"I live with my two grandchildren in a two roomed iron sheets house. It's in a bad state, with a leaking roof and mud floor. When it rains, it's difficult sleeping. We fetch water from inside using a container to reduce spillage inside. This has affected my family since we cannot sleep in peace, we're always worried about the next rainfall."

"Education is a key to a better future, I believe that. I've been pushing to educate my five children well. Two of them are currently in secondary school and paying their school fees is hectic. Sometimes they are sent home due to fee balances. It worries me because of the time wasted instead of them focusing on their studies. The floods frustrated my efforts in farming hence diminished my returns. My one acre plantation of maize was swept away. This has led to financial constraints affecting my children's education."

"I am currently dealing with a problem regarding the size of my house, as it is too small for my growing family of eight children. The lack of privacy and comfort due to it being just one room has prompted me to aim to build a four-room house. To achieve this, I am diligently saving in our savings group to ensure that I raise a reasonable amount of money to build my dream house. This new dwelling will provide a safe and secure shelter for all eight members of my family, ensuring their well-being and peace of mind. I am deeply grateful for the financial support that has greatly improved my life and has helped me work towards this crucial goal of securing a suitable home for my family."

"In the coming year and beyond, my aim is to acquire oxen to assist in cultivating land. This investment will benefit me by providing additional income from renting them out. To achieve this goal, I plan to use my savings. Since oxen are costly, I will start by buying goats, which multiply quickly. After raising a good number of goats, I will sell them to raise money for the oxen. This will ensure food security for my family from land cultivation and provide an extra source of income. I'm content with the positive changes occurring in my life."

"It was late in the afternoon, and I was busy washing clothes for my family. As I hurried to finish, my phone, which I had placed on a stool next to me, beeped, signalling an incoming message. I quickly wiped my hands dry with my skirt and picked up the phone to check the message. I couldn't believe my eyes; it was a Mpesa SMS indicating that I had received $200 from GiveDirectly. I had to reread it twice to confirm what I had seen. Overjoyed, I shared the good news with my youngest daughter when she returned from school that evening. That same evening, I also sent $40 to my spouse, who was at the farm that evening, to buy petroleum for the generator to help pump water to our tomato farm for irrigation. Thank you, GiveDirectly, for the transfer!"

"For the past five years, my health has never been good. This affects my ability to work and earn a living for my family. I end up selecting the light casual jobs which earns me about $2 a day. I need a budget of $3 a day to comfortably provide for my family. This difference is making me struggle and survive without other family wants or even skip meals. My financial challenge is making it difficult for me to renovate my house which is almost collapsing. This is embarrassing and shameful."

"After investing everything I had into establishing a 2-acre maize farm, it was tragically swept away by floods, leaving me with nothing to rely on. Adding to my distress, I have a loan of USD 231 from a microfinance institution for the project that I am unable to repay without any income. Additionally, funding my son's university fees has become incredibly difficult. Depending on sporadic casual labor jobs, which don't cover even basic necessities like food and essential items, poses a significant challenge for me and my family."

"Living in a single room with my wife and 5 children poses a significant challenge for me. I lack the funds to build a larger house for my family. Additionally, I own a piece of land that remains idle because I don't have the capital to make it productive. The farm lacks essential infrastructure such as pipes, a water pump, and other necessary inputs. If operational, the farm could have supplied us with food and generated income to meet our other basic needs."

"The floods devastated our village, including my own home. One of the houses where my children used to stay was washed away. I don't have the funds to rebuild it for them. Additionally, our 1.5-acre farm land, which provided our food and income for school fees, was also destroyed by the floods, leaving us with nothing to rely on. Now, we struggle to survive by taking on sporadic casual labor jobs. Paying school fees for my two secondary school children is a major hurdle. There are times when they are sent home due to unpaid fees, further complicating their education."

"Floods are disruptive here, last April we were displaced and moved to live with our neighbors. We lost ten chickens and an acre of maize plantation. This hit us financially and worried about the future months. Food shortage is inevitable.The rains have been continuing and we're worried that it may recur again. We're always on the lookout at night to avoid fatalities."