"Over the next six months, I am optimistic that I shall have been able to improve my house to a cemented floor and hopefully focus on opening up a general shop. The general shop shall enable me to have a sustainable source of income and make me self employed."

"Not having a stable source of income is the biggest hardship that I face in life. Ever since my business collapsed,my husband has remained to be the only bread winner for the family. However, his income is hardly enough to consistently sustain buying food,paying fees, and even stretch as far as buying water which is currently very scarce in our region due to the ongoing droughts. It really pains me as a mother when I have no money and I am forced to ration food for my children just so that I can save some for the following day. Much as I try to sacrifice by trekking for over three hours everyday to Jila in search of water just so that I can save the amount that would have been used to hire a motorcycle to do the same,the amount is still never enough. In the last month alone,I cannot even count the number of times that we were forced to skip one meal in order to save for the other. "

"Ever since we started burning charcoal and selling in order to get our income, our lives managed to improve a bit. However, our good days of living were short lived. Around early last year when the government placed a ban on the burning of charcoal, our source of income was greatly affected when buyers reduced significantly. We work so hard to get the product ready but there are no buyers. Our finances have greatly dwindled and affording necessary commodities around the household are proving to be too difficult by each passing day that the ban continues to exist. Farming that used to supplement for the tough times whenever we ploughed our farms has also been greatly affected by the ongoing drought. I feel like I am trapped in a financial crisis that I do not know how to escape from and I can only pray for the ban to be lifted."

"The greatest difference in my life since Give Directly came into my life is that I can easily plan my life and be sure my plans will come to pass. Since I now have a reliable source of income, I decided to buy two sheep that gave birth recently. I believe they will continue to multiply with time. I will be selling the offsprings when my budget is overstretched. This will help to avoid taking loans more often. I no longer depend on casual in order to buy food and other basics. I thank Give Directly for thinking of providing unconditional cash transfers."

"I expect in the next six months to shall have gotten enough harvest hence I will be able to get food with ease and also sell the surplus to make an income that will cater for my household expenditure with ease."

"Our biggest hardship is financial constraint. Life in our village is quite challenging.The two major economic activities that we engage in here are charcoal burning and alovera extraction. These jobs are tedious and pay very little. One kilogram of alovera goes for only one hundred and eighty shillings. Therefore, the income we get is not sufficient to support us in paying school fees and other family needs. "

"The biggest difference is that I now have good clothes. Give Directly saved me from the shame of wearing torn clothes that could not be replaced any time soon. I am also glad that I can now sleep so well since I bought a new mattress. I use to sleep on a hide and covered myself with old torn clothes."

"I expect my life to change in the next six months in that I shall have saved and with the savings, I will use to start breeding chicken to make an extra income. The profits from the sales of the eggs and the chickens will enable me to start bigger projects such as rearing livestock and I will cut the cost of buying milk."

"My life is different now in that, I have a lot of happiness because I was able to get back my land. I did not have where to farm but through these transfers I have vast land to farm on. I managed to acquire a bicycle that has eased my movement because previously I used to borrow a bike and when I'm denied one, I walked on foot to wherever I was going. These transfers have also enabled me buy a bed because prior to getting these transfers I used to sleep down on the floor. I also managed to acquire a solar system that has brought brightness to my household compared to previous days that I lived in darkness."

"My life is so peaceful because I was able to construct a nice house. I was able to stock food for my family. In the past, I used to live in a dilapidated grass thatched house. I remember, we used to fight and with rodents for space in my hut. I am very happy that I do not have to worry about rodents and the need to buy grass for thatching my house. In addition to this, the cash transfers made it possible for me to treat myself and my children. The GiveDirectly cash transfers have made my life peaceful and worth living."