"The challenge I'm faced with at the moment is my house. The house is small and is cold. I live in the house with my daughter and grandchild and I find it so congested for the three of us. Due to a lack of money and my old age I'm unable to build myself a more dissent house and also provide food for my family. Since I depend on charcoal burning to make ends meet I feel tired and unable to do heavy work which means we have to go without food."

"The main challenge that we are faced with at the moment is a drought. It has been three years since it rained and this has led to our rivers drying up and farms not being productive. We don't have enough food for three full meals and we sometimes have to take only two meals. This is hard for me since my children are young and it's difficult seeing them go without food. In addition to this, joblessness is the other challenge. I depend on charcoal burning for money and since the government banned its sale, I don't have anything to do, I depend on my husband who works as a bodaboda driver (motorbike business). Life is very difficult for us here."

"I had just come from the bush with fire wood on my head and I saw people happily moving up and down singing songs with Givedirectly's name. I asked what happened and a neighbor narrated to me that they were jubilating because the money GiveDirectly promised had arrived. I threw my wood bundle down and joined in with dancing. I was so happy and my feet even got dusty. I made plans to go for my money and buy my zinc for a new house."

"Farming was my main source of income and since it's no longer sustainable these days due to the prolonged dry seasons, I was looking forward to raising money this year to buy two dairy cows. Achieving this means that I will be able to get additional income from selling milk and thus pay school fees for my children who are in college."

"I used sixteen thousand from my transfer to buy one bundle of zinc and I also used seven thousand to buy one female goat as my cattle. I spent five thousand Liberian dollars on my son's school fees in fish Town. I decided to build a new house because since I've been a man in my community, people do not give me the respect I deserve because I don't own my own house. I used to sell bitterball before getting money to pay my son's fees and the farm wasn't producing enough to solve that problem; GiveDirectly cash transfer has helped me to get easy money to give my child education to enable him benefit himself tomorrow. I bought my goat as a form of a new business. As it matures and conceives, I will sell the kids to get more money to help my family and I in the future."

"I took a motorcycle on loan but it was re-possesed because I could not make the prearranged payment on time. I was able to at least settle $140 but due to the tough economic time I was unable to settle $50. I am currently moving up and down in my search for a well paying job and I am confident that once I do, I will get the motorcycle back and save enough money so that I will start a little business for my wife so that she has a way to make money and buy everything she wants for herself. I will also make sure I open my own business and make huge profit and have the life we as a family desired."

"When my husband passed on 10 years ago, my life hit rock bottom as I had to struggle to make ends meet. Raising 5 children single-handled through casual jobs is stressful as they pay $1 a day. This is insufficient to cater for the needs such as education, food and clothing of my family of 6. Additionally, these jobs are difficult to find and one can stay without earning for even 2 days meaning, the household will lack food for the day and hence stay hungry."

"My goals this year is to graduate from college, find a job and enroll for a tailoring course. Achieving this means that I will be able to take care of my children and become financially independent in the long-run."

"My greatest desire was to build a decent house for my family, but due to unreliable sources of funding, this was a difficult task. I used to sell cereals at our local market, but I'm no longer as energetic as I once was due to old age, so I rely on my children for help. Except for my youngest son, with whom we still live, my children have all grown apart. As a result, I resolved to build a $310 house. This is because my previous house was old and grass-thatched. This was previously not possible due to financial constraints. Finally, I spent the remainder of my money on food. I am overjoyed and satisfied to have accomplished so much in such a short period."

"I am 64, years old. Getting food here is very difficult. I mainly depend on my goats and chicken. I have 30 goats and 11 chicken. Due to the drought it's hard feeding my goats. Most of the vegetation is dry. The milk I get from the goats is little and not enough for me and my grandchild. Due to the drought, I have sold many goats for food and school fees. I am worried that I may lose all the stock by selling them to get food."