"The total destruction of my house by floods brought suffering both to me and my family of 4. Following the displacement, we are currently temporarily being hosted by relatives in another village as we repair our dilapidated mud house. The floods swept all my crops (Maize) which was dependent on by the family to meet its needs. Currently, i do not have money to buy inputs to get back into farming. Looking for daily casual jobs has turned futile as most farms were swept by floods. I am facing the challenge of getting money to feed my family."

"Following the recent floods experienced in the area which swept through my house, my major challenge now is lack of money to purchase an alternative land (not prone to floods) to migrate my family to. Having lost all my investment of more than KES 300,000 on farming (tomatoes) to floods which i was depending on for both food and fees, i now do not have money for purchasing food for my family of 6 and for paying fees for my 3 secondary school children. I am also lacking money to get back into crop farming which was being depended on by the family. The floods swept away most of the essential household items (beddings, utensils) with few remaining not sufficient for the family use."

"The major challenges i am facing now is getting funds to buy farm inputs (Insecticide, Fertilizer) for my 1.5 acres tomatoes farm which i have just started after another 3 acres under the crop was swept and destroyed by the floods. Following the adverse effects of the recent floods experienced in my village, i intended to construct a house in a piece of land bought in a safer place where i can migrate my family during the flooding period but currently cannot do it due to lack of money."

"The farm i own with crops (Maize,tomatoes) was swept by floods bringing loss and making farm unproductive. Having been fully dependent on farming for food and school fees, my challenge is getting funds to lease land elsewhere to do farming."

"I lost my chicken following a disease outbreak in our area. My chicken were free range which meant they would roam everywhere and that is probably how they contracted the disease. I want to mechanize my farming a bit to ensure we do not have a repeat of the same. I plan on using my cash transfers to build a better chicken coup where the chicken will be able to stay all the time to ensure they do not move around. I also want to ensure I have access to the right medicine so that in case an unavoidable circumstance hits the chicken they can get the proper medication and loss will be greatly minimized. I am able to have this dreams because of GIvedirectly."

"As I had mentioned earlier I have had a goal of joining a teachers training college. I have been working on this and still working on it. I have so far saved $380 through savings group and I have $60 in my bank account also from the same. Once this cash gets to above $500 I will be able to make school fees payment and even rent a place next to school where I can live as I study. I am glad that Givedirectly has given us a chance to turn our lives around."

"I know that Givedirectly will not be here till eternity, we have been informed that the program goes for 5 years and hence we should make good decisions with this in mind when spending our cash. I live in a house with walls falling apart and the weather extremes just make it problematic, I would love to repair my house and make it more habitable. My plan is to use the cash to buy animals which will in turn multiply and I can sell them to buy the necessary building materials. This will ensure that by the time the house is done I still can reap from my investment which is the animals as they will still be producing."

"My husband and I have had an improved experience sleeping since I got us a mattress last year. Ours was worn out and using the cash I was receiving I was able to ensure we got a new place to sleep. This year I have been contemplating making the same improvements for the children. Their mattress is old and worn out and cannot be used. My hope is ensure I save enough in savings group and have enough to buy a mattress for them which could go for $50. I also want a cow to cut down on the expense of buying milk and I hope to also do this from my savings."

"Animal farming is the investment most of us in this village have. Our animals however were lost mainly during the long drought. We are trying to rebuild those animal reserves we once had. I have now gotten to seven goats thanks to Givedirectly transfers and I would like to add more. I believe that animals have the ability to multiply as my goats become many I can sell them and buy cows which can earn a living buy hiring them out for tilling jobs or even dairy cattle for milk. This will allow me educate my 8 school going children and give them a chance at life."

"My husband was was responsible for brining finances home and he was always able to do this as he had a motorcycle which would help him earn this income. In March he contracted pneumoniae which forced him out of work. He had to hire someone else to continue with the motorcycle business which reduced our earnings greatly. We were forced to use the animals that I had bought to rear and later sell to get cash to construct our house, to get food. This remained the case until I got a job our of the village where I currently am working as a casual staff in a hotel. This has allowed my family to get food as well as other basic needs they may have including my husband's medication. My hope is to start buying more chicken again with the transfers to increase the number of animals which can later be sold to help me achieve the dream of building our house."