"The biggest hardship I have faced in life is lack of a reliable source of income to sustain my family. The charcoal burning job I engage myself in is very tiresome with low returns."

"I depends on goats rearing as my reliable source of income. I have wished to enlarge my activity by purchasing more goats but I have not fulfilled this due to financial challenges. Receiving this money means I will realize my wish since I am planning to spend USD 300 to purchase 10 goats at 30 dollars each. With 10 goats they are able to multiply fast and will be able to sale at a profit whenever I face any financial challenges. The remaining amount will help me in purchasing a bed and mattress because I am sleeping on the floor using old mat."

"My husband is very old and he can not support me in basic needs provision. This has forced me to assume his roles and I have to engage myself in doing odd jobs like charcoal burning in order to feed the family. This job is very tiresome and time-consuming yet it's income is very low and can not fully support us. Therefore, the lack of a decent and reliable job is the biggest hardship that I have ever faced in my life."

"Failure to meet my desire of constructing a decent shelter for myself due to lack of finances has been my biggest hardship in my life. This has forced me to continue living in someone kitchen, which has affected my healthy due to the constantly smoke I inhale from the kitchen every day. I am happy that I will be able to own a good house for myself with the Givedirectly transfer."

"Receiving this money means a new and separate house for me because I share a house with my co-wife which is not spacious enough to accommodate us. It is also grass-thatched and mostly during rainy seasons, we get rained on since it's leaking. My plan once I receive this money is to spend my first transfer to construct an iron-roofed house and this will give me happiness since I will be able even to welcome visitors to whom I have postponed their visits. On the other hand, I also plan to start livestock keeping to have a long-term project. To ensure this is possible, I intend to spend $300 of my second transfer to buy 10 goats. These will multiply within a very short time and hence, supporting my children's education. The remaining amount will help me to buy a modern bed plus a mattress so that, I replace the old ones. This will guarantee me a better living that I have wished for a long time."

"I am an old widow,who has been staying in a house which is almost collapsing and leaks during rainy season. Due to financial challenges I have failed to construct a decent house. Receiving this transfer means good house for me. I am planning to spend 90,000 shillings to construct a semi permanent house. This is going to enable me leave a comfortable life. It is also going to free me from coughing problems caused by the cold which always penetrate through the holes at night from my mud made walls. Other than that, I will spend the extra amount to purchase beddings. Currently, I am using the local ones which are made of stitches and full of bedbugs because I can not control them."

"I NOW HAVE BLANKETS AND I AM GOING TO BUILD A HOUSE, I COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT ON MY OWN"

"Not only do we depend on subsistence farming but also burn charcoal for a living. The nature of this job is cumbersome hence we are not so productive. In this regard we produce roughly 10 sacks a month that earn us around 5000 shillings. We cannot accumulate the funds because we sell on a weekly basis. Providing for 7 people is such a hustle and it's normal to skip meals and miss other needs too. All this is attributed to financial instability which is our biggest hardship."

"Reduced income as a result of low milk production due to prolonged drought in this region has made me lag behind development wise since whenever drought strike in, I am always forced to spend all my savings from my motorcycle taxi business that I could have otherwise used for other projects such as venturing into other businesses, to buy food for my household. This is the biggest hardship I face"

"I had acquired a piece of land that I had not completed its payment due to some financial constraints. When I received the second transfer, I spent part of it to clear the outstanding amount. I am now owning this land and free to do my own projects like farming. In addition to this, I also paid for my children's school fees. They would have been discontinued was it not for the transfers. I am glad that they were allowed back to continue with their studies without interruptions on school fees. I spent the remaining amount to finish a project of building a decent house. I purchased the remaining materials which include timber, nails and iron sheets. I finished the construction and moved into my new iron roofed house."