"My homestead sits on a 0.5-acre piece of land and that means I have no space for any agricultural activity. I work as a cook at Kimatisio secondary school where I earn $50 every month. This money is not enough to pay school fees for my 3 children leave alone buy a piece of land. I desire to expand my piece of land to allow for more space for farming. I intend to spend $800 to buy 0.2 acres from my neighbor so that I can grow cabbages. I like cabbages because schools buy them at good prices of $0.2 per piece. This will enable me easily raise school fees for my children"

"I used to own a small fast food restaurant in the village a few months ago. Finding water, which is necessary for cooking the food and washing the utensils, posed the biggest challenge to running the business. I eventually shut the store down because I was incurring significant losses by purchasing water at exorbitant prices. My income from my job as a househelp in Mombasa Town is currently insufficient to meet the needs of my family. When I got the money, it gave me a huge financial boost because I had to spend $10 to cover my three primary school-aged children's past-due school fees. As a result, they were shielded from being ousted for failing to pay their school fees. In addition, I spent $16 on food. This was sufficient to ensure that my family would have food for the forthcoming two weeks. I finally paid $8 for medical attention for my painful tooth. I had a severe toothache that kept me from working for more than two days. I'm doing fine, and I'm glad that it was removed."

"I have a lot of challenges with family income which is always hardly enough to take care of our needs like I have explained to you. But I can remember in the month of July I managed to burn charcoal and got six sacs that my husband took and sold for me in Kilifi town where they could attract better prices. Here in the village at the moment a sac goes for $2 while over there it's $5. So I got a total of $30 that really boosted that month's budget. I was genuinely happy because I could comfortably feed my children throughout the month."

"I spent a significant amount of my transfers on food. For $22, I bought twelve packets of 2 kg maize flour. Buying food in large quantities was sufficient to guarantee that my family wouldn't go hungry. I get paid commission each time I successfully sell livestock at the market. The severe drought that started two years ago has had a significant impact on my job. There aren't many animals available for sale at the market, and the few that are sell for low prices due to their poor condition from lack of access to grass. I currently make $2 a day on average, which is insufficient to fully support my family's needs. It was a good idea to purchase the food so that I could focus on earning more money to provide for my family's next meal. I used the $12 left over to purchase a goat in addition to food. This will help me increase my herd of six goats and bring in money. In an emergency, I'll sell some of them and use the proceeds to deal with my issues."

"When I came to Galana in March, to work at a food point, I left my two children in the custody of my mother back in the village. Every month I send her $25 to buy food and pay school fees for the children. However, given the high food prices, the amount barely takes them throughout the month. This leaves my mother calling me frequently to complain about the children having nothing to eat. Sometimes, I wash people's clothes after work to support my family because my salary is not enough. So, the first thing I did when I received the transfer was to send home $13 for my children's school fees and $11 for food. To date, no complaint has been raised again and I could never be more relieved. I set aside the remaining transfer amount to buy myself food to last me until my next payday."

"I spent a large portion of my transfer on food. I don't have the energy to work and support myself because I am very old. My son, a retired teacher, provides financial support for me. Due to a lack of employment, he has had difficulty providing food for the family in recent months. We are now forced to purchase food from the stores at very high prices because the severe effects of the drought have made it impossible to grow and harvest crops on the farm. I chose to buy food in bulk so that my son, who had incisively searched for a job for a full week without finding one, would not have to bear the heavy burden. Along with food purchases, I also made a $10 hospital bill payment. I got sick and was quickly admitted to the hospital. I was able to receive treatment at the hospital thanks in large part to the money from the transfer."

"I can't fit my entire family in my grass-thatched shelter (wife and four children). This year, my main objective is to make sure I have enough money saved from my subsequent transfers to purchase ironsheets, building poles, and nails that will help me build a new house. After constructing a house, I also want to purchase some livestock. The devastating effects of the drought have rendered our farms no longer productive. By engaging in livestock farming, I will have a different source of income that I can use to earn a living through selling the livestock later on at higher prices."

"I spent my most recent transfers on paying fees, buying a goat, and buying food for my family. Being dependent on subsistence farming which has not been doing well, I had to buy food daily to ensure that my family enjoys three meals a day. I usually do manual jobs and the construction of local houses and it is at times difficult to get such jobs. With the general increase in prices of foodstuffs, it was difficult to fulfill my family's basic needs adequately, like food. I am happy that the transfers have been helpful in ensuring food is available, and I have been able to save some money from my casual jobs, to pay fees for my children. I also managed to buy a goat which I am currently keeping. I now have three goats, which to me are savings for the future of my children's education. In addition, my children are comfortable in school, courtesy of the transfers, having paid their fees on time. I am at peace because this has given me ample time to save and prepare for the next payment."

"My husband, who does odd jobs like gardening and delivering water, is our only source of support. The job is inconsistent, and occasionally he waits a week before receiving one. He has found it difficult to satisfy our demands as a result, particularly since that food prices have increased as a result of the protracted drought. I paid a $20 examination fee for my four children with the last three transfers, and fortunately, they were permitted to take their end-of-year primary exams. $74 I used to buy food so that my family could eat for a while. I appreciate the help because it has made our lives better."

"My motorcycling business has not been picking up well since the number of customers who can afford the service has tremendously reduced. Mostly, the service is preferred by those people who work from Mombasa town and only visit the village during the weekend or end month. Nowadays, instead of visiting, these individuals choose to send cash back home through mobile money to save them the transport fare. This in turn costs me potential clients. With such challenges, the most I can get from the business is $2 on a good day. This money barely provides anything beyond food for my family of nine people (my wife and seven children). As such, am afraid it will be difficult to save enough funds for the incoming Christmas season which usually bears its share of rapidly increasing commodity prices. To avoid the last-minute pressure, I aim to start planning for the celebrations as early as now. So I used $30 for celebratory foodstuffs like wheat flour, rice, sugar, and cooking oil. I spent the remaining amount to refuel my motorcycle because it had run empty and I had not earned anything the previous day."