"For the longest time now, I have been saving a small portion of my transfers so that I could eventually have enough money to join college, which will allow me to help provide for myself in the future. I have so far managed to save more than half of the amount that I need, so I'm closer than I imagined. This means that by the end of the year, I will have officially begun my masonry course. Furthermore, I will also use another part of the transfers to help pay for my sister's tuition, who happens to be in high school, because my mom cannot do it all by herself since my sister's full tuition is quite high. Lastly, I also intend to speak on poultry farming for commercial benefit before the end of the year, and at the moment I have begun building the shed." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"Sometime last month my husband was involved in a motorcycle accident that broke his hand. He is indisposed and still under medication, he hardly uses his hand to do any work.He used to engage in casual jobs and at the time of the accident he was coming from Kapkwen market where he was from doing the casual job. He is incapacitated and this has deprived us of our daily bread since he is our breadwinner.There has been some slight improvement after undergoing treatment at Longisa Referral Hospital but he is still recuperating at home awaiting the next appointment."

"My biggest challenge is money. Because of no money, i fail to feed and clothe my family. My husband does a bicycle taxi business but it's tricky here in the village because people just walk and not pay for transport. He comes home with maybe a dollar or 50 cents and that's what we use to buy food with. It's not enough for out family hence living in poverty." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"My family is surviving without the most essential needs like food, clothing, and access to quality education for my child. This is all caused by lack of finances in my household. I am employed to work as a motorcycle taxi operator by a friend but the job pays as little as $2 a day. What can $2 buy for a family of four in this hard economy? I have the desire to start egg vending business where I will be buying them in the village for $0.1 and sell in Nairobi for $0.5 each. I have lived in Nairobi and I even have customers on the ground. I plan to inject t $200 into this business as I observe how it goes. I am hopeful that it will grow and turn the fortunes of my family in 2 years to come."

"I the upcoming year I will like to complete my house and buy new motorbike which will enable me run traffic and sustain my family and I." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"I have a serious roof leak in my small, run-down house. My entire family can no longer fit in this house because of its diminutive size (wife and three children). The only thing covering the tiny house are some rusty, five-iron sheets. As a motorcycle rider, I can make up to $2.5–$3 per day. This money is insufficient to meet the needs of my family, so I am unable to set aside some to build a large, roomy home that can house everyone. I therefore spent $30 to purchase four pieces of iron sheeting when I recently received my transfers. My long-term goal of constructing a decent home for my family has finally come true. The last $4 I had was used to purchase two packets of maize flour for my family. This made sure that my family wouldn't go without food because there wasn't enough money to buy more maize flour." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"My vegetable vending job collapsed 3 months ago because I spent the capital to pay my mother's hospital bill. This has compelled me to stay idle at home, a situation that has forced me to depend on my husband who is a motorbike taxi. His daily income is usually $5 and this goes directly to settling our very basic needs, especially food. Being jobless makes me feel like an irresponsible mother and a burden to my husband. Therefore, I consider the lack of a reliable source of income as my biggest challenge." (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"I'm buying goats so that I'll have an investment by the time the program is phased out. They thrive in our drought-stricken region, which is why they are our main source of investment. I can easily sell them in the future to cover my expenses if I get into hardship. I still have two more kids, one in elementary school and the other in high school, and I think the goats will make it easier for me to pay their tuition. I currently work as a taxi driver on a motorcycle, but as the years pass, I grow older and less energetic, so the goats will help me enhance my income. Since I will be taking care of my goats and depending on them for my financial needs, I won't have to focus that much energy on the motorcycle" (Occupation: Motorcycle or bicycle taxi)

"I am a trained carpenter having learned from a neighbor through apprenticeship. Lately, it has become hard to get jobs unlike before possibly because the cost of living has spiraled unlike before. I have had to look for other jobs to survive on, I am employed sometimes as a motorcycle rider and at the end of the day get paid depending on the amount of money I make, they use a commission basis. The pay is so little unlike my conventional job of house construction, coupled with the high cost of living my standard of living has taken a nose dive. It is a struggle to put food on the table nowadays."

"By the time I received the transfer, my form two son, Sammy, had been complaining about an overdue school fee balance. His older brother, who mainly finances his education, had not earned enough money from his motorcycle job to pay off the $15 debt. So I used part of the cash transfer to pay off the debt so he could study peacefully and take his end-of-year exams. At the same time, my family had just run out of food the night before, and I had no way of replenishing it. Fortunately, the transfer timing was perfect, and I spent $15 for maize flour and washing powder. To this day, there is still enough food for my two boys and me, for which I am immensely grateful to Give Directly. I used the rest transfer money to buy two hens. At least, I won't be worried about not having enough chicken to feed visitors whenever they come. "