"HUNGER, THIS IS BECAUSE WHENEVER IT RAINS LANDSLIDES WASH AWAY MY CROPS WHICH LEAVE ME HELPLESS."

"Three weeks before getting the second transfer, I lost my brother who was involved in an accident. Since I had no money at all, I borrowed $200 to give him a decent send-off. Upon getting the second transfer from GiveDirectly, I saw it prudent to clear the debt to remain clean. Therefore, I deducted $200 from the transfer to pay the debt. Clearing the dept relieved me and gave me peace of mind. Thanks to GiveDirectly for the unconditional transfer. Thereafter, I bought a sewing machine since I am a tailor by profession though I was just sharing a sewing machine with a friend. I used $190 to buy a new sewing machine and started a tailoring business. I am very grateful because I now own a business that aids me to provide for my family. I also used $45 to pay school fees for my three primary school children and $50 to take my husband to the hospital after being involved in a motorbike accident. For the remaining amount, I bought food for my family."

"I currently have a goal that I want to complete by the end of the first quarter of the following year 2023. At my house, I want to fix a water tap. This is due to the high cost of purchasing water for home usage. However, I intend to start horticulture cultivation, which needs water for irrigation. Only if I have access to tap water at home will this be possible. Since veggies are hard to come by in our area due to the protracted drought, horticultural farming will be a source of income."

"When it rains heavily we get worried because our crops always get washed away and my house leaks , so we sleep when the house is so cold. This makes us to fall sick from time to time."

"The biggest challenge is when it rains , the water washes away my crops and it even makes visible cracks on the land the I live on and farm on. This makes me to be worried at all times."

"When it rains the floods wash away our plants like maize and onions. And the challenge not having adequate money to support my 5 school going children."

"Old age comes with a lot of challenges, health problems being one of them. When I lost my husband in 2020, I was depressed because I no longer had someone to lean on in times of need. All my children are married and they relocated to another town but only come over the holiday. Since then, my health deteriorated as I developed recurrent blood pressure and ulcers. It pains me because I do not have the finances to manage this condition as I always depend on my children for support. At times they do not have the finances and I have to borrow from friends which is embarrassing."

"My 2 children, 27 and 18 have not acquired their KCSE certificate from their former school because of fee arrears. I depend on casual jobs such as collecting firewood and cultivating people's farms to earn $10 on a good month. I use this money to pay part of the school fees for my children as well as purchase food for my family of 8. However, I have not had enough savings to exhaustively pay my children's fees and they they have to forego their certificates until the $100 arrears are cleared. It pains me because they are lagging in employment as they could have eased my financial burden by supporting their siblings now that my tomorrow is almost uncertain."

"I currently face a problem of poverty which is caused by heavy and regular rains that has always destroyed the crops whenever we plant and we always have poor harvest which has also brought about lack of food some times. I am also facing a challenge of landslides and flash floods which worries us that anytime we can be washed away, I think of buying land in safer places like in Siroko District and get my family out of high risk area."

"Money, it is as if we are playing hide and seek. I am so frustrated that I have to struggle to get food or pay school fees for my children. The odd jobs I get (washing clothes and fetching firewood) only support me for less than two weeks a month. I have to live within my means. Sometimes it gets hard and we go to bed hungry but I am hopeful that things will get better someday."