"The main challenge I'm faced with at the moment is a lack of food. Because of the prolonged drought, I've not been able to grow any crops which has led to a lack of food in our household. In addition to this, it has been difficult to get manual work which my husband and I depend on to be able to sustain our family's needs. This has forced us to go hungry without food occasionally. This saddens me so much."

"Challenges are many in my life, however, the main challenge that is most pressing for me is the lack of food. For the past 3 years, we have not planted any crops on our farms due to prolonged drought. This has led to a lack of food and enough water. We have to depend on relief food from the government together with NGOs and also the casual work we do to be able to purchase food. It is very difficult also to purchase food because of the increase in the cost of living which has made food staffs expensive to purchase. This has forced us to have less food on our plates and even skip some of the meals."

"The major challenge we are faced with at the moment is the increase in the cost of living and the prolonged drought. In the past year we were able to purchase a generator with the intention of doing irrigation on our farm but because of the drought water levels went down and we could not do it. In addition to this, the high cost of petrol made it impossible for us to afford to fuel the generator and we ended up leaving our farming project. In addition to this, there are livestock diseases that have affected livestock with no cure. This has led to some of our goats dying which has affected our livelihood greatly."

"Education is a valuable asset, and I believe that it will have a significant impact on my children's future stability. To ensure their success, I intend to allocate a significant portion of the transfers towards paying for their education expenses and supporting their learning. In a few months, my daughter will finish her tailoring course, and she will be able to start her own business and become financially independent. Additionally, my son, who is set to complete his secondary education this year, is optimistic about doing well and going to university to pursue his chosen career. My role is to provide financial support, and the transfers come in handy in helping me achieve this goal."

"I am old and my health is failing me. I can hardly walk nor engage in any meaningful economic activity and this has made my life miserable and unbearable. Food insecurity is the main challenge that we face at the moment, the cost of food commodities is high and unaffordable. Due to my state of health and old age, I am not able to adequately fend for my family and it worries me a lot. We purchase every food we eat since we cannot produce it due to adverse climatic conditions. Our area is dry most of the time and recently we had the worst drought that lasted for a long. The results have been devastating to us and even to our livestock."

"Reflecting on my childhood, I believe that receiving support from my parents to pay for my education would have been extremely beneficial for me. The lack of proper schooling has contributed significantly to the difficulties I face today. I do not want my son to have the same struggles as me, and receiving this transfer has been a significant boost in ensuring he receives a quality education. For the foreseeable future, and beyond, my goal is to provide my son with the best possible education. I want to ensure he has access to a conducive learning environment that will enable him to excel and pursue his desired career path."

"When I was young I got burned on my right leg. This has affected my ability to work like other people. It means I cannot do manual work fully. Affecting my ability to acquire some income, and also till my land. I can only depend on my goats. It's also difficult fetching water with this leg. This has made my life difficult."

"I am very old, 89. Depend on my wife and children. Feeding my family is difficult because I cannot do anything. My movement is restricted to the home. If my wife is not able to get a job we go hungry. This makes me sad because I can do nothing. I cannot work because of my advanced age."

"I was able to accomplish what looked unachievable on my end by using GiveDirectly transfers. As a single mother with four children in school, two in form four and two in university, the thought of their school fees drove me insane. When I heard about GiveDirectly coming in to our town, it felt like God had sent them just for me. Imagine losing my husband a year ago and finding myself in the robust of all of this. With the transfers, I paid all of their school fees and none of them returned home for any debt. Also, I am a business-minded individual who is currently considering how to make money and take care of my children. It could be a different story if GiveDirectly transfers were not applied. God bless you as you continue to bless others. Treat them the same way you treated us, and they will feel the difference."

"It is my hope that after one and a half years, I shall have completed my studies and be a certified professional in construction and building, thus allowing me to be resourceful in both my professional life and my family. I also believe that the calves and dairy cow I acquired would have grown and become a source of income, as well as saving me money on milk purchases."