My name is Wilfred, a 73-year-old man who was born and raised in the northern region of Kenya in a nomadic family. Our community, which is made up of pastoralists, migrates in search of water and pasture for human and livestock consumption. As a child, I spent most of my time herding my family's livestock, and I never had the opportunity to receive formal education. As a result, I lack diverse employable skills.
When I reached young adulthood, I was initiated into the community and expected to protect it as well as herd livestock. I later got married and focused on raising my family. In our community, we heavily rely on livestock as our primary source of livelihood. However, due to climate change-induced droughts, our economic situation has significantly worsened. We recently experienced a severe drought that wiped out all our livestock, leading to tough economic times. Currently, I rely on scarce manual jobs in the community to put food on the table.
Therefore, I am kindly appealing for support from well-wishers 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.