"The most challenging thing at the moment is the rising cost of living. It affects us more because we do not have a good source of income. We only depend on livestock farming to meet our needs. This kind of farming is affected by prolonged drought and it is a common occurrence in this area. Once the dry spell starts milk production also goes down. This affects our $20 monthly income from this venture. At that moment we have to look for casual jobs around to supplement our income and it is not easy to come by these jobs."

"Lack of financial stability is the main challenge that has deprived my family of many essential needs like access to education for my children. I have four children who are in various schools and raising their school fees has been nothing short of a nightmare. Farming is not doing well in this region and this has forced my husband to relocate to Nakuru to lease land because he is the sole bread winner. In Nakuru he plants maize, beans and sometimes potatoes. Leasing land costs $ 100 per acre for a period of one year and buying farm inputs is also expensive. Every year we get a profit of $150 from the farm and this is $ 100 short of the yearly school fees. I feel that our hard work is not enough to sustain our children in school because they are always sent home because of unpaid arrears"

"I was infected with polio during my childhood days and the effects are still active in my body. I walk in a staggering manner that someone can mistake me for someone who is drunk. I cannot do anything task because my body is weak and it is sad that the condition is not treatable. I have one cow which produces 2 liters of milk daily and this is what keeps me going. I am worried of what I will survive on when the cow will get to it's dry period."

"My main objective currently is to ensure that my children's education is not interrupted because of fee arrears. It's the monthly transfer that has helped them reach where they are now, one in high school and three in primary school. I do not have a single source of income that would have helped me pay their fees apart from the transfers. As a parent, my prayer is that my children will achieve their career goals despite the financial challenges I am facing. I am also planning to save an amount in order to buy goats, which are assets that I can also rely on, even when GiveDirectly phases out since they will reproduce and increase in number."

"Lack of financial stability to meet the growing needs of my family has been a challenge. I have been employed by a friend to work as a motorcycle taxi operator where in a day I earn $2 or even less. Prices of food commodities are going up each passing day while the money I earn is not. There was a time I was asking friends to lend me money but since I cannot repay, most of them are not answering my calls. The presence of GiveDirectly speaks hope to desperate people like me."

"It's really hard to get employment opportunities in this area especially given my level of education. I didn't get a chance to go beyond class two. I have been employed as a herdsman within the village now for about three years earning $50 monthly. This amount is extremely low for our needs as a family. I have a wife and two children who are not yet schooling, but I can't even afford food throughout the month! My house is built halfway because I did not have money then to complete it and still I haven't been able over four years that have passed by. It's just a single room mud walled house with a grass thatched roof that is terribly leaking during rainy seasons."

"The GiveDirectly transfers have been so helpful to us, and we are forever grateful. So far, through these transfers, I have bought a decent bed and mattress for my children and also bought a goat for rearing. My current plan with the transfer is to join hands with my spouse and pay my children's school fees. I have six school-going children at different levels of education. I also plan to build a better house for my boys, as the one in which they are currently living is quite small. This will allow them to have space to do their studies."

"Prolonged droughts has made it quite hard to produce crops that we could have been depending on as subsistence farmers. This has led to most villagers resorting to charcoal burning and sell or firewood business to be able to make ends meet. Personally, I tried charcoal burning but we ran out of trees. Finally we decided to do small scale mining of manganese and selling to middle men. This earns us $ 240 monthly as a group of ten workers. We decided to team up because it's not possible to get the required 30 tons so fast working alone."

"The ongoing drought has completely hanged our lifestyle in this village. Initially we used to majorly depend on subsistence farming, but this is no longer possible as it has been continuous drought for the past two years or so. To keep lights on, I have been selling fried fish at a nearby high school to students who are boarding. My husband on the other side is employed by some Indian family in Mombasa town as a casual labor.kame. Together we've been able to feed and educate our five children."