"The biggest hardship I have faced is accomodation. The house I currently live in isn't big enough to accomodate my family."

"If I could not have received the money I could not have managed to buy dairy cow and I am very sure I could still be spending money to buy milk from my neighbors. "

"I would not have managed to built a kitchen and I would still be cooking out side under how I used before. I could also be sitting on a very old seat that can fall me down or even my visitors."

"Whereas my husband owns and operates a hardware store, I also run a shopkeeping business. But I wish i would say that we are proud business people. Paying school fees for our four children demands so much resources this destabilizing our businesses. Our first born is in college, second and third in secondary school and last born joining high school come January next year. There are so much money required for their education than our businesses can churn out. It is hard to make savings when the profits we make all go to school fees."

"Receiving this money means initiating poultry farming for my spouse so that she can support me in providing for the family. This will in turn reduce the worry level each day whenever i fail to secure a mechanic job selling poultry products especially eggs each day will supplement my income whenever i fail to get a job. Building a more spacious and comfortable two roomed iron roofed house is what i aso have in mind since this small hut i live with my family is old already and is one roomed meaning we have had difficulty hosting visitors around."

"Being a widow and the only breadwinner for my family of 3, I have been always relying on my small business of selling sliver cyprinid (omena) around the village that earns me $1 per day which is not enough to sustain us. My desire has been to have an alternative means to uphold my family but this has never materialized. I have wished to start rearing goats as they are cheap to raise and they can reproduce at a higher rate, unlike cows. Receiving this money means fulfilling my dream since I plan to use my first transfer to purchase 6 goats at Ksh.3500 each. This will serve as my longterm investment, something that will change my life for the better."

"With the tough economic times,life has been a real struggle.My husband works with the Ministry of Agriculture but is a drunkard.This stresses me a lot because at times he spends a lot on alcohol leaving us with little to depend on.I feel the weight here at home because I am forced to work extra hard as a farmer in order to supplement what he provides for us.My joy is seeing him a more responsible family man.This will give me peace of mind and will automatically translate to a more stable family."

"Since last year when my husband lost his job, financial constraint is the biggest hardship that we have been facing. All his attempts to get a new job have been futile. My income of ksh.150 that I earn from cooking in a mini hotel in Bamba is what my family of 6 children depend on. Balancing between buying for them food,clothes,paying for their schooling and even saving a little for emergencies is the biggest calculation to make on a daily basis. I feel so bad seeing them being chased away from school and going to bed hungry simply because I lack the finances to provide for their needs."

"I thank GiveDirectly for their financial support. I have been married for four years now without a child. I realized later on that I could not conceive due to complications of my reproductive system. Due to limited resources, I never visited any hospital to seek any medications thus lived a miserable hopeless life thinking that my system failure couldn't be corrected. The stigma and unrespect from my society slowly put me in depression that I had lost hope of getting out of it. When I received my first transfer, I felt so happy since the hope of getting out of my depression was now seen as possible. I took part of it to visit an expert and I feel this is the biggest difference in my life. I am grateful and happy because I went through the surgery and I am sure that I will be able to conceive and have children for the first time. I feel happy since this has taken away the shame I had carried for long, bring back the lost joy in my life and made me worth again in my society. Thank you GiveDirectly."

"I will finally fulfill my wish of building a more spacious and comfortable house that will cost me 300USD upon receiving this money. The one roomed mud grass-thatched house we currently live in as a family of six has limited space, hence forcing my three teenage children to spend their nights at their grandmother's place since culture has it that grown up children should sleep in a separate house from parents. The roof of my hut also leaks in water during rainy seasons hence exposing my children to pneumonia and other cold related diseases. 250 USD will enable me to buy a dairy heifer cow that will reproduce after around one year hence we will be able to sell milk from it and the cost of buying milk for family consumption will come to an end. The remaining part of my transfer will ease the struggle of paying next year's school fees for my two children in secondary school who are required to pay 170 USD each throughout the year. "