"I faced the biggest hardship in my life when I had to pay a lot of money in school fees while I had no job."

"Receiving this money would mean a relief from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our family has been affected to a great extent since March 2020 when schools were closed because I am a teacher then working in the private sector so our employer stopped paying us immediately schools were closed. I had a bank loan by then which I had taken to build this house for my family so I had to no option but to repay despite having no income. I sold all the livestock I had to cater for the same. With Givedirectly transfers then I would like to pay KES. 40,000 as school fees for my two children, since having no job I have accumulated that amount in arrears since schools resumed in January 2021. I would also like to use KES. 50,000 to buy a dairy cow, this will support me earn a little income from milk sale as well as providing food for my children. The remaining KES.18,000 I would like to save so that it can help sustain our daily needs as a family before I get a job."

"My ambition has been to complete this newly constructed house. I work as a plumber within the community and since this is not a full-time job I sometimes work as a motorcycle rider within this sub-location. Raising a big sum of money enough to furnish my two-roomed house and the kitchen requires a lot of time. Receiving these transfers is a good opportunity for me to fully complete my two houses and live comfortably. To complete these houses requires at least $600 for cement, sand, transportation of these materials, and labor. For me to make Give directly a living testimony of my success I shall buy a dairy cow worth $300.This will enhance food security and nutrition for my family. In terms of wealth and asset possession, I shall also grow because the cow will multiply as time progresses. This money means a lot to my whole family and we have been waiting for it for a longer period now."

"I have experience a lot of hardship. First my house got burnt buy my Sister in law. By then i had only one house and my husband was an orphan. This really affected us. Then my son was also admitted in the ICU due to poisoning. This drained us financially"

"In the year 2019 I fell sick immediately after giving birth. The sickness dried up my milk such that my child had nothing to eat. My husband had to buy milk from the neighbor's home so as to feed the baby. That made my child to grow very weak. She almost died . That's the biggest hardship I faced in life."

"The biggest hardship has been lack of finances. Affording the right medical attention is really a challenge for me. Due to this, I haven't been even able to live a productive life. I'm a casual labourer earning at most 5 dollars a month which is too little to cater for basic needs."

"I have a number of students in various schools.Raising school fees has been one of hardest challenge . Nearly three quarter of the money I get from the economic activities I engaged myself in goes towards paying school fees. Mark you we have other commitments to take care of .It makes us inadequate and a real struggle for me and my family."

"When we got married ,we didn't have a house of our own .Our parents had given us one at the compound . It was small and so close to our parents and so there was no privacy. We had to struggle to build the one you are seeing now , though it is also small."

"The biggest hardship has been food security. We normally depend on maize for subsistence ,it is our stable food here . Since the outbreak of maize disease sometimes in 2007 , harvesting maize has been a thing of the past. So we buy maize which sometimes we cannot afford. At such time we eat on one meal. Sometimes it is really unbearable ,we hardly afford a descent meal ."

"I am a school based student at Kisii university. I study a degree course in education . We have been struggling to pay for school fees because Iam a self sponsored student ,my husband has been working around the clock to look for school fees . We were forced to sell 0.5 acres of land to clear 2nd year fees. University education is very expensive , we recently hold a fundraiser to cater for the same which enabled me to clear the last academic year fees. Iam currently in fourth year and a total fees of USD 1030 is required. This help could not have come at a better time because Iam assured of clearing the fees and actualize my dream of being a substantive teacher."