"I am a single mother of 3 and raising my children has been an uphill task.It reached a point that I had lost hope that I had contemplated to kill my children.I had no source of income.My uncle came to my rescue and gave me Ksh 1,000(10 USD) to start a business.I started buying and collecting eggs in the village then selling to a dealer at a profit.I have done this for one year now and I have hope of growing the business more and more.I have bought my own chicken too in order to boost this business."

"Lack of a reliable source of income to facilitate on paying the school fees for my children has been my greatest challenge. As of today, I depend on my husband whose current casual jobs does not earn him much to support the children in school. As a result, they have been sent home in most of the time, something that does not make them to concentrate in class. I was worried that, they may not proceed to the next class come in January 2020 due to the huge fee arrears but the grant gift from GiveDirectly will assure them to be back in school."

"Charcoal burning is what I have known as the only source of income for the family of 5. Despite this activity being risky and low paying, I purely depend on it since I have no other option. Through the much exploitation I have faced from my potential buyers, I have long wished to have a charcoal selling center at Mombasa, to be operated by my husband but this has not materialized yet due to financial crisis. Receiving this money means realization of my desired dream since my plan is to offer $500 to my husband in order to start the business. I will use $100 of my second transfer to repair my house since as at now, the roofing poles were destroyed by termites and it can easily be blown by wind. $300 of the disbursement will help me to buy an oxen to aid in upscaling my farming and the remaining amount will support me in other basic needs like beddings and school fees."

"Lack of a reliable source of income for my family has been the biggest hardship in my life. This is because I am a housewife and I majorly depend on my husband who is doing charcoal business at Mombasa, a job which is risky and low paying. As of today, his earnings from this job has never been consistent due to the rainy challenges that make roads impassable. We recently have skipped meals or if it means taking our dinner, we should seek help from our potential neighbour. This has really robbed our joy as a family, something that makes me feel ashamed."

"It has never been easy to be a single mother who only depended on a meager income from teaching in a near by primary school for a living. This income was barely enough most so when my two children got to join college and secondary school respectively. I had to take up loans and pay for their education and on those times when I could not settle them on it . I got threats from the lenders which made me live a life full of stress and hopelessness . The biggest difference in my life is the joy and happiness I have after settling school fees for my children because they attend school with no worries of being sent home due to arrears. Secondly, I have been able to meet the family's needs with a lot of ease since I no longer borrow money from neighbors or lenders."

"My life is different than it would have been if I never received the transfer in that I now own a decent iron sheet house like the rest of my village members which makes me fit in this society unlike before where I was a laughing stack . I lived in a leaky grassed thatched house and it was almost collapsing that showed evidence that to the entire village my high level of poverty. I am very appreciative to GiveDirectly for empowering me financially since with this money I have acquired what I have desired for a long time. Today , the grass thatched house serves as a kitchen ."

"Before GiveDirectly sent my transfers, my bedding were old torn and the mattresses for my children and ours were thin therefore my family and I had uncomfortable nights. Although I did manually work to earn a living the incoming was little and could barely sustain all my family's needs, However, when I received money from GiveDirectly, I bought a mattress and new bedding. Now we have enough rest all through the night , as a result , I personally feel productive all through the day. Furthermore , making it easier for me to provide for my household especially when supporting my family with daily needs."

"Receiving this money means I will be able to build an iron roofed house so that I can sleep comfortably. The house that I currently sleep in leaks because I have failed to repair it. Grass is scarce these days and at my age, I can not move to distant places in serch of it."

"The biggest hardship faced currently is finding enough money to pay tuition fees for my last born. I have been relying on subsistence farming to provide money, but this season had a bad harvest."

"The biggest hardship that I am faced with is taking care of the needs of my children alone as a single parent. I do casual labour most of the time so as to earn some money that supports me and my children."