"Financial constraints is the biggest challenge I am facing. My husband works as a casual labor and earns $5 in a day. I depend on substance farming but it has also been affected by prolonged drought. The earns are not enough to sustain all our needs such as school fees and this affected my children education because most of the time are at home."

"Financial constraints is the biggest challenge I am currently facing. I used to operate a business ( selling beauty products)which was an additional source of income but later it collapsed. Since then, life has never been the same because we rely on my husband alone. His salary is not enough to cater for all the basic needs such as school fees. My firstborn is in university and 2 are in secondary school."

"Being a widow is an experience that has forced me to live a very desperate life with my family of 3. The jobs that are available in our community are strenuous and require a lot of energy. These include charcoal burning, seeking casual jobs in neighbours' farms among others. The payments from these activities are very low, usually $5 in a day. It's worse when I have to focus on charcoal work since it takes me three days to make the $5. Considering this little income, meeting our very basic needs is a challenge and the most affected sector is the education of my children. This pains me most and I usually feel, the lack of a reliable source of income as my biggest challenge."

"In the coming year and beyond, with the support from GiveDirectly, I have a vision of acquiring a second plowing ox. Currently, I only have one, and to effectively plow my fields, I need a pair. My journey to this goal will be gradual, as I save bit by bit from the funds I receive. This second ox is not just a luxury; it's a necessity. Without it, I cannot fully engage in farming, which is the cornerstone of my livelihood. With two oxen, my fields will be plowed more efficiently, boosting my harvests and ensuring my family is well-fed and secure. Beyond that, the second ox will open new opportunities for me. I plan to offer plowing services to other farmers, which will generate additional income and help strengthen our community’s agricultural productivity."

"As a mother of seven children, my biggest challenge lies in the struggle to afford the school fees required for my children's education. Despite my husband being a hardworking plumber and my own efforts, we still find it difficult to meet the financial demands of our children's education. Each term, we are faced with the daunting task of coming up with over $750 to cover the educational costs for our children - one in college, two in secondary school, and four in primary school. This ongoing financial strain has had a significant impact on our way of life, forcing us to constantly devise new strategies to make ends meet. As a result, my personal development has been put on hold as I try to juggle our family's financial responsibilities with other pressing needs."

"Being a mother of a differently abled child is stressful and challenging most of the time because he requires special care. My prayer has always been that he will be able to walk and talk like other children his age. I have been taking him to KEMRI for physiotherapy for the past 2.5 years to help him walk again, but financial constraints have been my main obstacle. Due to financial constraints, I have not been consistent in taking care of him, which is why it has taken him this long to recover. I need to pay $13 for transportation and a hospital visit every other week."

"A reliable source of income is the challenge I am currently facing in life. I started a small business selling fish in the village and it is now three months old. The business has a capital of $10 and it has not generated profit yet. My husband works as a casual laborer at Mombasa . His income caters for food only since he does not secure a job every day. The financial instability has affected my family thus we lack bedding. I sleep on the floor and during the rainy season there are a lot of snakes and other moving animals ."

"My husband and I are getting old, and since we stopped crop farming, we plan to focus on our 15 goats, hoping they will multiply so we can sell some to pay school fees for our two children still in school. We believe their future depends on education, and we want to ensure they complete their studies so they can live better lives tomorrow. Although two of our daughters and our son have completed school, they have not found jobs yet. However, we remain hopeful that things will eventually turn out positively."

"Since I received money from GiveDirectly, the biggest difference in my life has been the ability to repair the roof of my house. Before, whenever it rained, I had to place sacks and reeds to prevent water from leaking inside. It was a constant worry, and the situation was especially hard on my son, who is in Grade 6. Now, he is so much more excited and happy because we have a great place to live. The old roof was not only leaky but also made a lot of noise whenever it was windy. The iron sheets were worn out, and the roofing nails were so tattered that I feared they would fall off any moment. This improvement has brought a sense of security and comfort to our home, and I am immensely grateful for the positive change it has brought to our lives."

"I used $80 to pay the school fees for my son, who is in Form One at a day secondary school. This ensures he can stay in school and not miss his studies by being sent home for unpaid fees. Education is very important to me, and being able to keep my son in school brings me great peace of mind. It reassures me that he is getting the education he needs for a better future. With $40, I bought four plastic chairs and a plastic table, which we didn't have before. Before this, some of my children used to sit on the ground, and it was uncomfortable and disheartening. Now, we have enough seats for everyone, and it has made a significant difference in our daily lives. Additionally, I am particularly happy because I no longer need to borrow seats from my neighbours when I receive visitors, which used to make me feel uneasy and embarrassed. Having our furniture has improved our sense of dignity and comfort in our home. I also purchased a new mattress for $40 to replace the old, worn-out one my children had been sleeping on. This has greatly improved their sleep quality. I used the remaining amount to buy food for my family, ensuring that we had enough to eat and could focus on other important aspects of our lives, such as tilling my land, without the constant worry of where our next meal would come from."