"The biggest hardship we face as a family is financial constraints. I'm a stay at home wife and my husband works as a casual labourer in a milk factory. He gets paid $120 per month which is not enough to save and buy a piece of land or even pay school fees for our child. He got into an accident a few moths ago and he was badly injured, he has missed work and he also has to go for medical checkup."

"As a young and energetic man, the biggest hardship I have faced in life is a tragic accident that left me without hand toes. I was employed as a cowboy when a chaff cutter that I was using chopped off nine of my fingers. As a result, my life turned to the worst. The pain that I experienced was excruciating, while the trauma and the post-incident occurrences have been haunting me. In brief, it has become almost impossible for me to secure any casual job unlike before. Also, getting a spouse has proven challenging since the community perceives that I am a liability who will depend on other people for survival. A lady that I had proposed to and have a child with was asked by her parents not to marry me, something that has made me feel as if I am an incomplete person. However, I thank God since I can handle some physical tasks such as plowing and managing tree nurseries."

"My biggest hardship is lack of a good source of income. I work as a casual laborer at our nearby center in construction sites. This job is not guaranteed due to the highest level of unemployment in our areas. Also it earns me 250 shillings which is not enough to sustain all our needs such as shelter."

"We have been struggling to raise school gets for my two children who are currently in grade 10. My husband gains some income, about 3 USD daily, by offering motorcycle services within our vicinity. Since the income is inadequate to suffice all our needs and raise the school fees, receiving GiveDirectly transfers will act as an assurance that our children shall have ample study time. This is because we shall pay all the required amounts. Even so, we shall utilize any remaining amount on building a better kitchen because the one we have has a leaking roof."

"A prolonged period of drought has been the biggest hardship we have faced in life. We experience minimal rainfall in our area throughout the year, thus affecting our crop production. The drought has persisted over the last 10 years now. We have one acre of land which we have grown maize for domestic use. Initially, we used to harvest 10 bags of maize which has become something of the past now. Due to the inadequacy of rainfall, we hardly harvest 2 bags of it yet we experience tough economic times as well. We acknowledge Give Directly's assistance during these hard economic times."

"I have always had the desire that all my children get good education up to college level. This will secure their future and ours too because when they get good jobs we will live a better life. I personally dropped out of school at the age of 12 due to lack of proper parenting and my life has not been easy without education. I do casual jobs which we substitute with farming that my husband does,this earns us Ksh 300 daily which is not enough to pay school fees for our four children in secondary boarding schools. Each child school fees is Ksh 30,000 per year. Upon receiving this money i will use it to clear the arrears that i have of Ksh 60,000 and use the rest to pay for next terms fees."

"I was just so happy. I didn't even believe it"

"Being a farmer,living in a semi-arid area has been a big hardship.It hardly rains here and even when it does we do not harvest well because sometimes it fails to rain completely and crops dry up in the farms. This forces us to do casual jobs sometimes because we cannot fully rely on farming. Having an irrigation system would make my farm productive and life would be easier."

"We have been buying milk for domestic use which I feel is not enough for my family to consume yet it is costly. We spend Ksh 50 to buy milk daily yet I am a motorcycle mechanic in a nearby town earning approximately Ksh 300 a day. I have aspired to raise a healthy family and lead a happy life thereafter. I intend to buy a dairy cow of approximately Ksh 40,000 using the transfer from Give Directly. We will solely use the milk domestically and improve the life of my family members. Therefore, receiving this money means a healthy life for my family."

"I work as a cook at Kaboson Girls High School where I earn sh 6000 per month.This money is not enough for me to educate my kids as well as do some developments or investment at home.I have been spending all my salary on food, clothes and school fees.Therefore receiving donations at giving directly shall enable me built a new house with approximately $250 as you can see this is small for my growing family. I shall also buy a heifer worth $300.This will grow and multiply the number of cattle as time goes by. When my kids will be joining secondary schools I shall have enough calves to sell and pay for kids' school fees. Milk produced by these cows will be sold therefore acquisition of household commodities such as food and clothing will be met easily."