"About 15 years ago,I fell down while carrying firewood on my back.This resulted in an injury on my spinal cord.For some years since then,I could not walk until I got surgery to treat it.Since the surgery,I have not been able to perform most duties especially in the farm.This has left me depending on my sons who also have families.Sometimes I am ashamed to ask for their help hence I end up going without food.This is the biggest hardship I have faced"

"My number one desire as a parent is to invest heavily in the education of my children. During our time we did not attach so much value to going to school, and that is majorly the reason why we have lived a life full of challenges. I struggle day and night to get my children the best education that I can. At the moment I have 4 children who are in various schools, 2 in high school and 2 at primary level. The school fees for the ones in high school is 60000 shillings and 10000 shillings for those in primary. Raising this amount is almost impossible for me considering that I depend on farming which is not doing so well in this region. Receiving this money will mean a lot to me as it will enable me to easily take my children to school."

"I have had the desire to venture into poultry keeping for the longest time now. I love it because it is easier to keep and it does not require a lot of space. Chicken also has a ready market in case you want to sell some. At the same time it is a good source of protein for me and my family. For a start, I need 60000 shillings to go into both buying chicken and putting up a structure for the same. From this business, I see myself collecting 30 eggs per day which translates to 900 in a month. In our local market, an egg is sold at 12 shillings. This will give me a profit of at least 10000 shillings every single month."

"In the year 2010, my husband was seriously injured when he was involved in a road accident. Accordingly, we were forced to sell most of the property we had, including a piece of land and a motorbike that we had purchased. Though I am happy that my husband has fully recovered, I feel that my family is leading a substandard life and owns virtually nothing. Hence, the unfortunate incident that befell my husband serves as the biggest hardship we have faced in life as a family."

"I greatly thank God for sending GiveDirectly on time to rescue us from the impending challenges. Receiving this money means that I shall afford to buy some pieces of land for my three sons because we are residing and farming on 0.5 acres that we inherited from our parents. In our culture, parents are obliged to provide their sons with pieces of land that would serve as foundations for their families. Unfortunately, the little income that my husband gets from his job could barely sustain us. Luckily, GiveDirectly will enable us to accomplish such an obligation, thus, signifying a promising future for my children"

"So far food is the biggest challenge because i do seasonal businesses for example this time is for mangoes so apparently I'm selling mangoes but when they are out of season i will have nothing to sell."

"Poverty and set backs has always been my biggest problem. I have always wanted to exceed in life but i could not due to the high level of poverty."

"I lost my huaband so after relocating to Mangochi from Lilongwe. My home village is in Lilongwe so all my relations are bases there. I suffered alot due to his death until the Village Head locate a piece of land for me along mountains. The place is full with monkeys who fees much on our crops. This money will also help me with transport to Lilongwe werw my relatives are."

"The transfer will help me to invest in business and to improve on my financial status."

"Since the demise of my husband 3 years ago, my life has never been the same again. He used to be the sole provider of the household and putting food on the table now is an uphill task. This is due to the fact that we experience long periods of drought out and harvesting sufficient crop for domestic use is hard to come by. My husband was a business (buying and selling cows) which I am unable to venture into. We have been surviving on the little we get from my 0.5 acre of land (getting 5 bags) which I normally grow maize, which is hardly enough for a family of 4. Food insecurity has been the biggest hardship I have faced in life."