"The biggest challenge is when it rains , the water washes away my crops and it even makes visible cracks on the land the I live on and farm on. This makes me to be worried at all times."

"When it rains the floods wash away our plants like maize and onions. And the challenge not having adequate money to support my 5 school going children."

"Old age comes with a lot of challenges, health problems being one of them. When I lost my husband in 2020, I was depressed because I no longer had someone to lean on in times of need. All my children are married and they relocated to another town but only come over the holiday. Since then, my health deteriorated as I developed recurrent blood pressure and ulcers. It pains me because I do not have the finances to manage this condition as I always depend on my children for support. At times they do not have the finances and I have to borrow from friends which is embarrassing."

"My 2 children, 27 and 18 have not acquired their KCSE certificate from their former school because of fee arrears. I depend on casual jobs such as collecting firewood and cultivating people's farms to earn $10 on a good month. I use this money to pay part of the school fees for my children as well as purchase food for my family of 8. However, I have not had enough savings to exhaustively pay my children's fees and they they have to forego their certificates until the $100 arrears are cleared. It pains me because they are lagging in employment as they could have eased my financial burden by supporting their siblings now that my tomorrow is almost uncertain."

"I currently face a problem of poverty which is caused by heavy and regular rains that has always destroyed the crops whenever we plant and we always have poor harvest which has also brought about lack of food some times. I am also facing a challenge of landslides and flash floods which worries us that anytime we can be washed away, I think of buying land in safer places like in Siroko District and get my family out of high risk area."

"Money, it is as if we are playing hide and seek. I am so frustrated that I have to struggle to get food or pay school fees for my children. The odd jobs I get (washing clothes and fetching firewood) only support me for less than two weeks a month. I have to live within my means. Sometimes it gets hard and we go to bed hungry but I am hopeful that things will get better someday."

"I feel so hurt and abandoned, the weight of the world on me. Never in a million years did I think that I would live the life I am living now. My 51-year-old husband left me for a younger wife not so long ago. I found out a year ago but the pain is still fresh. He has neglected us as his family and I have been left to fend for a family of ten, nine children and I. I have to look for odd jobs( wash clothes, burn charcoal and sell tomatoes) just to earn a living. It is tough I tell you, his parents are also against and I feel trapped since I can not go back to my maternal home because my children are yet to clear primary school. I regret having been married."

"There is a sense of contentment that comes with working or even studying, just having something to occupy one's day. I am a mother of one and apart from raising my two-year-old son, I have nothing else to do. I feel it is time for me to engage myself in other activities, (acquiring skills as a tailor) to place me in a better position to make a living. But I feel stuck because I lack the funds to do so. I need to find my purpose."

"Since I stay alone in the household, I have to fend for myself through charcoal burning, an exercise that hardly covers food costs. The best I can earn in a week is $4, which does not procure much food given the rising commodity prices. Although securing food is my main concern right now, I wish to acquire at least two goats in one year’s time. The plan is to rear these goats so that when they reproduce in the future, I could easily sell them to afford my needs. Besides, I would be glad if I stopped enduring the struggles of charcoal making."