Hello, my name is Jalui Kaparo and I am a 64-year-old woman from northern Kenya. My family is nomadic and we move around arid and semi-arid regions in search of water and pasture for our livestock. During my childhood, I spent most of my time taking care of our animals and did not have the opportunity to attend school or learn any employable skills.

As a teenager, I was initiated into young adulthood, and soon after, my family arranged for me to get married. Since then, my life has been devoted to raising my children, caring for my husband, and looking after our livestock. Our community and family rely heavily on our livestock for our livelihoods, but frequent droughts due to climate change have greatly impacted our economic situation. Recently, we lost all our livestock due to a severe drought, and now I rely on scarce manual jobs to provide for my family.

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