"My biggest hardship has been unemployment. I have applied for so many accounting jobs especially in schools around here but I haven't been able to be called for any. I would love to support my husband by chipping in an income. Being self employed is also hard in my area because there is lack of capital to start a business. Because of the unpredictable climate of my location one has to really be sure if the exact business to have because sometimes there is flood because of a near by seasonal river and other times there is drought making it hard to predict what type of farming to embrace."

"My mother passed away last year and I was forced to move out of my parents house. In my culture if you are a single and unmarried lady with kids you should move out of your parents house when your mother goes away or passes away. I could not stay with my brothers and my child in one house and so my father was forced to give me a piece of land to live separately. The stigma that comes with such cultures is devastating and my morale and self confidence during that point was very low. My income is also very little that it barely buys food for my household. I just hope that in the coming future I will be absorbed and get contracted under the Teachers Service commission of Kenya where the pay and benefits are better."

"There is nothing that GiveDirectly did not do well and in my opinion everything was done as I was told by the officers and I am just happy that Things did turn out as I was advised"

"My life will change i will nolonger go the mountains every year to look for roofing grass. I will own a house with an iron sheet roof which I would never have accomplished by my self"

"since I did not have a proper house I thought it would be wise if I build one so with the second transfer I bought house building materials like bricks and added ironsheets and I also we did not have enough food we bought food for ourselves"

"My life has changed . My household has changed and now I am happy as I have food and a good looking home. I will have a fenced house soon as the builders are currently building a fence around my home."

"The biggest hardship in my life is not being able to have my own land and home. I had my child while at my parents house and when I got married and separated I returned home. In my culture there us stigma for women who go back to their parents homes when things in marriage do not work out. My brothers talk about me on my back and that makes me feel that I do not belong here. I also had a medical issue a few years a go, where I was diagnosed with goitre/ thyroid and I had to be operated, this impacted negatively on my livelihood because I was willing often and could not attend to my duties. Thank God I have now healed."

"As a young family that is struggling to feed children, receiving this money means that my two kids shall enjoy a better nutrition. Specifically, I will purchase a dairy cow that will provide with milk primarily for consumption. I will also sell any surpluses to gain income for buying other food items. Thanks, GiveDirectly for the aid."

"The biggest hardship I have faced in life was being born and raised in a humble background. My family could not raise school fees for me, forcing me to drop out of school while at Grade 7. Also, I got married at an advanced age since I had to struggle and raise the needed dowry, purchase some piece of land and even acquire some resources that would be used by my new family. Overall, I tend to feel that the relatively poor background of my parents led to these misfortunes and delays."

"Sometimes back, we acquired 0.8 acres of arable land in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, we have never managed to raise 240,000 shillings for purchasing it. So far, we have paid only 86, 000 shillings, and we have been living with worries that the owner might decide to refund us and get a new buyer. Hence, receiving this money means that we shall clear all the arrears and fly own the land. Land is a source of prestige and means of accumulating wealth for us."