"I have been longing to do a hairdressing course. I believe it will help me to acquire skills that can help me in life. With it, I can start a salon that can be a good source of income for me. In addition, I have a goal of boosting my grocery business. I had started it earlier, but it collapsed because I had a lot of needs. I, therefore, spent all my savings to take my four siblings to school when schools re-opened. I felt it wise to do so because we are orphans, and my widowed mother had no income hence she was constantly struggling to raise fees for them. I am hopeful that when I start it again, it will be able to help us so much."

"Payment of school fees is the main challenge that we are currently facing. We have two children Deborah and Abigail in high school that we have been paying school fees amounting to $550 per annum. I have a small vegetable selling business here in the village and it earns me about $5 a week which all goes to food needs of the family. My husband John is now left to carry all the burden involving school fees and he earns a salary of $30 a month which is not enough to pay all the school fees even if we sacrifice his salary wholly for a year. We have therefore been accumulating debts and our children had been suspended from school some time last month and this really discouraged our efforts because we felt so hopeless. The teachers were threatening to deny them end year exams because of the arrears. We were lucky anyway because we negotiated and they allowed them to sit their end year exams with a promise to clear all the arrears at the beginning of the year."

"Maize farming had been my business for 5 years but due to crop diseases that emerged and unpredictable weather pattern, I had to quit farming and I had to depend on casual labor. This is where my problems started because my wife of 2 years left me because I couldn't provide for the family anymore and my dream of owning a bigger house was shuttered. I am currently living in a small flat roof house which provides a space enough for 1 person. The casual jobs that I do can only fetch me an average of $0.80 a day which cannot meet all my needs. I usually wonder what I would have done to feed my family if my wife was still living with me."

"I struggle to find food for my household. Considering that we didn't harvest well this year, we have to buy food every day. This is a challenge because making money is also a problem here. I go out to look for work to make ends meet. I am divorced and pregnant and sometimes I'm weak or sick and can't go to source money. That means there won't be food in my home."

"The biggest challenge is surviving every day. I have to go out to find casual work to make money. I take farming jobs and use that money to buy food and other resources needed at my house. There's no stability and that puts pressure on me being the only parent since I am divorced."

"We struggle to find work to help is earn money for food and other basic needs. I get firewood and sell for money. My husband weaves mats and sells for money. These are not stable business and don't bring in enough money to sustain us. With the high prices of food and other commodities, we are often left in lack."

"The challenge I'm facing are lack of good housing and food. My house is small and I had to beg for accommodation for my oldest son at my mothers house since he's old and I can't share a room with him. There's no food in the house because farming yields nothing and I rely on casual labour. Sometimes there is no work and that means no food in my house."

"In the coming years I hope to get business that will sustain my children in school and to also build my house because it's only one room my children and I are living in."

"Growing up my dream was to build a spacious house before having kids but due to lack of financial limitations, my kids and I sleep in the same room. Moreover, seeing my children and me sharing a room is embarrassing as a woman. In the coming year, I hope to have a spacious and concrete house that is long-lasting."