"Financial constraint to purchase food for the family is the biggest hardship that we face as a family. My husband who was the bread winner had an accident recently and nearly lost a finger.Since most of his casual jobs require the use of hands to operate, he has been rendered jobless and this has greatly affected our finances.My income of ksh.200 from fetching water and Washing clothes in Bamba town is what my family is currently relying on for food,medication and clothing. Since we can not compromise on his medication since I greatly wish for him to get well soon,getting money to buy our daily meals is the biggest tussle that I face. Going hungry on so many occasions,sometimes even for two days yet I am breastfeeding is by far the toughest test of my life."

"I am a saloonist and for the past five years even while I was in school,I could earn my income from working as a casual.Since my years of experiences have enabled me to be very good at what I do, I have greatly wished to set up my own salon but my barrier has been finances.In a day I normally earn.ksh.350 which I use for my households upkeep. The business is very lucrative and I plan to invest ksh.25000 to set up my own salon business in Bamba town. I will also spend ksh. 13000 to buy 5 goats for rearing and with the rest of my transfer, construct a two roomed iron roofed house for my family since the current one is not only small, it also tends to leak a lot when it rains."

"I am a very lonely person since at my age I do not have anyone to take care of me. My children are busy fending for their families and the only person who could have supported me is my late daughter in law. I feel overwhelmed because I do not have enough strength to work anymore. I cannot manage my household chores and sometimes I even go without food because I do not have the strength to cook. This loneliness hurts me so much and I feel it is the biggest hardship."

"Being a widow means I am the sole breadwinner of my family. This is such a struggle because I do not have a stable source of income. It is very difficult to finance my children's education and they can be sent home up to 4 times in a term. I desire to educate them so that they will be able to get good jobs in future. This will pull my family out of poverty because I believe lack of education is the mother of all problems. To achieve my dreams, I will start a goat rearing project. This is because they multiply faster and they are drought resistant. With such a project I am sure of high returns thus a change in my life."

"Everyone has a right to decent life but this is not the case for my family. I share a single roomed house with my 8 children something that has forced 4 of them to seek shelter in my neighbour's house. This makes me feel like a bad parent to my kids. Besides the house being small, it is made of iron sheets walls and it not comfortable in both dry and rainy seasons. It is also open in the upper part thus letting in cold air at night. This has affected my children's health and they are always suffering from colds. It is also home for mosquitoes and malaria is the order of the day in my family. I therefore plan to build a better house that will save my family the problems arising due to lack of a decent house. "

"The biggest hardship I face in my life is lack of a reliable source of income. I am struggling to look for money in order to pay school fees for my children and the only source currently is through farming which lacks sustainability."

"My expectation in the near future is to be in a position to take my child to college. She finished secondary school and I could not afford to pay her college fee. I also want to buy my own cow. I currently keep someone's cow and I can't imagine staying without one in case the owner takes it away. This, while being a valued asset, it will also be a source of income from the sale of milk."

"The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am now a proud owner of a dairy cow. Even though I still buy milk daily, I am optimistic that this will end soon after it reproduces. Selling milk will also be a source of income to me that I will use to pay school fees for my children. I am also optimistic that my children's health will improve since they will be getting milk for their consumption and it will no longer be luxurious to us as it is now."

"I realized that GiveDirectly had sent me my fist transfer early in the morning after waking up. I became so happy at that time since I knew that I would be able to also own a dairy cow like other people in my community."

"I felt so happy the moment I received my first transfer. I remember it was very early in the morning when I heard the message from my phone. When I checked it I felt so happy because I have never received such an amount of money before. I knew I would be able to renovate my house and clear school fees for my children in secondary school. My family members were so happy and the really celebrated."