. I only take one meal per day due to lack of food. This is the challenge I am currently facing."

"I am a widow living with my two children. My husband died two years ago and I now have the burden of taking care of the family alone. I rely on subsistence farming only and as for now farming is not doing well due to the lack of rain. This has resulted to famine in my family. So lack of food is the challenge I am facing."

"I have a family of seven and we all depend on my husband for survival. He works as a gardener at Malindi earning $50 per month. The family requires 60 bales of maize flour per month for us to have three meals per day. This cost $120 and the husband's income is only $50. I am just a housewife doing domestic chores. I normally budget with have I have thus the family takes one meal per day only and sometimes goes without food the whole day. My children have grown weak and this has health implications. Lack of food is the challenge I am facing in life."

"I have a family with seven members living in a piece of land worth 10 acres. My wife and I have done agriculture since our youthful age. That has been I am the source of income. It is four years now without rain in our village. This means no agricultural activities can take place. I have been doing casual labor which gives an income of approximately $30 per month. This caters for food and sometimes the family goes without food. My two grandsons have dropped out of school because they cannot go to school while hungry. The family takes one meal per day now. This is a challenge to me as the family head."

"The moment when I received my cash transfer, I was so grateful and happy..It was like a dream come true as it gave me hope for a better future."