"One of the greatest challenges we face in this region is persistent drought. This makes it hard for us to get safe drinking water. I walk for up to 6 kilometers in search of this important commodity. After getting it, I have no other means of carrying it home other than on my back. I make 6 trips in a day to get enough that can last me the whole day. This leaves me with a lot of backaches that usually give me sleepless nights. I have thought of relocating to another area all together but it is too expensive since it involves buying land. All that there is to do is to persevere and hope that one day this challenge will be a thing of the past."

"I live in an area where it experiences low rainfall yearly. We are constantly hit by droughts that go for even 4 months. This leaves me with the heaviest burden of finding water to use. I am forced to walk for close to 4 kilometers to access it and I carry it on my back using a 20 liter Jerry Can. I have to make 4-5 trips in a day to get enough that can sustain me the whole day. What is depressing is the fact that this water is not even safe for drinking and we have to walk further to get drinking water. I waste a lot of time doing this and lack time to focus on what is important for the family."

"I had once fall when I was fetching water. Which led to an injury on my left hand. Since then, I have never fully recovered from it because I did not get the required medical attention due to lack of money to cover these costs. What is even worse is that I have to do manual jobs like tilling and weeding to meet the needs of my family. Doing these activities makes the pain worse. But since I do not have any other source of income, I am forced to engage in this to earn as little as shillings 250 at the end of each day. Without this injury, am sure that I would be more productive and may earn a little more. This is the biggest hardship I have faced."

"The evening is the happiest part of my day because it is at this time when I get maximum time to relax from my tiresome day's activities. Unlike in the morning and afternoon hours which I spend them doing farm work, fetching water, and cooking; activities which drain much of my energy."

"The biggest hardship I have ever faced in my life is the starvation that was brought by long drought in our area. We lost the most basic needs to the drought. As a the head of my family, I used to go far to collect water and later on again go look for food for the family. We went without food several days that season besides the hardship of searching for. I was deeply depressed and tired of the life of that season but couldn't do anything to change it."

"As a housewife, I am entitled to do more of the household chores without any complain. This means spending the morning hours fetching water from a distance of 8 kilometers from home. When I am back, I prepare my first meal for the day if it is available before I join my husband in the bush where he is working;(doing charcoal burning). It is only in the evening when I get ample time to rest in my bed, and I usually get more re-energized for the next day's work. Therefore, I consider the evening as the happiest part of my day."

"Receiving this money will enable me to construct a new kitchen costing $300 since the one we currently operate in is in deplorable condition; leaking in water whenever it rains. I will also use $300 to buy one Ayrshire dairy cow. I will spend $150 to renovate my house and buy household furniture. The remaining part of my transfer will enable me to clear school fees arrears for my son who is in his final year at Kenya Medical Training College."

"The biggest hardship we have faced in life is prolonged drought in our region. This has led to low crop production and lack of water for domestic use (for home consumption and cattle). Even though we have tapped water from the county government, it is expensive to pay for it and not reliable since at times we don't get it. We are planning to use Ksh 30,000 to buy more pipes and water tanks to assist us in irrigating our one acre of land and use the rest in equipping our business."

"Food security has been my biggest hardship. Getting food has been a challenge because I have to purchase food to feed the family. The little I harvest from my farm can only last for 4 months. This is on a good season. Sometimes I hardly get food from my farm. Lack of rains and sometimes floods leaves me with nothing to feed my children. I am forced to do casual jobs; which are rare to find ,in order to get money to buy food. Lack of water for domestic use worsens the situation. We go looking for water in very far places. Life is really tough."

"The biggest hardship I have faced in life is the prolonged droughts that usually hit our area. As an enthusiastic farmer who depends on natural rains only, I have been realizing poor yields from my 3-acre farm. Besides, I have been spending substantial amounts of time and energy while fetching water for my livestock and domestic uses since I do not have piped water and yet the nearest river is about 3kms away."