"Hunger is the biggest challenge in my house. I have 2 boys who are in university and 2 in their 4th year secondary school. Raising school fees for my children and at the same time feeding my family is a big challenge to me .I spend many days without food in my house. I depend on charcoal burning business which does not permanently sustain the needs of my house. Getting water for my house is also a bigger challenge because all the water pans we used to depend on dried up and now I buy water from motorcycle water venders which is too expensive to me. 1 jerican of water cost 100 KES which is too expensive to afford ."

"Financial instability has always challenged me. I have five kids in primary school but they are at home because of the fee balances at school. Getting food and water is a problem I have to walk 10 kilometers to get saltwater that I use to drink. I have to pay to get fresh water and food for my family. I have to spend the little money I get and save nothing."

"Prolonged drought is the biggest hardship I am experiencing. It has been 6 months without any signs of rain. This has affected me negatively because spend a lot of money on water purchase. In a day I spend 350 KES for water. This has hindered me from meeting my other basic needs such a school fees living my 2 sons with huge school fees balances."

"Owning a decent and well furnished house is what receiving this money means to me. My spouse and I built this house about six years ago, but due to the kind of low quality materials that was used, it started to depreciate very early. Two years ago, we started experiencing leakage from the roof and some parts of the wall have fallen due to the heavy storms and water. We have to spread out our cooking utensils and change the position of our matress every time it rains. I feel very sad every time we are faced with this situation because my children always have sleepless nights in the cold which sometimes makes them sick. I intend to use a portion of this cash transfer to construct a decent and more spacious house that will be able to accommodate us. I will use the rest to buy new mattresses and furnitures to make it look more beautiful and attractive."

"Construction of a new house was a the top of my spending list when I withdrew my transfer. I had been living in a single hut that was too old that it always allowed drips of water from the roof whenever it rained. This was not conducive for my two children who were always affected by a common cold. I had to purchase 22 iron sheets, building poles, nails and also paid the labor charges for the construction work that cost a total of KES35000. I also invested KES6000 in a goat that I am currently rearing with a plan to sell in the future. With the remaining amount, I obtained a sack of maize at KES3500, new bedding and clothing at KES5000, and also settled all the debts I had. I am glad that I managed to do a lot that I am proud of and looking forward to the second transfer that will enable me to obtain a lactating cow for my family."

"The Scarity of food and water is the biggest challenge that I am currently facing. This is due to the prolonged drought that we are experiencing in our area. I buy four of 20 liters jerricans of water per day at a cost of KES 40 each. This is very costly for me since I have to buy food every for my family of Considering my little income of KES 500 per week from charcoal work, it can not fully support all household needs and we sometimes skip meals or borrow from relatives."

"I am happy to have been enrolled in this program. We have wanted for along time to own a water tank for use as a reservoir for storing clean water for domestic use. It has not been possible because of lack of funds. The water we use are so dirty, contaminated and unreliable in supply. Many a times we have suffered waterborne diseases like typhoid and amoebiasis. Our teeth is even discoloured because the said water is full of fluoride. It is for these reasons that we plan to purchase a 5000 litre water tank worth KES 35000. The rest of the money will be used to establish a poultry unit."

"After withdrawing the money I took KES 15000.00 and paid school fees for my grand child who is in college so that he can concentrate in his studies. I also took KES 2000.00 and paid for my primary school grand children. Since our area has some hardship in sourcing for some water I opted to buy a water tank with a capacity of 1000 liters for KES 2000.00. I saved the remaining amount buying time for the climate to change so that I can purchase some goats. I decided to halt because it’s too dry and my grazing land is limited."

""I had been having problems with my eyes for a period of time but fortunately for me it was removed for me by the government hospital for free in June of this year! For me this was a huge burden because my eyes were constantly leaking waterinf and I really struggling to see. Therefore, this incident has been my most joyous moments in the past six months since it saved me for a huve expensive!""

"Last month I received food donation from national government through our assistant chief. I received 40 kg and 20 kgs of beans. The food lasted my family for three weeks. This borough me joy and happiness because I saved KES 300 which I spend daily for purchase of food and water for my household of seven members."