"My source of income! Currently, I work as a waiter in a small hotel in our nearby town center. This work earns me $1.5 per day, an income that can not fully cater to our household's needs. This has pushed me to mostly depend on my husband who is a casual laborer. His monthly salary is usually $100, an income that goes into supporting our extended family of 10. This burden has made us live a life of misery and I can not afford to have a decent house. In addition, my children are also weak health-wise because we normally forfeit meals or survive on one in a day. Thus, I consider the lack of a stable source of income as my biggest challenge."

"As a widow, life has never been easy for me and my family of 4. I have lived a life full of misery due to life challenges. As a mother and the sole breadwinner, I have experienced tough moments in supporting us with household needs. The greatly disadvantaged ones are the children who suffer the most in school because I can not afford to clear their fees on time. In most cases, they are sent home due to huge fee balances. Imagine sending your son to school with only $5 as a fee! This was the most difficult moment in my life and I always recall that day. I am so optimistic that one day, our life will change for the better. My small business of selling foodstuffs has not thrived well and in a day, I earn $2 as a profit. This goes to food leaving me with nothing to save. Hence, the lack of a stable source of income to support us stands out as the biggest challenge."

"Taking care of my family of 6 poses a big challenge to me. This is because, at the moment, I do not have a job that I can depend on. This means any casual job which comes on my way tends to be my hope. The separation from my husband close to 10 years ago has been the biggest factor in my misfortunes. In addition, my mother at home is also mentally unwell and this has worsened the situation since I do not have another person to support me. The most reliable casual source of livelihood at the moment is charcoal work which is a hand-to-mouth job. In a month I earn utmost $30 which all goes to food and my children's education gets affected most. At home, I have 2 children who dropped out of school in pre-primary classes due to a lack of fees. This pains me most as a mother, as I watch them desperately. Hence, the financial crisis stands out as the biggest challenge in my life."

"I was returning from the farm when I received a message from GiveDirectly at approximately 3:00 p.m. I was filled with excitement as my house had burned down a week ago, and my only kitchen was destroyed. I urgently needed to construct a new one. I immediately informed my husband as soon as he arrived home that evening, and we had to make changes to our plans due to the fire incident. The following day, I withdrew the money and purchased construction materials to build a new kitchen."

"I have two daughters making up a family of four. The first daughter Loyce has been sick for four years now. She suffers from epilepsy. This forced her to drop out of school while in class seven. I have taken her to different hospitals but in vain. As family this has really affected us financially and socially ."

"In 2020 I had an accident and broke my left hand. It was raining by then, I slide down and fall. I was handled by a specialist and became well. Since then I can not engage in myself hard activities and during the rainy season, I also feel a lot of pain in my hand. This has affected my productivity."

"GiveDirectly performed outstanding work by giving us a large sum of money, which we are able to utilize for home basic necessities. We were happy and grateful that they chose our village, and we acknowledged the importance of their support by making wise and diverse decisions within our houses. We are now satisfied with the transformations we made and appreciative for GiveDirectly's expert management from start to finish."

"I recently received a second transfer from GiveDirectly, which I used to further improve my home and support my family's subsistence farming. With the initial transfer, I had started construction on my home, but I was unable to complete it due to the need for stronger doors and windows that would withstand termite infestations. Thankfully, with the second transfer, I was able to purchase a $200 metallic door and three windows for $95 that are durable and termite-resistant. I also spent $30 on a 50-kg bag of dry maize grains to feed my family of eight. As it is currently the planting season, I spent $40 to prepare an acre of land and bought $27 worth of maize seeds and $40 worth of bean seeds that I have already planted on my farm and am currently tending to. Finally, I used the remaining funds for transportation while bringing the purchases home from the shopping center. Relying on subsistence farming and livestock, which are often threatened by harsh weather conditions, I am grateful for GiveDirectly's support, which has helped me improve my home and provide for my family's basic needs."

"The most life-changing aspect of the GiveDirectly transfer for me was being able to construct a comfortable place for my children to sleep. This will greatly enhance their quality of life once it is finished. In addition to this, I was able to use the funds to buy sufficient food for my family and pay off a longstanding debt. I am thrilled and deeply appreciative of the assistance, which has brought immense joy to our lives and considerably raised our living standards."

"I am a bit aged and I live alone. I do casual jobs for survival and it is a challenge getting a job every day. This has caused me go without food for sometimes. Neighbours have also been assisting me with food sometimes. This is the challenge I am facing in life."