"Our current house is very small which is not able to accommodate our huge family of 6 children. For this reason, we had to separately construct a temporary room where my husband and I could sleep so that the children could share the two-roomed house where the girls share one room while the boys share the other. To keep our sheep safe from wild dogs, we unfortunately, have to share the tiny room with them which is not only unhygienic but also uncomfortable. After realizing that it would not be possible to save enough money to construct a decent house, we decided to purchase the required construction materials in bits and commence the construction once we have all that we need. This is why I will be channeling most of my transfers to the purchase of the materials and any other items or resources required for the construction of the new house. Having a separate house will bring us a huge joy as we will have a decent, private, comfortable and hygienic place to sleep. What would top not having to share a room with your sheep? The current structure will exclusively serve as a sheep shelter which will also give room for expansion should the flock increase."

"Bought iron sheets, cow, and a goat"

"Having been blessed with twins a few weeks ago, I feel I'm faced with a great lot of challenges. Firstly, the father of my children refused to take care of children which has left me to provide and take care of them on my own. This sometimes brings tears to my eyes since I can't work and have to depend on my elderly mother who can't barely make ends meet. Additionally, I have a heart problem and suffer from a stomach ulcer which is a big challenge since I can't do hard casual labor which depend on. My life is very hard."

"Currently, I'm facing a lot of challenges in my life. However, one of the greatest challenges that is making my life quite difficult is the lack of money and work to get enough money to meet all my needs. I solely depend on casual labor which includes, collecting firewood and fetching water for my neighbors. This kind of work gives me about $3 a week which is not enough for all the needs including food. This makes my life very challenging and saddening especially when I have to borrow food and assistance from my neighbours and relatives."

"The prolonged drought is the main challenge that I feel is making my life difficult. During the planting season, I managed to sell my goats and planted one hectare of maize. However, I only got 90 KGS of maize. This is so because of the lack of rain and enough water for irrigation. This makes my life difficult because I know that in the next four months, I won't have food for my family which stresses me a lot."

"My current dwelling has been in a state of disrepair for several years, causing persistent concern. Regrettably, I lacked the necessary financial means to embark on any renovations, and the lingering instability of the house has been a constant worry. However, upon receiving these recent transfers, I made a firm commitment to address this issue. My plan is to gradually purchase at least two iron sheets every month, with the ultimate objective of acquiring a total of 20. This accumulation of iron sheets is the first step in my endeavor to restore my home to its former state of decency. Once I have amassed the required iron sheets, I will then focus on procuring the necessary building poles to initiate the renovation process."

"Currently, my primary focus is on acquiring a goat and repairing my house. I have already obtained two goats from previous cash transfers. I believe that owning goats will enable me to generate sufficient wealth even after the transfers end, ensuring I can continue supporting the education of my three grandchildren. Their mother, my daughter, is paralyzed in one leg and cannot engage in strenuous work to generate income. As a result, the children rely on me and my husband for their needs. Additionally, I aim to repair my house, which is on the brink of collapse due to damage from the recent rains. I plan to reinforce its foundation by building concrete pillars at each corner and replacing the old building poles with new ones. I hope that the cash transfers will help me achieve these goals."

"My most important goal in life is to support the education of my four children until they complete at least college. Two of them graduated from elementary school last year but did not earn sufficient grades to join high school. I planned to enroll them in hairdressing and electrical installation courses as per their preferences, but I have not had the financial means to do so. I am hoping that by next year, I will have saved enough funds to send them to college. To continue supporting them and their two younger siblings, I also intend to expand my livestock-rearing venture as a means of creating wealth. Currently, I have three sheep and seven goats, most of which I acquired through the cash transfers, and I plan to increase the herd."

"I have always held a desire to start a vegetable-selling business, but financial constraints, especially regarding food, have hindered me from pursuing this dream. I am glad that the recent rainy season enabled successful farming, and we were able to harvest enough food to sustain my family for the next few months. This provides me with an opportunity to invest the cash transfers into the business, and I am excited to take the first steps. My long-term vision is to expand this business into a kiosk, but for now, I want to establish a strong foundation. The income generated from this business will help cover school fees for my seven children and ensure they have enough food, even after the cash transfers cease."

"Looking ahead to the coming years, my goal is to extend one of the rooms in our two-room house. The current space is not sufficient, especially when we have visitors, as both rooms are usually occupied by my children my husband, and me. I am tired of having to rely on relatives to provide shelter for our guests, and I want to change that. I plan to start buying building materials like iron sheets and building poles and hire someone to help me build the extension. Since my income from selling sardines is not enough to fund this project, and my husband's income from house construction jobs is inconsistent, my goal is to use the cash transfers to achieve this objective."