"Currently only one thing affects my livelihood negatively and that is poor housing and habitat condition. As you have seen this house structure is in a dilapidated state and it doesn't offer me the desired comfort. For me to attain comfortability in my home I feel like I need a mattress on my sleeping space, cement for the floor and iron sheets for the roof. However, I am unable to afford this luxury due to financial constraints. I make less than $10 a month and this is not enough to carter for my basic needs as well as improve my house at the same time."

"Hunger and poor housing are my only challenges at present. Since I didn't harvest anything from my maize field this year, me and my grandson, Black Gusto struggle to find food by relying on pieceworks daily. On most days we sleep on empty stomachs due to lack of food. As if that's not enough, this house doesn't do us any justice for it leaks heavily when it rains and gives us restless nights. These are the hurdles that I feel make my life harder."

"Lack of money to improve my house is the only challenge I am currently facing. I make $20 a month from my fish selling business and in all honesty with the rising cost of commodities this is not enough for me to sustain my family and at the same time carter for house improvement projects. As much as this structure offers me shelter it doesn't offer me the comfort of a home I desire and this bothers me alot currently."

"I and my ex husband, Kennedy Lipenga got divorced in Mangochi back in 2020 and ever since it has been me struggling to provide for myself and my son, Brian Phalula here. I have 4 children in total, 3 of them are with their father in Mangochi. Of all the challenges I am facing at present, I feel like two stand out the most, thus, hunger and lack of a decent and comfortable sleeping space. These bring me constant worry and stress whenever I think about them."

"Our biggest challenge is food. I have 6 children and feeding and clothing them is a challenge. This is because I have no stable source of income. I make charcoal but sometimes there's no one to buy and that leaves me with no money. I end up going to out to find casual work just to put food on the table. Yesterday I went to do ground work on a farm to afford the food we're eating today. I farm but with no money for fertiliser and the harsh weather conditions here I yield nothing, which is further impoverishment."

"Our biggest challenge is food. I have my 4 children with me and 2 grandchildren. To provide for everyone is a challenge. The little money we make from casual work goes to food all the time with nothing left for other developments like a good house or more livestock or household furniture. This is all because farming is not reliable in our area due to bad climate conditions."

"My biggest challenge is money. My house fell on one side which limits my house utilization to just the two front rooms. My bed was broken as the house fell due to cyclone Ana. Now I sleep uncomfortably in the living room with my bicycle next to me and water reserves. If I had money, i would have renovated the house. I also don't have food because of money. The casual work I do doesn't pay me enough to afford eating comfortably. I also lack kitchen utensils and other household necessities."

"Givedirectly is doing very well in helping us the poor people to better our lives. Many people including me were not even thinking of building a house but today we are all happy about this help. I love everything givedirectly is doing and I thing all is going well for us."

"My aim is to take my kids to school and put a solar lighting system in my home. I already have the small Delight lights for $5 in the house; I, however, want $300 worth of solar lights for my home. The small lights are very limiting since I have to move around with them, which usually means the rest of the people within my home are left in darkness. I will be required to pay $0.5 a day for these lights, so I will be setting aside $1 a month for these payments once I have them installed to ensure my house is continually lit all year round. I also want to spend some of this money taking care of the needs of my children in college. I do not make much from the small business I run out of my brother's shop since it can only sustain basic needs. I hope to direct these transfers to the areas I told you about since I have not had much time to take care of them."

"Paying school fees for my first-grade child while also paying other household bills has been incredibly hard. I am thankful that, after receiving the transfers from GiveDirectly, I have been able to pay $10 each month to cover a portion of the required amount. Through this, I have reduced my school debt to $28 at the moment, which I believe I will have cleared before the end of the term in April. When I finish paying, I plan to start a business where I will buy groceries from Mariakani Market and sell them to the local community. This business will be useful not only for paying household bills, but also for ensuring that I pay my son's school fees on time."