"I'm truly grateful for the financial support from GiveDirectly. Life was incredibly tough after our father passed away, as we relied heavily on our mother. She worked tirelessly, burning and selling charcoal to provide for us. Being able to contribute part of my transfer to support her has eased her financial burdens. Initially, I considered setting up a petrol station, but after encountering numerous legal hurdles during my research, I abandoned the idea. Looking ahead, I plan to invest in poultry farming in the coming years. Since January, I've been gradually purchasing a significant number of poultry, following my mother's successful venture in the same field. I'm optimistic about its potential and anticipate reinvesting the profits into other businesses down the line. My ultimate goal is financial stability, which is why I'm determined to work hard towards it."

"I am a mother of six children. My husband is a police officer working in Machakos County. I am not employed, but my main economic activity is farming. Since 2018, I have not harvested anything from the farm due to drought seasons. Because of this, we have had to depend on my husband's salary to cater to our basic needs, and it is not enough to cover all of them.Upon receiving my last transfer, I used all of it to pay for my son's school fees and school supplies, as he was joining Form One at Emining Boys Secondary School. Comparing my life previously to now, before I received this cash, it was challenging and hard, but I can say I have improved because I accomplished great things. However, the recent floods have worsened everything by destroying our properties."

"We were forced to leave our homes in the year 2020 due to the rising water level of Lake Baringo. We relocated to a safer ground of Ngambo sublocation. This opened a new chapter of struggle and survival in my life. The area is dry and not arable unlike where we came from, availability of water is also another big challenge in this area. Therefore farming remains an unrealistic dream. Before water displacement, I practiced subsistence farming and my family never lacked food on the table. Things changed so quickly and now my only hope is casual jobs and maybe charcoal burning to put food on the table for my family. As I told you earlier that farming was my main source of family income. I am now left struggling financially to support my family"

"Unemployment is the biggest challenge I'm currently facing. I had to drop out of school in college due to school fees challenge. Since then life has never been the same. Securing a good job has not been easy, I rely on casual jobs such as charcoal burning. In a month can make around $ 50 which is not enough to cater for all the needs of my family of 3. My wife is also housewife since she finished school she has never been employed."

"I used to operate a food kiosk in the village, providing fast food and supporting my family of 4 comfortably. However, last year, I began experiencing chests pains forcing me to stop working . Now, we are solely depending on my husband income as a wine tapper, which the earnings averages around $4 . Unfortunately, this is insufficient to cater for all the basic needs such as shelter and school fees. Therefore, financial challenges have become the primary issue."

"Failing to support my two daughters in college is what I consider as my biggest concern. It's been two years now since they completed secondary school level but they are still at home. This has worried me the most since, it can damage their reputation once they get involved in unwanted behavior. This has affected me psychologically and I consider financial constraints as my biggest challenge."

"What a life of sorrow to lack a reliable source of income! Currently, I depend on subsistence farming and selling roofing materials made of palm tree leaves. These activities are not reliable since their incomes are low. Farming has been affected by unpredictable weather patterns and sometimes the produce is very little, usually 1 bag of 90 kilograms per acre. The other activity is also affected since people have embraced the use of iron sheets, making this job irrelevant. This has made my household financially unstable and sometimes, I am forced to seek help from my son. Since he also has a family to take care of, his support is limited. Thus, this is what has made my life harder."

"As a mother of seven, my greatest challenge is maintaining my health. I have been dealing with chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure and asthma for over a decade, and these conditions have significantly impacted my ability to work and live my life to the fullest. I am no longer able to take on the casual jobs I used to do, such as charcoal burning and maize pounding, due to my limited physical capacity. The only activity I can still manage is subsistence farming, and even that is only seasonal. My health issues have made it difficult for me to earn a consistent income, and I often have to rely on my children for financial support when I am unable to generate enough funds on my own. Simple tasks like fetching water have also become challenging because I can no longer carry heavy loads or engage in strenuous activities. As a result, I have become more dependent than I ever anticipated, and it weighs heavily on me. Each day, my health presents new obstacles and robs me of the joy I once found in everyday activities."

"Housing is the challenge I am currently facing in life. I have a family of six and all live in a three room house. The house is semi permanent and it leaks during the rainy season. All the timbers used for roofing are rotten and the food is at arisk of being blown away by strong winds. This makes the family members seek shelter from neighbors whenever it rains with strong winds."

"Lack of reliable sources of income is the challenge I am currently facing in life. My husband has a permanent disability and he cannot work anymore. I do a casual job making approximately $30 per month which caters for food and school fees for my children. The income is low such that I cannot pay the required school fees on time thus making the children miss classes for some time."