"The biggest hardship that I have faced is lack of enough food. It is very difficult for me to get food because I rely on farming as the only source of income. Low and unpredictable rainfall patterns renders me a poor person as my crop fails in every season. I am now living on hand to mouth basis, always working to get only food. I have never had enough for myself and the family and this has made my life a never ceasing struggle."

"The biggest hardship I have faced in my life is lack of stable source of income to cater for my family's needs like food, shelter clothing and education. As casual workers we get paid very little money in a day and sometimes we do not get these jobs and this means going without a meal. "

"Right now I am planning to boost my shop business so that I can be able to rely on my savings and the little profits that I will be making from the business."

"For two years now, I have suffered from elephantiasis, a condition that has drained me financially and psychologically, I have tried all means to treat it but to no avail. It has robbed me of my ability to engage in activities such as farming that I depend on for survival. To top it all, my daughter passed away leaving me with 4 of her children to take care of with no sort of income whatsoever. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed with this turn of events and just find myself in tears, with no husband to share in my troubles, i feel so alone. My financial inability to meet my needs and that of my grandchildren has been my biggest hardship in life. "

"I expect to make major changes and repairs on my house which is now in a dilapidated state. I need to transform the house from a mud walled house to a semi-permanent house so that it may last for a very long time into the future."

"I will be able to pay school fees for my child who goes to Nyabeda secondary school so that he does not have to be sent away from school every now and then. I also have a son who finished his form secondary school education last year and I now plan to take him to college which needs quite some money."

"The biggest hardship I have faced in my life is getting a job opportunity after my secondary school. I am a form four leaver and with the little resource we had in our family I could not join any college. I left my home to seek for job opportunities but it was a big challenge. I ended up as casual security officer in Nairobi where I could earn little that could not even sustain my life in the town. The job assigned to me was too tough given that at point I could be transfered to a new place without notice or fee to facilitate my movement. I persevered the challenges for two years when I decided to get married and ended my job."

"I expect to use the cash to start a small scale business that will help me generate more income and have a stable income so that I do not have to rely on the cash flow from the organization."

"I used to burn charcoal for a living but I stopped after it was banned by the government. I was then employed as a motorcyclist which used to earn me around 500 shillings in a day. I left this job after undergoing a medical operation and I could not work anymore. My desire has always been venturing into motorcycle business, but I could not achieve it due to lack of enough funds. Therefore, with Give Directly transfer I will purchase a motorcycle that will earn me a stable income because currently I depend on subsistence farming. I will also revive my poultry farming business which I was running earlier. This will improve my livelihood and I will be able to provide for my family. I will also be able to educate my brother who completed class eight this year."

"Financial constraint is my biggest challenge since I earn around 6,000 shillings a month. Being the sole bread winner, my family entirely depends on me for food, medical and clothing. It is quite difficult to meet these needs because I do not have enough money. Sometimes I am unable to respond to medical emergencies when my children get sick. "