My name is Lempoye, a 78-year-old man born and raised in the northern region of Kenya to a nomadic family.

Our community, which relies on livestock as its primary source of livelihood, lives in arid and semi-arid regions and migrates frequently in search of water and pasture for human and livestock consumption. During my childhood, I spent my time herding my family's livestock and was not able to attend school to gain formal education or diversified employable skills. As I grew older, I was initiated into young adulthood and expected to protect the community while also herding livestock. Later on, I married and spent most of my time raising my family.

However, our economic situation has significantly changed for the worse due to climate change-induced droughts. Recently, we experienced a severe drought that wiped out all of our livestock, leading to tough economic times. To provide food for my family, I now rely on scarce manual jobs in the community.

Therefore, I am kindly appealing to any well-wishers for support in the form of capacity building on climate-smart agriculture, livestock restocking, and insurance premiums for the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). This support will enable my family and me to access improved food security and nutrition, much-needed healthcare, and ultimately improve the quality of our lives.