"The challenges that we face are a continuous dry season and the unavailable source of milk for my family. I am forced to buy milk daily for the town for my children and this cost me so much, KES 40 a liter. Having a dairy cow will reduce the cost of buying milk and also be a source of income for us."

"When I get this money I would like to start a kiosk selling vegetables. I believe this line of business is exactly what this area needs. Right now people walk about five kilometres to the nearest market which is Ganze. Starting this business will save them the travel which affects the grand cost of acquiring the commodity. If I can get around 40000 KES, it would be enough for initial investment where I'll use my father's main house for a premise and the whole amount for stock and display racks. At the moment my husband is a motorcycle taxi rider in the village since the beginning of the year while I'm a cook at a local kindergarten. Both our earnings can only amount to 500 KES daily. It might be enough today but we have children who are attending school and soon enough, they'll be a bigger need for their school fees. This is why we need to create new sources of income."

"Food insecurity is a challenge which has been facing us for the past 3 years and this is a result of the unreliable rainfall in the region and as a subsistence farmer I did not get any harvest from my farm. This forced me to start charcoal burning which also does not sustain us as I only get peanuts from it making it hard to provide my family with basic needs such as food and school fees for my daughter."

"Food insecurity is the biggest challenge that I face at the moment. My homestead sits on a 0.2-acre piece of land and that means I do not have space to even plant vegetables. The situation has forced me to buy every food item making it expensive for me to afford. My husband who is a teacher earns KES 5000 but our monthly expenditure is KES 6500-7000. We have been forced to borrow money to sustain our lives but it has reached unsustainable levels where we cannot take it anymore"

"My husband is 98-years and has not been feeling well for the past 3-years now and this has affected his mobility. He cannot walk on his own without being supported and this has forced me to be by his side every other time, denying me the chance of doing other productive activities. I have sold family assets like livestock to raise money for his medication but doctors have told me that nothing much can be done to salvage his situation because of his advanced age. His condition is getting us worried and I pray that he gets better"

"My husband is a solitary breadwinner in this family. He has to pay school fees for all school-going children, settle hospital bills as well as buy food for the family. This makes him being over depended on by the family."

"Putting food on the table is my main challenge currently. Lack of rain has made my life hard as I mostly depend on farming. Lack of school fees. My three children are in primary school and they need fees. The money I get cannot buy food for them as well as pay their school fees."

"Financial problems have really been weighing me down. I have been studying and raising my two children at the same time. As I await my graduation, I have no source of income. I am a volunteer teacher in a neighboring school and I get an allowance of 10,000 KES. This is barely enough to cater for my needs and that of the children. Sometimes my children get sick but I lack money for their medication. Such needs together with the basic needs are currently my biggest challenges."

"The main challenge that I currently face is meeting my customers' needs.The demand for firewood and milk is quite high but because of my age I cannot supply the required amount to the targeted market. Therefore my profitable business can fail if it does not generate adequate cash flow to meet the expenses. However I intend to purchase a mortobike to aid in transportation as this will also increase my profits."