"Being the sole breadwinner for my family of four is incredibly challenging, especially when relying on casual jobs that can be scarce. Some days, I struggle to find work, and it can go on for days without earning anything. When I cannot find a job, I dip into my savings, but lately, I have had to use all my savings to pay for school fees and feed my family. It is a constant battle to make ends meet, and the pressure weighs heavily on me. I am determined to keep going, but it is tough when there is no financial cushion left."

"Running our family's retail shop has been incredibly tough lately. With four of us depending on it for our livelihood, the pressure to keep enough inventory stocked is overwhelming. On good months, scraping together a $50 profit feels like a small victory. We use that money for basic needs like food and my son's preprimary school fees, with the rest going right back into the business.But recently, our sales have been disappointingly low because we have not been able to afford enough stock. It is a constant struggle, balancing our limited finances between daily needs and investing in inventory. There is a sinking feeling when we see empty shelves that could be filled if only we had the resources."

"Raising school fees for my three children is really tough for me right now. As the breadwinner, I am doing it all alone through farming and running a small business. It is a constant struggle to come up with the $500 needed each year. There are times when they have been sent home from school because I could not afford it, and it breaks my heart to see them miss out on their classes. On top of that, putting food on the table is another daily challenge. I am grateful that despite everything, my kids have never slept hungry. It is a constant balance between their education and meeting our basic needs."

"School fees is the biggest challenge that iam facing at the moment because I have 4 children in high school level 2 are mine and the other 2 are for my young sister. I use to depend on farming to provide for them but recently a flash floods cleared my five acre piece of land leaving out around 2 acre with crops which is not enough for my family needs. And due to financial challenges iam not able to recultivate it again."

"I have 5 schooling children in my family who need my support and right now iam out of work I retired two years ago. I am struggling to pay their school fees and also to fend for their basic needs."

"Financial challenges is the main thing we facing because iam very old and iam not able to do any casual labour to provide for my family of 3 people. We depend on our children and our few goats for food and other basic needs."

"The biggest difference since I started receiving GiveDirectly transfers is that I no longer depend on being employed by anyone to earn a living. I used to do odd jobs just to afford food, and if I couldn't find work, I would go without eating. Now, I am fully focused on my own two-acre farm. I plan to continue this way and commercialize my farming activities. This change has brought stability and a sense of purpose to my life."

"This year, I am determined to finish setting up my tailoring business. I bought a sewing machine, which was a crucial first step. Now, I plan to use my savings to open a shop. My goal is to grow and market this new business effectively. Achieving this fills me with joy and satisfaction because it will significantly improve my standard of living and that of my family. I am excited about the future and the positive changes this business will bring to our lives."

"The biggest challenge I'm facing currently is the lack of money. I'm taking care of my nephew whose mother passed on and I only depend on casual work to provide for both of us. This makes life very hard because the money I get from the casual work is not enough to cater for our needs effectively."

"The challenge we are facing currently is the effect of floods. A few weeks ago our maize plantation was affected by flood water which led us to lose all our crops. This saddened us so much and we almost lost hope since that is the only farm we were depending on. This makes life difficult since the planting season has passed and we don't have enough money to replant."