"Living in a semi arid has been a challenge. For a person who depends on farming like me its difficult because we hardly have a good harvest. Sometimes I can get only 50 kgs of maize from an acre. This is not enough for my family consumption and I have to buy food at a cost of Ksh 50 per kilogram. I find it much expensive considering I do not have a stable source of income."

"I have faced a myriad of challenges but the biggest is food security .Our area is semi arid and therefore food production is a major issue. Most of the time we are forced to buy food to supplement our production which is low . Maize used to do relatively well , especially the short season variety but since the maize lethal necrosis disease invaded the crops in 2005 their production has been very unstable."

"I have children in various secondary and primary schools and all I want for them is quality grades that can allow them to join university to pursue good courses. When the cash transfer, I use KES20000 to pay school fees for my children this will give them ample time in schools to study. I am confident with minimal interruption they will attain good grades. In addition, I will use another KES26000 to buy a dairy cow. This will be an added asset to my family and I will enjoy a higher milk production for both household use and sales to earn an extra income. To make my children happy and safe, I will use KES25000 to build a two room, iron-roofed house just next to mine. Twill ensure the better comfort, space for their private studies, and good security. I wish to spend the remaining amount mainly on my family,y food, clothing and household items."

"I primarily depend on subsistence farming to meet my family's needs and since crop farming doesn't do well due to long drought in our area, livestock keeping becomes a reliable source of income. To be receiving this cash transfer means I will have added cows to my farm. I wish to use KES40000 to buy a dairy cow to add to my heart. I prefer adding cows since they will assure us a consistent income from milk sales thus can meet my family's needs. I am lucky to have to build a kitchen and a living house that has given my young family the comfort and pride of having a home. I have a grass-thatched Kitchen which is old making it slowly unfit to stay in and regular replacement of grass makes it expensive for us. I am planning to spend KES50000 to build a new iron-roofed house so that as my children grow older they will have good place to spend their nights and enough space for their studies. I will use KES20000 on my family basic needs mainly clothing and food and household items."

"Receiving this money means that I can increase my sheep from 5 that I have to 15 and buy a dairy cow to enhance my income. If I get this transfer,I will majorly invest in sheep, spending about $300 because they are hardy and can survive well here, where other livestock would do very poorly. Crops fail all the time because we receive very little rainfall.As a result, we have to buy all the foodstuffs for the household.I will also spend part of the money in boosting my husband's shop business. The business brings us about $3 a day, which is not enough as we spent about $5 on household items. With increased income from the business and sheep keeping, I will be able to cater for my family."

"Receiving this money means that I will be able to finally expand my milk selling business. I run a small business where I buy milk from some people in the village and sell them in a nearby shopping center. Receiving money from GiveDirectly will enable me to buy a dairy cow. I will also buy modern urns that will keep the milk fresh for longer periods, all these at about $ 600. This investment will increase the volumes that I sell as well as profits up from approximately $3 a day to about $ 7. This will help me in paying school fees for my children. I hope to give them a good education so that they can have a better life when they get employed."

"Food shortage has been my biggest hardship, our area is no longer productive when we grow maize and since I rely on subsistence farming I harvest less. I also do casual jobs which earns me little."

"Diseases are the most challenging things I have faced in my life. My husband died of throat cancer. This disease was first made known to us at Tenwek hospital in the year 2016 after we had gone to various hospitals and clinics searching for treatment. We sold most of our resources such as pieces of land and all our livestock to gather for financial treatment.Despite these ups and downs my lovely husband succumbed to the deadly disease."

"The biggest hardship I have faced is lack of stable source of income. As a single parent our everything depends on me yet I have unstable source of income. I depend on any casual jobs available in the village like transport water at a fee or weeding someone gardens. Per day I can get around 100 shillings that is not even enough for food thus leave us sometimes depend on other people."

"This means i will be able to buy a dairy cow. I buy milk for my family but sometimes i don't have money to buy since i depend on casual jobs. I expect to cost around 200 dollars. The cow will help us get milk for drinking and commercial if in surplus. I need to expand my house. I have one but its quite small and the family is growing. I plan to spend 200 dollars of my transfer on construction. The remaining amount i will use to feed my family."