"My husband is a casual labourer whose livelihood come from mixing concrete at construction sites, a job that may come only one week in a month. He usually gets paid about Kshs 300 (3usd) per day, money we would use all to buy food for our family of 10, leaving not a cent for savings, let alone eat a complete meal, clothe my children and accord them with quality education. It is not always that we can afford a decent and balanced diet. With so many mouths to feed we usually go for quantity over quality. Sometimes, we would skip meals during the day to save for the evening. "

"Receiving this money means I will be able to finish roofing our house. Currently its at roofing level but have run short of money to roof it."

"Imagine living with a spouse who knows the struggle i go through in providing for the family but all he does is use all the money he earns from casual jobs in buying alcohol! This is the hardship i face day in day out. I buy groceries from people's farms which i then supply to various schools and hotels in order to earn a living to support my children's education and other basic needs. My daily earnings ranges from 2- 5 USD. Receiving money from GD will enable me to boost this income since i plan to expand this business now that i am the breadwinner of my family"

"Our main occupation in this family is both dairy and subsistence farming. However, for 5years now, our farm has not been productive due to prolonged droughts and unpredictable rains thus poor harvests. The two dairy cattle we rear produces 8 litres of milk per day during rainy seasons that we sell at ksh 30 per litre but during dry seasons the yields are three times lower. This has been the struggle we face in supporting education of our four children, two in primary school and two in secondary school."

"I have a mud house and it has been a challenge maintaining it.This is due to scarcity of time to mend the walls.Mud walls require frequent repairs while most of the time I am busy working.I therefore have a plan of building a two bedroom house made of timber using the first transfer.For the second transfer I want to expand poultry farming.I will fence my compound using a wire mesh.The challenge I have had with poultry is with predators like eagles and limiting them to my compound will help a lot.I will invest the remaining money in my tailoring business."

"The biggest hardship that I am faced with is sickness. Both my husband and I are sick and we can not work. We depend on our children for most of the things that we need. Sometimes my husband tries to do some bit of carpentry but what he earns is too little based on the fact that he can not do much due to his condition."

"The biggest hardship I face is lack of money. Iam an old man with less energy to do casual work yet that could be the only source earning in my village. I sturb with only asingle meal a day and this is affecting my health."

"Receiving this money means to invest in business. Iam currently gambling on paying school fees for the children due to lack an income generating activity. Givedirectly transfers I spend on starting up business to generate more money. The interest got from my business I will spend to pay school fees for my children studying at Amus primary school."

"The biggest hardship in my life is food shortage. Although I cultivate, climatic changes affect yields hence reducing on amount of food harvested."

"The biggest hardship I face is lack of money for educating my children. My children are studying without some school items like books and this affects them physiologically. "