"I am a housewife and I have long depended on my husband who took an early retirement after having been diagnosed with spinal cord problems. This has left him jobless at home and we normally depend on his monthly pension which is usually $150. A good amount of this money goes on paying hospital bills because he uses medicines which cost him the utmost $60. The remaining amount clears our electricity and water bills leaving us with nothing for food. Hence, I consider the lack of a reliable source of income as my biggest challenge."

"Upon receiving my initial transfer, I made a deliberate choice to allocate the funds towards settling a long-overdue debt. The soaring inflation in our country had made it increasingly difficult for me to repay this debt. As someone who relies on poultry keeping and goat rearing for my livelihood, every penny counted. Currently, I live alone, having parted ways with my wife many years ago, and my children have all grown up. With the $50 I received from the transfer, I promptly paid off the debt that had been looming over me. Subsequently, I utilized $15 to purchase medicine for my goat, ensuring its health and well-being. Moreover, I allocated $70 to acquire a sack of maize, a crucial staple, and an additional $16 for other essential food supplies. These accomplishments have filled my heart with profound gratitude, contentment, and an overwhelming sense of happiness."

"I have had a bad flu due to the weather that has been with me about a month now. I used my June transfers to try and seek treatment for this. I spent $10 at the hospital to see the doctor and used an additional $7.5 to get medicine. My transport to the hospital was $2.5. I also spent part of my April transfer to clear a debt I had acquired at hospital after breaking my arm at $5. I have also since relocated to the city to look for work and whenever I get this money I send a portion home for food and school fees for my younger siblings. To cover food in April I sent $15, in May $10 and June $14. For school I bought unform worth $10 in May, and I spent $8 for school fees in April."

"In the month of April I bought a sheep worth $40 but since I did not want to spend my entire transfer on purchasing the animals I made a down payment of $20 to the sheep seller and afterwards added another $20 from my May transfers to clear the balance. The cash I was left with April I spent $4 for my child's school fees and $10 on food. In May I bought a chicken worth $4 and chicken feed worth $2 for my other 5 chicken and I also spent $8 buying food. In the month of June I got a mattress, mine was worn out and not in the best position. I got a mattress worth $25 and I also bought medicine for my goat as well at $7.5 and I got some sugar for tea even as my child goes to school to get something for breakfast."

"At the age of 84 years, one is expected to have settled and no more hard work to engage in due to being old. This is not the case with me because I am still actively engaged in some tasks like charcoal work to earn money for our upkeep. What a life! The sole reason is the fact that I do not have a person to depend on. To make the matter worse, I have my daughter who is epileptic and she is required to take medicines every day. Although we are given these medicines for free, the challenge is the transport cost to Kilifi town where we usually collect them. This has pushed me to venture into this business despite my old age. In addition, forfeiting meals has become our routine, a situation that has continuously made us weak. Hence, the financial instability in my household is what I consider to be my biggest challenge."

"I used to have the challenge of childbearing for about 2 years. It had weighed down on me, I was so stressed and pained. In our society when a woman does not bear a child is frowned upon, it is a disgrace and I had carried that tag of disgrace for long. I was on the verge of having wrangles, especially with the inlaws. I had gone to several hospitals but with little success and that is when I resorted to traditional medicine that eventually brought a breakthrough culminating in giving birth to our firstborn daughter, Jepkemoi. I gave birth to her in January, it was a momentous and defining moment for our family, I was over the moon. The feeling and the mood was out of this world. I am forever grateful to God for the blessing He bestowed upon me."

"My health has failed me and it has been disturbing me for sometime now. I have asthma that has weighed me down and derailed me from leading a normal life. I am an early childhood education teacher and sometimes I am not able to attend to my duty whenever I feel so sick. It breaks my heart a lot since the children I teach bear the greatest brunt, I feel for them and it worries me a lot. I have attended several hospitals but I have not been able to recover well. I had resorted to traditional medicine though there has been little improvement."

"The aspect that is making my life harder currently is sickness. Over the past few months I was diagnosed with typhoid and I have not recovered well despite the medicine that I received. This has been made worse by the lack of food in my house and since I have to work to eat I have been forced to go hungry without food. I have to struggle to walk for about 3 kilometers to where my daughter is married to get food to cook which is made worse by my current condition."

"The first thing I did after getting the transfer was pay my medical bill. This is because I was admitted at the hospital and was completely aware of the conditions before my release. In addition, I purchased enough food for a few weeks because I was aware that I needed to always eat healthily in order to heal rapidly. I used the remaining money to purchase a goat to raise. I believe that making this investment will pay off during a time of crisis. I spent $7 on food, $5 on medicine, $4 on a goat, and the remaining $2 on a bar of soap and transportation from the medical facility from the $18 that I was given."

"For over a decade, I have been grappling with a chronic ailment known as high blood pressure. Throughout this period, I have diligently managed my health condition by relying on complimentary medications provided by government hospitals. However, a recent incident occurred while I was en route to collect my medicine. I suddenly felt lightheaded, lost my balance, and suffered a severe injury to my knee. Ever since, my knee has been swollen, adversely impacting my overall well-being. When I consulted the doctor at the hospital, they demanded an exorbitant fee of $180 for my treatment, which unfortunately exceeds my financial means. I reside with my daughter-in-law, and our financial support relies solely on my son, who works as a casual laborer in the town. Despite our concerted efforts, we were unable to gather the necessary funds. Consequently, I resorted to traditional remedies while relying on painkillers to alleviate the discomfort. Fortunately, the monthly stipend I receive from Give Directly has provided valuable financial assistance, enabling me to purchase the necessary medications that help me cope with my condition while I wait to accumulate the required funds for specialized treatment."