"I still cannot believe how devastating the floods were for us here in Longewan. Two months ago, they swept away my entire one-acre maize plantation—the only hope for my family of seven. We had taken a loan from Kenya Seed with the expectation of repaying it after the September harvest, but now, I am left with no crops and no way to start over. It is a painful reality knowing that I cannot afford to replant without financial support, and taking another loan is out of the question until I can repay the first one. As a backup plan, I invested in a small grocery business, but even sourcing vegetables has become stressful and expensive due to the limited quantities available. Living in this devastated state is heart-wrenching, and I am struggling to find a way forward."

"My greatest challenge is the lack of financial resources to meet my family's basic needs. This obstacle has prevented me from pursuing large-scale agriculture, which I am eager to do by leasing land and cultivating crops like maize and tomatoes, which thrive in our region. Currently, I rely on sporadic jobs to support my family, typically earning about KES 300 a day, which is insufficient for saving towards leasing land. It's disheartening to witness my family occasionally going hungry due to the scarcity of available work."

"Food security is my primary concern. Despite numerous efforts, I haven't been able to overcome this challenge. Living a kilometer away from a river makes it impossible to grow crops on my farm. It's heartbreaking to see my children go hungry, especially when I can't find casual labor to secure food for them."

"I was at home in the evening when my helper came to inform me that she had received money from GiveDirectly. She asked if I had received mine, and I told her I had just heard a message sound. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to read. She checked for me and confirmed that I had received $200. I was overjoyed, I knew I was finally going to seek medical attention. I was no longer able to walk; I was crawling. I didn't have the money to go to a better hospital, as I had been going to public hospitals and they hadn't found a diagnosis yet. Finally, I knew I was going to go to a better facility. I am grateful to GiveDirectly."

"I am now counting losses after all my maize crops were swept away by flash floods in April 2024. I am feeling stressed and desperate. My life has been reduced to zero. I had invested $300 on maize farming and hoped that this could change my life. I am not expecting any harvest this season and this makes me live in fear of living a miserable life. I do not have a stable source of income, this is challenging as I am not able to provide for my family and put food on the table. I work on casual jobs earning me about $2 a day. This money is not sustainable for our family."

"I am not formally employed and therefore casual labour is my main source of income. We experienced flash floods in April 2024 and this came with a fair share of challenges. It is now difficult to get any casual job as all our farms were swept away by floods. I used to get employment on those farms as a farm attendant and this helped me a lot to feed our family. This has exposed my family to extreme hunger. We at times take porridge as a meal. I was forced to look for an alternative source of income and I ventured into charcoal burning. We had one house which was brought down by flash two months ago. I am struggling financially and I cannot afford to build a decent house for my family. We are now living in a tent which is not habitable."

"The recent floods that cause destruction in our village did not spare my household. I lost 1 acre piece of land which I just planted seeds the day before floods came and this farm was our hope because I have school going children who need school fees for their education. I lost several chicken on that day because their house was flooded most of them perished and other were swept away.iam now depending on charcoal burning to provide basic needs for my family which is the biggest challenge iam facing right now because the cost of 1 sack of charcoal is KES 600 which is not enough for our family."

"Through the help of GiveDirectly, I can now confidently say that I can afford things that were previously out of reach. My salary often used to be delayed, making it difficult to plan for my job. But this time, I received support from GiveDirectly, and the money arrived earlier than my salary. This timely support allowed me to plan for farming immediately, something that would have been delayed due to a lack of funds.With the income I will earn from farming, I plan to buy my own generator to pump water to my crops. Access to water has become a critical issue in our area, making farming very challenging. This generator will be a game-changer for us.My family is very happy and healthy now. They have joy in their hearts because we can finally afford the things we couldn't before. Thanks to GiveDirectly, our lives have taken a positive turn, and we are filled with gratitude."

"For now, my main goal in the coming months is to build another house for my four children. I've been strategizing how to achieve this by focusing on selling the goats I've been purchasing and using my modest savings. I am confident that with these efforts, I will make this dream a reality. Currently, our small, one-room house is a source of stress because it doesn't provide enough space for my family of six. Both my children and I crave privacy, and this has been challenging. However, I am optimistic that once the new house is built, my children will finally have peace of mind and ample space to call their own. This vision motivates me every day, and I'm determined to see it through for the well-being and comfort of my family."

"For now, my dream has been to build a house for my three children. Presently, they are relying on the hospitality of nearby relatives for accommodation, but as their parent, I am determined to provide them with a stable living situation by building them a house. It breaks my heart to see them without a permanent place to call home, and I want to change that. I trust that through the transfers that I receive every month, I will be able to save enough money to build a new house for them. I plan to diligently put aside a portion of each transfer, knowing that each saved penny brings us closer to our own home. By doing this, I hope to ensure that my children will no longer need to seek shelter from relatives and can grow up in a secure, loving environment."