"My day starts at 7 in the morning when I go to fetch water from a water pan that takes me 1 hour before I come back. Thereafter, I take my ax ready to go to the bush for my charcoal work. I usually spend the better part of my afternoon hours in the bush and I only come back home at around 2 o'clock when I am fully exhausted. It is in the evening when I have maximum time to relax and share our meal with the children, a moment that I find myself so happy. Therefore, the evening becomes the happiest part of my day."

"Leading my young family to bed with empty stomachs was the biggest hardship I have faced in my life. It was the year 2019 when we were faced with long drought thus leading to loss of both crops and water in our area. I felt devastated about this but I had to feel the pinch since I had no other alternative to support my family."

"I will want to buy goats and a water pump for my tomato farming"

"I greatly thank God and GiveDirectly for timely support. Receiving this money means that my onion farming project shall improve immensely. I will utilize the money in purchasing and installing water pipes and pump on my farm irrigating my farms. Accordingly, I look forward to huge harvests as opposed to my usual practice of relying on the unpredictable rains in our area."

"Receiving this money mean I will be able to live a comfortable and healthy life. I live in a grass thatched house and tapping rain water is impossible yet we experience prolonged period of drought. Currently, I am buying clean water for domestic use which costs Ksh 10 daily which is costly yet I walk for approximately 1 kilometer to get it from a different village. My intention is to build an iron sheet roofed house of approximately Ksh 30,000 and water tank of approximately Ksh 15,000. I will be able to get clean water during rainy season and thus improving my health as well."

"Getting water for domestic use is a real challenge in this area. My wife walks for 5 km to and fro just to get a 20-liter Jerry can of water from a nearby water point. The most depressing bit is that she carries the same on her back making her so exhausted at the end of the day considering that she has to go for it 3-4 times daily. That means she spends the entire day fetching water instead of engaging in much more productive activities.The only thing I can do is to sympathize with her because I can not afford to buy a water tank to store this precious commodity. All this is brought about by prolonged seasons of drought that hit this region."

"My daily routine encompasses getting sufficient feeds such as nappier grass and sugarcane for my 3 cattle in the morning after milking them. I then head to the river 4 km away with my donkeys to fetch water for domestic use. I usually sell milk in the afternoon to my clients who usually come for them at this time. Evening is usually the happiest part of my day and also a resting time for me after counting success from my earlier activities"

"I suffered stroke some 18 years ago that rendered my left arm half lame. This makes it difficult to produce enough out of my charcoal burning job. On average I make 2000 shillings a month, an amount that is supposed to meet all our needs. Since this area is drought stricken, we buy everything including water. Recently, my wife was taken back to her maternal home because I haven't completed dowry payment. All these are results of financial constraint which is my biggest hardship."

"My day is always busy and tiresome one because when I wake up, I fetch water from a water pan that is 5 kilometers away from home. On arrival, I take my ax ready to go to the bush to do my charcoal business until noon when I come back to take my first meal if it's available. It is only in the evening when I have ample time to relax as I take my dinner which re-energizes me for the next day's work."

"Getting water for domestic use has been an uphill task for me. I have a younger family, zero grazed cattle and chicken that needs water on a regular basis. The distance to the water point is very far and to be able to fetch water, I usually hire a motorcycle or donkey to transport it for me. This is so expensive in the long run since I have to like fetch water on a daily basis."