"I was displaced by the banditry that happen in the Mochongoi area sometime in 2020, so we moved to this new area because of the insecurity. I am a mother of 2 boys and they depend on me solely to fend for them since I separated from my husband in 2018. I am completely hapless and misery stricken. Life is hard for me. Lately, there is a serious scarcity of water in this place, I am forced to go long distances about 5 Km away to fetch water otherwise I am forced to buy at $0.40 which is high and sometimes unaffordable."

"This village of ours as you can see is very dry, it has been three years since we got enough rains. As a result, there is a water shortage and no crops can be planted. I last planted crops three years ago. There are irrigation plots in our village, but they require hiring, and I don't have any money for that. I sometimes go without meals because I only occasionally make $3 in casual labor, which is insufficient to pay for food for both my mother and me. I feel bad for having to go without food because I don't have anything to prepare. Since I need money for food and there is occasional casual work for me to do, I am faced with a challenge that I cannot overcome.."

"Having dropped from school at early age has pushed me to ensure my children get quality education. Taking them to a private school is costly but worth it even though it is an uphill task. My husband and I depend on farming to earn a living but the proceeds are unreliable. Sometimes we lack money and we are left with arrears. Receiving this money will mean paying school fees for the the whole year for them. It will make them stay in school full-time which will improve on their performance. The remaining money will go into purchasing a water tank to harvest rain water for future use. I am delighted to be lucky and change my life using this money."

"Due to the prolonged drought we have been experiencing, both water and food are now scarce. It took me longer to find a new job when I lost my one as a driver. I was forced to work any odd jobs I could find in the village because my family depends on me. It has been difficult to raise money to meet my family's demands because they are unreliable and I made less money from them. I spent $58 of the most recent cash, which I received, on both food and water. In addition, my house is dusty since the walls are constructed of mud and the rain has washed a bigger part of it off thus weakening them. I purchased a $10 ballast for the same since I intend to plaster it. I'm delighted I just got a new job since the money I'll get from it will let me finish plastering the house."

"I bought a motorcycle in hire purchase and delight solar, and I aim to clear their payments. The motorcycle makes life a little bit more bearable for me by assisting with my commute to work operations. I would occasionally use it to fetch water for the family. I picked it up in October of last year, and since I anticipate some payment next month, I want to clear the payment by the end of March 2023. Because delight solar has been giving my family enough lighting, I feel good having it around. My other goal is to keep livestock after I finish paying my motorcycle loan. They are priceless and can support my family when we run into trouble."

"I was gathering water from the river about 4:30 p.m. when I got a message from GiveDirectly. I was relieved to discover that it was the transfer I had anticipated upon reading it. Despite the fact that I was told during enrollment that I should expect it in January, I was pleased that it arrived a month sooner and added to the specialness of our Christmas. I told my firstborn son, who was overjoyed, and the next day we went to the nearby Koriema shopping mall to pick it up together."

"Living with my two grandsons has made it difficult for me to provide them with enough food because your fields are not fruitful. Upon receiving the initial transfer, I spent $52 on a sack of maize and $15 on other household necessities, such as rice that we still use now, cooking oil, salt, and sugar. I also had to renovate my current home, which required spending $35 on five bags of cement, $27 on sand and water, and $18 on labor. Now that there is no dust in my home, cleaning it is simple. Additionally, I spent $12 for a feature phone and gave my son $10 for personal purposes. I also needed to build a fence around my property, so I spent $44 on 23 poles. The limited sum that was left over I set aside for my personal upkeep."

"On the day I received the transfer, I was stressed out due to the lack of money to buy the next meal. I had nothing at hand. Upon receipt of my transfer, I sent $36 through a mobile money transfer to our local shopkeeper at our Korma Shopping Centre for foodstuff. Words couldn't express my gratitude. I was elated with joy. I depend on irrigation water on my farm and this had been stopped for a while. I also paid $50 to buy a sewing machine that'd help me start my own business. I have five children, I spent $80 to buy clothes for them, and the remaining amount was saved to help with our daily upkeep. This would have been impossible before because of school fees responsibility on my husband and me. I'm thankful to GiveDirectly for the support which has uplifted my family."

"If I receive the transfer, I plan to pay school fees for my 3 children. I expect to use $500 to settle their school fees. In this village we have water problem. To ensure I have enough water for my family, I plan to buy a water tank. It will cost me $300. This means I will have safe drinking water for my family. For security, I plan to buy 5 goats. I will rear the goats and sell them when there's need. Since we also lack enough food, I will spend $60 to buy a bag of maize. We'll then have enough food for 2 months."

"Our place is dry and water is so scarce. Someone has to trek for 5 kilometers to find water in the borehole. I am not able to cover such distance because of my old age, I, therefore, buy from water vendors. It is against this backdrop that I intend to purchase a water tank for water harvesting to save me from the trouble of looking for water. I plan to purchase a water tank worth $ 250, this will be a major reprieve for me, I am so elated about the idea and looking forward to fulfilling the dream of owning a water tank that has eluded me for a long now since I could not afford.I am eternally grateful for the help from GiveDirectly. I will use the rest of the money to purchase foodstuffs."