"The challenge I'm faced with at the moment is the lack of food. We've not had rain for the past 2 years which has led to prolonged drought. Because of this, I have lost 30 cows which were my only source of income. The loss of my cows has made life very difficult for me and my family since we cannot afford food and we are forced to take one or two meals each day."

"Nowadays, food shortage is challenging. For the past three years, the rains have been minimal hence we never harvested from our farms. Currently, the cost of living is high and yet we purchase all foodstuff for my family of three. Considering that my husband who does casual jobs is the sole provider, it is difficult to afford three meals a day from the $2 he earns thrice a week. Most of the days we lack enough and proper nutrition even for our six-month-old child."

"My mother has been sickly for the past twenty years and since she is bed ridden, I am the breadwinner of my family. I do casual jobs to earn a living and the $2 I earn a day is not enough to purchase food at the same time her drugs. Some days, she stays without the prescribed medication which worsens her situation. This stresses me and I feel bad when I cannot provide for her."

"The main challenge that I'm facing at the moment is the lack of money. Currently, I don't have a permanent job and therefore I depend solely on casual labor which I get occasionally about two times a week. Through this casual labor, I'm able to earn 20 dollars which aren't enough to cater to my household needs. Since my neighbors are also in need I can't ask them for any assistance to meet my basic needs which makes life very difficult since I have to go without food sometimes."

"After receiving my second transfer, I decided to put the money towards fulfilling a long-held dream of mine: renovating my house from mud to timber. However, this was a challenging goal to pursue in the past due to unreliable sources of income. My husband and I both work as hairdressers and have two children. With the $500 from the transfer, we were able to complete the renovation, and with the remaining $30, I purchased a blow-dry machine to use as an extra source of income since I don't currently own a shop. I am grateful for these accomplishments and feel happy and fulfilled."

"Overreliance on my businesses was leading to them collapsing. I had no alternative rather than to do so since the drought had prolonged in our area and getting some food was a challenge. When I got the second transfer, I opted to boost my businesses because I was on the verge of closing them down. Therefore, I used $250 to buy enough stock to equip my shop where I sell fast-moving goods such as foodstuff and personal effects. Since I also run an M-pesa business, I used $200 to buy a float so that my clients could be able to either deposit or withdraw a huge sum of money from my M-pesa shop. I am delighted to see how the second transfer has revived my businesses and my clients are happy since they get what they need unlike before. These businesses are helping me to provide for my family of eight. For the remaining amount which was around $80, I bought some food for my family."

"For over forty years since I got married I was sleeping on a small traditional bed that was in a poor condition. Poverty did not allow me to buy a good bed since the family needed to be taken care of and I was just a casual laborer. Upon getting the second transfer, I saw it to buy a nice standard bed and a mattress. The bed cost me $70 while the mattress cost $60. After that, I bought some plumbing materials to complete a water project that I had started. I had a project of fixing a water tap at home because the waterpoint is at a distance. The plumbing materials and the plumber's charges cost $150. Thereafter I bought a goat for $35 and saved the remaining amount for the family's upkeep."

"I faced difficulties during the drought season due to the scarcity of clean water. Therefore, when I received my transfer, I decided to invest in a water tank for our home to address this issue. The purchase of the water tank, which cost $350, has made a significant difference by providing us with adequate water flow and alleviating the burden of constantly fetching water from outside. Additionally, I was able to pay off a debt that had accrued during the installation of the water base slab, which had previously been a financial strain. This is because my business was booming before COVID-19 struck. Unfortunately, it went down to a smaller one. I am married and blessed with two children. Thanks to GiveDirectly, I now have access to sufficient water and am even able to harvest rainwater."

"Food insecurity is a major problem that we face at the moment. This was occasioned by the prolonged drought, we have never received adequate rainfall for the last 3 seasons, we had planted maize and millet last season but they ended up drying because of distress from lack of water, the livestock too was affected and quite a number of them died from starvation due to inadequate pasture. We have been forced to buy the foodstuff from Marigat town, sometimes we cannot afford more so when the cost of living rose to unprecedented levels. Life has really been hard for us and we have nowhere to turn to, we are hoping against hope that things will be better this year now that we have started receiving rainfall."

"In the past, my main economic activity was charcoal burning. It is throught this that I was able to get cash to supplement my food and nutrition needs. On average, I would sell 9 sacks of charcoal for USD 50. I would also use this cash to fend for the livelihood needs of my nuclear family. However, deforestation has resulted in a drastic reduction of trees. Consequently, we have little to no disposable income to procure food to supplement our nutritional needs."