"In order to avoid having to travel too far for water, I intend to expand my farming operations and pipe water from the nearby primary school, which has a borehole, to my homestead. This is my plan with the last transfer that I will receive from Give Directly and hopefully have things easier for me and my family."

"Working as a herb doctor, the income I make is mostly enough for providing basic needs like school fees and food for my wife and two children. There is nothing much I could do with the earnings beyond the essentials. It is due to this reason that I have not been able to install a water tank, an idea that was born from the water scarcity in my region. Having the water tank will mean that I can harvest and store rainwater for a long period. My goal is to install an underground tank with a capacity of at least 5000 liters. "

"Our reliance on subsistence farming, which was hampered by terrible weather conditions, and the motorcycle taxi services my husband provided had never provided us with sufficient income to satisfy all of our financial responsibilities. Crop cultivation has failed repeatedly for the past year due to a shortage of rainfall, forcing my family of five to rely on buying foodstuff. I cleared the $40 school fee arrears for my twins, who are currently in nursery school, as soon as I received the first transfer. It was a relief because they were no longer forced to stay at home owing to a lack of school payments. I also built a raised foundation for my water tank outside my house to collect rainwater from the roof. The higher base prevents rainfall from splashing and contaminating the pure water in the tank, which we have always been forced to dump. I spent $14 for two bags of cement and $5 for labor. In addition, I paid $61 for a sack of maize, which we are still eating, and I kept the remainder to cover any emergencies and refill any depleted household products."

"For a long time, I relied entirely on casual labor to supplement my income, while my husband worked as a rider providing motorcycle taxi service after acquiring a motorcycle on loan. Since starting the work, the majority of his earnings had gone toward repaying the $4 daily to the motorcycle seller, and he was unlikely to come home with any extra cash. Casual work on my side had been hard to come by, particularly during the dry season, and all our expectations rested on the first transfer after enrollment. Buying enough food for my family of three was an issue given our limited funds. I paid $90 for a sack of maize, 5 kg of dry beans, a carton of milk with 12 packets, sugar, tea leaves, and salt. We have been eating hearty meals without missing a beat since then. I also spent $30 on two goats that I hope will assist us with milk production in the future and whose offspring will be useful in an emergency. In addition, I needed gutters to gather rainwater from the roof, so I purchased two for $16. Despite the fact that I don't have enough collecting materials, I hope to purchase enough gutters to surround the roof in the future. I used the rest of the money to purchase a $2 rechargeable torch to supplement the solar lighting system we were using, as well as $2 toiletries. I am grateful for the support that I received and look forward to accomplishing much with the second transfer."

"The biggest challenge we face presently is the openness of our compound. Livestock belonging to neighbours can enter our compound freely. The fence is not well reinforced. This has led to destruction of our crops and vegetables. This has really affected our ability to grow. We have piped water which could have relieved us the burden of buying most of our household items. Having good fencing around our compound could help a lot."

"In the past six months, I have drawn my happiness mainly from the rains that came a few weeks ago. It has been 3 years since we had enough rain which has led to the death of livestock and a lack of food for us. However, with the rains, it means that we will have enough pasture and water for our livestock and food for us. This has greatly delighted me."

"I have never had peace of mind for the past two years due to debts. Due to the distance, we cover to fetch water, we borrowed $800 from a microfinance bank to purchase a motorbike for transporting it. We have repaid only $200 and raising the full amount has been a challenge for us. My husband is the breadwinner and is employed as a cobbler in a nearby town. His income is unpredictable hence we have not been consistent in repaying the loan."

"I spent part of my recent transfer on buying a second-hand motorcycle, which cost $380. After having a long discussion with my spouse, we agreed that owning the motorcycle will be a relief to us, especially when transporting our business items, ferrying our children to school, and hauling water from the dams. Initially, I used to rent from my neighbours, which was relatively expensive. I also used the remaining amount of money to revive my hotel business, which I used to operate some time ago. Initially, I was using most of the little earnings that I was obtaining to cater for my family's basic needs. As a result, I had to close the hotel, which turned the situation even worse. My three children could go without meals, and they were sent home regularly because of the arrears, which affected their performance terribly. Therefore, after purchasing enough stock and expanding it, I am thankful because my family has never lacked any of their needs."

"Besides securing food for my family, my focus is currently on renovating the roof of my house. Over the period, the iron sheets have rusted and developed perforations, which am afraid may allow water into the space when it rains. Therefore, in the next year, I plan to have revamped the roof. I started by buying an iron sheet using part of a recent cash transfer. Since I do not have any other stable source of income, I plan to continue securing at least a piece every month until I have 22 pieces, then hire someone to install them. "

"As my family’s breadwinner, I make and sell charcoal to provide for their daily needs, particularly school fees for the five children, and food. The drought in my region has intensified hardships since we are forced to buy food and water, things that could be easily harvested through the rain. Moreover, the rising commodity and service prices have reduced the ability of the little money I make to cover more needs. This has forced me to spend most of my cash transfers on satisfying the household essentials. From the recent cash, I used $19 to clear tuition debts for four of my children. At least am relieved they will never miss a class until they break for their holidays. I spent the remaining amount, $15 to boost the little food that was left in the house. Gladly, it has provided my family with enough meals to date. "