"I am hoping to start up a business ( selling fresh tap water). I believe that once I will acquire enough cash to purchase all the needful materials for the connection and installation, my life will transform even better. First, the water will not only be for commercial purposes but also domestic usage. I have been trekking long distances to fetch water which has been tiring as well as affecting my spinal cord."

"What came to my mind once I heard about the arrival of GiveDirectly in our village, was to own a decent house. Imagine sleeping in a house whose walls are collapsing! This makes me spend sleepless nights due to the fear of being buried alive. With this money, I intend to spend a better portion of it,($800) to construct a 3 bed-roomed house. This will restore my joy since I will have the opportunity to welcome my visitors as well as live a peaceful life. On the hand, I will spend the remaining amount ($200) to install some underground water pipes to my home, to have easy access to clean water like my neighbors. Therefore, this is basically what receiving this money means to me."

"For six years now, the swelling of Lake Bogoria has brought instability to this area. Apart from displacing households, breeding grounds for mosquitoes and tsetse flies, and impassable roads it also limits pasture for livestock from growing. We are delighted that three months ago, the water levels went down and we can comfortably move around at the same time have enough feeds for our livestock. This has brought happiness to us."

"My village has never had rain for the past three years now. This has resulted in famine and drought. Sometimes I walk for almost 7kms looking for water from water pans which are also not clean for a drink. The famine has made me cut the number of meals per day. The family takes two meals per day. My children are always on and off of school due to lack of fees. All this happenings makes me feel unhappy all the time. The only thing that gives me happiness isn't the gift of life given to me by God every day despite all the challenges."

"My new goal is to invest in livestock specifically goats. I chose goats over cows because goats can survive without water for a longer time compared to cows. Through this investment, I will be able to cater to my children's education. The aim of investing in goats is that they are cheap to maintain and they have read markets since they are affordable and thus can be converted to monetary value anytime the need arises."

"I have a such a big family of nine members; five children and three grandchildren. Out of the five children, one is a daughter who was married but separated with her husband and now she's here with her three children. Feeding them is a big problem mainly because I do not have a big income that can pay school fees for the rest of my children and still buy food regularly. I work as a cook in a nearby high school earning $75 monthly, and additional $25 from shared revenues collected from particular rental units that our husband left for his three wives. Again because of the big number of people in my house, we use 120 litres of water daily and this costs a total of $3."

"As a family, we depend of farming for a living. However, climate change has awfully implicated the economic activities in the area since the seasonal river Waseges have dried up over the past 2 years therefore hindering irrigation on the farms. We gave up farming to concentrate on charcoal burning because the losses we incurred were heart wrecking.For now, my family of 3 use stagnant water for the household , which sadly, is a predisposing factor to diseases. The profit we earn from the charcoal business all caters for the food for the household and we can not afford to purchase a 20litre jerrican of water at $1 from the Loboi centre."

"Waseges river which originates from the Subukia hills is a source of relief for people in Metibelion area because it drains into Oxbow lake in the village. However, it is seasonal and one cannot rely on it often for agriculture or household use. For instance, in the past 2 years, I sowed maize on the 1acre land that I leased on the river banks but I never harvested. Even though the crops were doing well for the first 2months, the river dried up and we had no water to irrigate the farm as we bared the losses. Currently, my family of 4 source water from Loboi centre which is somewhat expensive as a jerrican of 20liters retails at $0.2.It pains me to buy a basic commodity from the savings that I could have otherwise used towards food for the household."

"Since we are faced with water scarcity in our area, I developed a goal towards the same and I plan to see it coming to pass. The next move that I aim to accomplish is to fix fresh tap water at my home. Currently, we have to move to a longer distance of almost 90 minutes to get to a water point. Apart from the distance, it is also expensive to buy some water every day. From my boutique business, I make some savings to accomplish the same probably before the year ends."

"I have a family of three and we are living in a three-room house with mud walls and an earthen floor. The roof is an iron sheet. The house has dust and it is semi-permanent. Living in a semi-permanent house is worrying me everyday. I will use $ 500 to change my house from muddy to a permanent house. This money will cater for 20 bags of cement, sand, water, and labor. I will also use $ 300 to buy 6 goats as an investment. My grandchild who is at primary school will use this investment as school fees when he joins the secondary school. He is now in class seven. I am happy for the program."