"The main challenges that am currently facing have been brought about by the state of my health. Last year June I was unfortunately diagnosed with diabetes and things have changed since then. I have to attend monthly clinics that cost me $15 every month and I am a person who depends on casual jobs that pay $2 a day. This is an amount I cannot raise and I have been depending on well-wishers in the village to pay for the clinics and my medicines. I had thought of joining the national medical insurance fund but I wouldn't be able to pay the premiums that cost $60 annually. This health condition has also affected my vision slightly and this has led to difficulty in doing casual jobs that earn me a living. Employers, therefore, do not want to give me work anymore because I struggle to complete it."

"Currently I have two challenges, thus, poor housing and lack of means for transportation. With this rainy season I am constantly worrying about the state of my house. I am always worried it would collapse from the stormy rains that we experience here in my area. Additionally, I wish I had a bicycle to help me move with ease whenever I need to travel around but I am unable to afford it due to financial constraints."

"My ill health and poor condition of my house are the only challenges making my life harder currently. I suffer from hypertension and this has affected me negatively for years now I am unable to work and provide for myself like I used to. These days I seek medical services regularly, once or twice a month. On the other hand, the condition of my house is poor and the roof leaks whenever it rains. I am restless because of these hurdles in my life."

"As a household I am facing one challenge and that is household level development in terms of decent looking house. I don't feel fulfilled with my house as I wish I could do more and have it plastered and painted with white lime. This would bring me satisfaction and happiness."

"Currently as a household we are facing a number of challenges, thus, poor housing, lack of food and clothes. As you can see our house is incomplete in terms of the floor and windows. We wish we had a cemented floor and glasses for our windows but due to financial constraints that we are facing we are unable to do this. On food our maize stock, thus 5 bags of maize, from previous harvest is done and we are currently depending on piece works to get food for the 8 of us. Additionally, we are unable to afford to buy clothes for ourselves and our children as we should like any human being needs due to financial challenges. The clothes we have now are worn out and from last year but we are unable to buy new ones due to lack of money. These bring us discomfort and weigh us down as a household."

"Currently there are two challenges that bring me stress and these are lack of food and nice house. From our previous harvest we got 3 bags of millet and 2 bags of maize and we've depleted these last month, October 2022. Now we are relying on casual labour to get paid and buy food for the day. When it comes to housing, I wish I had a proper house with iron sheets for the roof and cement for the floor."

"We are currently facing one challenge in my household, thus, my ill health. As you can see I have a swollen leg, this renders me helpless as I am unable to do some chores that I used to do and provide for my family. This left leg of mine just started swelling in December 2021 and when I went to seek healthcare services at Balaka district hospital I did not receive any services for it. I was told it was due to a mere dislocation but the pain I feel is not from that."

"Lack of finances is the main challenge bedeviling my family. I offer daycare services for employed parents who bring their children to me during the day. I charge $ 1 per child per day and on a good day, I get not more than 5 children in a day. I have a daughter who is at Kabianga University and I have to send her $2.5 every day for upkeep. The remaining money is spent on buying food for the other 4 members of the family. Many times I find myself in a situation where I do not have enough money to buy all the foodstuffs. I also have an epileptic daughter who requires $7 every week for medication to keep her condition at bay. I feel like I am overwhelmed and I cannot take it any longer."

"I am currently struggling to find money to afford household needs. We work hard in the fields but often don't harvest enough. Our house is not big enough for all of us, we'd appreciate a bigger house but the money to do that with. This year has really been hard because we don't have food and are currently on a hand to mouth basis. We run a grocery store out front but business is slow because people don't have money."

"At the moment, I am struggling to provide food in my household and supporting my children's education. We are hardworking but often times fail to buy fertiliser and that leads us to yield nothing. I receive coupons but they deliver late in the villages when the maize is past the critical stage. We fail to go and buy in balaka town because we don't have the money. That's why we don't harvest well since the fertilizer is applied later then needed and the the weather plays a part as well. Low yields means low income since we rely on farming and can't sell to attend to our other needs like school for the children and all."