"My husband owns a poshomill but it not productive enough because of stiff competition. Besides, it is mostly active during seasons when there is farm produce which means it can be dormant for up to 6 months. This means we do not have a reliable source of income and our dream is to stabilize our financial resources. In this regard, our plan is start a second hand clothes business in our village. This is because most people can afford them but they have to walk to Bamba market on Wednesdays to access the goods. In addition, we will purchase livestock that will cater for future financial needs especially school fees and emergencies."

"Provision of quality education to my kids has been an unfulfilled promise I made to myself. Currently they are all studying in a nearby local public school that has been performing poorly over the past years. Had I had the means, I could have changed school for them but with myself being a housewife and my husband doing casual work, we do not have hope of changing this situation soonest. As a result I pray that my kids will make it through and have a successful future regardless of whether I will be able to change the school for them or not."

"Being a single mother of six, raising them has been an uphill task. The eldest is in tertiary level, followed by two in secondary level and the others in primary level. Providing them with quality education has never been easy since I depend on casual labour from people's farm in order to survive. I remember a certain time I have had to beg an employer to pay for one of my kids fee and in return work in his/her farm unpaid until I managed to offset the debt. During this time, I also have to think of how I can provide for their other basic needs. I have gotten used to this kinds of situation which for me forms the biggest hardship I have ever experienced."

"I have received the news that I am a beneficiary of GiveDirectly with joy. Being in my old age, I am planning on using the transfers in buying a dairy cow so that I may not lack milk. The rest of the transfers will be used to cater for my upkeep. Thank you so much GD."

"Being a single mother with no source of income is a challenge in itself. Sometimes I have to borrow food and milk from my parents since lately, jobs have been hard to find due to heavy rains for the past 3 months."

"My biggest hardship currently is paying for my children's school fees. This is because milk prices have dropped from 30 to 25 shillings due to high supply that came about as a result of increased rainfall."

"I expect my life to have improved because I will have expanded my poultry business. I hope to be raising more than 20 layers. Collecting about 240 per day will sufficiently cover my household expenditure. I know that making money from poultry farming happens alongside other activities hence acting only as an addition to my income sources."

"A dairy cow that I bought using the transfer is the most valuable asset I can proudly mention. It has various benefits that I will soon enjoy, such as producing milk that my children will be drinking and selling the remaining liters to the local markets for income purposes. I have always been finding difficulties to buy milk as much as I wanted it for my family because of it's high price, not forgetting that only a few people were owning dairy cows in my village because of poverty. I will finally use my profits to start my own business so as to reach our remaining family goals."

"Lack of adequate income has been the biggest hardship in life. My husband's kiosk has been our main source of income, and because of that, most of the profit earned in there goes to household needs. And as a result, the business has been struggling -most instances running into unimaginable losses. It has been a frustrating venture and receiving these transfers will change the situation and that of the family for better."

"Lack of adequate resources has been the biggest hardship to face in life. Coming from a polygamous household of 3 wives, there is no sense of Independence because we all reside under the same roof and share the little resources that are available. With 20 children to care for, our husband is always overwhelmed, and the dismal income he gets from his tobacco business is hardly enough to sustain our needs. Oftentimes, the situation boils down to survival for the fittest as everyone has an interest in bettering the living condition of their kin and that has been a threat to family cohesion."