"At my age of 66 years, I am still forced to engage in charcoal burning as my source of income. This is because I am a widow and I lack someone to support me financially. In most cases, I experience chest pains and the worst thing is when I lack money to seek medication. I, therefore, consider financial instability as the biggest hardship that I have ever faced in my life."

"Since I don't have a reliable source of income, the only way that I can save my money is through investing in livestock. By doing so, I will have the opportunity to sell and earn profit in the future when they multiply. I, therefore, intend to buy 5 goats and 2 indigenous dairy cows at $150 and $300 respectively, using my first transfer. On the other hand, I wish to smooth finish the floor of my house because sometimes our area is infested with triggers and this will prevent my family from being affected by these dangerous parasites. This will cost me the utmost $200. The remaining amount will help me construct a separate house for my children since we share the same room, yet they are big enough to have a different structure. This will bring more joy to me since my livelihood will have changed for the better."

"Poor health to my husband has been the hardest challenge. He has been suffering from eczema ( a skin disease). His health has deteriorated. He has been under drugs for the past 6 years. The drugs are expensive 1 dose goes for 600 shillings, which takes 2 weeks. This has challenged me because I can not save anything I always spend everything on him."

"The biggest difference in my life is that I was able to clear school fees for my child and he was able to sit for the final exams. Were it not for these transfers, I would live a stressful life as parent not being able to pay school fees on time and my child would not have completed schooling. I thank GiveDirectly for making this happen to me."

"I am glad that I now have livestock as a result of these transfers. I got two heifers and three sheep and for me these has been my great achievement. I didn't have any livestock before but now I have some which incase of an emergency, I would sell some to cushion myself financially."

"Despite having skills in dressmaking, I have never managed to buy a sewing machine that can help me to have a reliable business. This has forced me to engage in charcoal, a job that is very tiresome and low-paying. Therefore, financial instability has been the biggest hardship that I have ever faced in my life."

"Food insecurity is the biggest hardship that I have ever faced in my life. This is because we depend mostly on subsistence farming but due to the lack of enough rains, our area is ever dry and we can not rely again on farming. This has forced us to do very low-paying and tiresome jobs like charcoal burning to feed our family."

"The biggest hardship I have faced in my life is the inability to cater for my children school fees rendering them on and off school."

"The biggest hardship in my life is shortage of water for domestic consumption. I'm forced to travel a long distance to get water."

"I am a housewife who depends on my husband who does casual jobs at our nearby center. His wages are not enough to sustain all our needs such as shelter. He always makes 350 shillings in a day and it's not guarantee. Therefore, lack of a good source of income is our biggest hardship."