"My main aim is to ensure that I succeed in building a house by the end of the year. Sleeping under the same roof as my parents make me inferior since I lack freedom and confidence in the house. Traditionally, a grown-up boy is regarded as grown-up if he owns a house instead of being accommodated by their parents. Through the savings I committed to making monthly, I will be having no less than $200 by the end of the year. This amount will enable me to construct a small decent house."

"I was extremely happy when the first and long-awaited transfer arrived, much to the delight of my hungry family. After three months of waiting, I was relieved to finally receive the first patch. I spent $70 on food and household items after receiving it, including a sack of maize, beans, rice, sugar, cooking oil, and toiletries. My children have been eating an earthy meal since then, and everyone is grateful for the generous support we received. I also paid off a $40 debt that I had accumulated from close friends who believed that my share would eventually come in. My two children and spouse wore out their clothes, so I thought it would be a good idea to buy them new pairs worth $45 each. They can now proudly join their friends in new clothes, as opposed to the patched ones they had been wearing. In addition, I set aside the remaining funds for my son's weekly hospital visits for checkups on his cerebral palsy diagnosis and treatment. We had been going to a private doctor, who charges at least $2 per visit and requires us to stop by a pharmacy to pick up our weekly prescriptions. We had been reliant on casual laborers, who are currently scarce due to the prolonged drought that has rendered farming activities ineffective."

"GiveDirectly has always been considerate in keeping its promises, with the transfers arriving ahead of schedule. To me, this is the most efficient program that genuinely cares about the recipients. We are getting the best experience because we are allowed to do whatever we want. People who were once impoverished are now up and running their own businesses. I appreciate that the office dealt with individuals directly, with no complications in the processes, and that the entire promised amount was deposited into our accounts with no deductions before we received it. The same thing would be good to happen in other villages with the same level of fairness, and with no tribal bias or influence from village leadership."

"We currently face a problem of flash floods which affect the house whenever it rains. As result we lack where to sleep sometimes dueto too much water in the house."

"The biggest problem we are facing is poverty which doesn't enable us to meet good treatment when we fall sick and we cannot even have good feeling where by we only have meals a day. Another challenge we encounter is lack of school fees for children which makes them study irregularly and register poor performance."

"The biggest problem we face is hunger as a result of poverty and inadequate land which hinders us from planting crops on a large scale to get enough food hence sturving sometimes. Another challenge we facing is inadequate shelter which cannot accommodate us well which at times bring about bad sleeping."

"Since I received my transfer, there has been a positive change in my life. Before I did not have a stable source of income, I could occasionally skip some meals during the day. I am glad that since that time, I have not missed a meal. In addition, I have acquired new solar energy for lighting. This situation has given my children a better opportunity to focus on their studies at night with fewer struggles. Lastly, I am more at peace because, with the transfer, I can pay a dowry and remarry to have someone who can me help since I am advancing in age."

"Food shortage is the challenge I am currently facing. I have a family of six members and on an ideal situation we use 3kg of maize flour per day. This is not the case now due to famine I use 2kg per day or go without food. I do casual jobs earning $30 per month which caters for food only and it is not sufficient to sustain the family for the whole month. My children have grown weak due to lack of food."

"Drought has hit us hard in our area and this has made farming unreliable. This has pushed me to venture into charcoal burning and aloe vera extraction as my main sources of income. The nature of these activities are so tiresome and time-consuming yet the income is usually very low; say, $35 per month. This can not fully cater to our basic needs and sometimes my children lack school fees. The feeling of watching them helplessly at home pains me most as a mother since their future life is at stake. What a worrying life!"

"By the end of the year, I hope to have purchased more livestock, particularly goats that can withstand the harsh climatic conditions. My goal is to increase wealth by raising livestock. As the goats conceive, my initial small number will eventually grow. By doing so, I will achieve financial stability when I sell the goats in the market at a good profit and lessen the strain on my grandchildren, who go above and beyond to see that I have access to my basic needs."