"I feel so hurt and abandoned, the weight of the world on me. Never in a million years did I think that I would live the life I am living now. My 51-year-old husband left me for a younger wife not so long ago. I found out a year ago but the pain is still fresh. He has neglected us as his family and I have been left to fend for a family of ten, nine children and I. I have to look for odd jobs( wash clothes, burn charcoal and sell tomatoes) just to earn a living. It is tough I tell you, his parents are also against and I feel trapped since I can not go back to my maternal home because my children are yet to clear primary school. I regret having been married."

"There is a sense of contentment that comes with working or even studying, just having something to occupy one's day. I am a mother of one and apart from raising my two-year-old son, I have nothing else to do. I feel it is time for me to engage myself in other activities, (acquiring skills as a tailor) to place me in a better position to make a living. But I feel stuck because I lack the funds to do so. I need to find my purpose."

"Since I stay alone in the household, I have to fend for myself through charcoal burning, an exercise that hardly covers food costs. The best I can earn in a week is $4, which does not procure much food given the rising commodity prices. Although securing food is my main concern right now, I wish to acquire at least two goats in one year’s time. The plan is to rear these goats so that when they reproduce in the future, I could easily sell them to afford my needs. Besides, I would be glad if I stopped enduring the struggles of charcoal making."

"I have a lot of challenges to face in my life. I was charged with looking after my grandfather's property and livestock after he passed away. However, given the prolonged draughts and lack of water for irrigation, this has not been simple. Since I finished my automotive engineering studies two years ago and haven't been able to find work since then, I am totally dependent on the farm for all of my basic necessities. The lack of rains though, has led to low productivity and lack of cash which is a challenge for me."

"With the erratic rains this year I only harvested 2 bags of maize for food from my 1.5 acre farm land. This lasted until August this year, thus for me and my grand daughter, Eliza Wyson who is now at school, Mafiso primary. Since then we have been facing a hunger issue such that we've resorted to just having lunch and supper cancelling out breakfast. Additionally, I am not fulfilled with the condition of my house, I wish it was cemented on the floor and had plastered walls. I am unable to achieve this because with my monthly income of less than 1$ it is impossible to undertake such projects. These are the hurdles that make my life harder as of present day."

"I am an old lady so I am frequently hit with different illnesses. These plus my weakened strength affect my productivity and provision for my family. Nowadays, I don't harvest as much from my maize field. This year I only got a 10 litres pail of maize for food and this was over within 2 days back in April. Since then I have relied on remittance for survival."

"As a household our desires are wide and many but due to constraints we fail to attain these wishes. We wish our house was fully plastered outside and painted with lime but due to lack of money and inaccess to sources of income we are unable to do this. Additionally, we wish we had a vehicle as means of transportation but because of the same financial constraints we are unable to achieve this. These are our only challenges currently as a family."

"I was passionate about studying to become a plant operator once I had finished my school education.  The problem I have, though, is that I don't have the money to pay the fees because it will cost me roughly $1200 to finish. I currently work as a motorcycle rider for boda boda and earn around $3 each day.  This money is insufficient to pay for my son's nanny and buy food because Felicity, my wife, is still enrolled in school."

"Thank God we have food in my household but we are still unsatisfied because of the our living conditions. I have a huge family of 8 children and sleeping space has always been a challenge considering 3 are girls and 5 are boys. We decided to elect this boysquarter you see on the side of the house so that the boys should move in and create space. This was last year but up to now we are unable to finish this project due to lack of money to buy the remaining needed materials thus, cement for floor, plaster and pointing as well as door and window frames. Additionally, we need new chairs for our house, as you can see the ones inside are torn and worn out that don't offer us the comfort we need."