"Food insecurity is the greatest challenge in this area due to drought. For the past three years, we have not harvested any food staff from our farms due to inconsistent rainfall. My husband and I rely on casual jobs to earn a living, and because of the inconsistency in income, it is hard enough to afford three meals a day but only two. Food prices have relatively gone up recently and with the rising cost of living, we use all our hard-earned money to buy food for our family of five."

"The biggest challenge I'm faced with is the lack of food. I'm living with my daughter who is a returnee and I'm the sole provider for the seven of us. Food has become a challenge since we have experienced prolonged droughts which has led to our farms being unproductive. We long for rains to come so that we can grow some maize to sustain us through the rest of this year."

"The greatest challenge that I face at the moment is the lack of food. This has come about because of the prolonged drought that has hit our county for the past three months. In addition to this, I also live in a poor structure and since the rains have started, I get rained on and I fear that I might contract some airborne diseases such as a common cold."

"While growing up, I desired to pursue academic excellence. However, my dream was cut short due to poverty, my parents were too poor to afford my education expenses. When I got enrolled in GiveDirectly's program, I resolved to support my children's education with the transfer. At the beginning of this year, I revisited the same goal and did not see a need to develop a new goal. Therefore, my sole goal that I work to accomplish by the end of this year is to see my children go to school courtesy of the transfers. Both my husband's and my wages are too low to cater to their academic needs."

"Owing to the current situation in our area, obtaining food has been extremely hard. Despite the attempt by the entire community to do farming, our crops have been failing for the last four consecutive seasons. It leaves us with no option but to dig tree roots for charcoal burning. However, with the assurance of the monthly transfers, I have a goal to always focus on obtaining food for my family of ten members. I shall, therefore, be spending a large proportion of my transfers to acquire food every month probably for the rest of this year. It will play a key role in reducing my stress."

"My priority was building an appropriate kitchen. I bought iron sheets, construction wood, nails all worth 150 $, I bought a goat for 60 $, sheep worth 55 $, I paid a 55 $ debt and bought some clothes for my children for 17 $. I was in need of a kitchen and livestock."

"The first transfer allowed me to achieve things I could have never thought I would achieve. I bought a pig worth 70 $, 2 goats for 80 $, utensils worth 30 $, a mattress for 35 $, clothes for 20 $, paid a 55 $ debt that I had and bought food worth 60 $. I was in a very big need of livestock and that is the first thing I bought."

"I normally grow crops on rented fields for a living. It was a Tuesday morning and my husband and I were working as usual when we heard my phone's SMS alert tone. We checked and my naturally cheerful personality could not hold a very big smile to the good news we had received. I immediately started thinking of the best ways to use the grant with the help of my husband while making our way to the nearest MoMo agent. In that very moment, I thought of using the grant to first buy a cow, pay medical insurance and buy some utensils that were necessary."

"I did not live a good life before receiving LS1. I hardly got food and rarely got job opportunities to sustain my family since my husband often leaves me to raise our children alone and comes back after a long period of time. A strong wind had recently struck my house and my children's room had fallen off. We were forced to sleep in the same room but they now have their own room all thanks to GD. I plan on adding another visitors room and buying a plot of land when I receive LS2."

"When I receied the first transfer, I wanted too own livestock but also needed a house. I bought 2 goats worth 90 $, spent 65 $ to keep my construction activities going, bought a bed worth 35 $, paid 6 $ for my family's health insurance, bought food and home utensils for 60 $ and 30 $ respectively. I was in real need of the goats because I have dreams of owning a big farm."