The Central African Republic First Lady is a champion of Merc More than a Mother, an organisation which supports women facing stigma because of infertility/PSCU
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 21 – First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has held talks with the First Lady of Central African Republic (CAR) Madam Brigitte Toudore and agreed to scale up programs aimed at empowering women in Africa.
The Kenyan First Lady – who was briefed by her Central African Republic counterpart on the projects she is implementing to address challenges facing women – expressed the need to facilitate women to play an active role in nation building.
On her part, Madam Brigitte commended the Kenyan First Lady for spearheading the Beyond zero campaign to reduce maternal and child mortality, saying she is a true model of African motherhood.
The Central African Republic First Lady is a champion of Merc More than a Mother, an organisation which supports women facing stigma because of infertility.
The organisation helps women who have been stigmatised by initiating projects that enable them to restart and continue with their normal lives.
The Chief Executive of the organisation Dr Belen Garijo, who accompanied the Central African Republic First Lady, briefed First Lady Margaret Kenyatta on the projects the organisation has been undertaking to help women.
“We are actively involved in efforts to support infertile women in Africa,” Dr Garijo said, pointing out that recently the organisation put up a house for one of the victims of stigmatisation in Kenya, whose two hands were chopped off by her husband.
“Not only do we support the victims but we are also helping communities change their mind-set concerning infertility,” said Dr Garijo.
Dr Garijo also talked about an initiative geared towards empowering the girl child by encouraging them to take up science and technology subjects.
Through a program known as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Dr Garijo said her organisation was looking forward to working with the Kenyan First Lady in encouraging girls to pursue science subjects.
In her response, the First Lady assured her Central African Republic counterpart that she was ready to partner with her in all activities aimed at empowering African women.
At another meeting, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta received a detailed progress report on the preparations for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World under 18 championships scheduled to take place in Kenya in July this year.
The First Lady is the patron of the event which is expected to attract close to 2,000 athletes from 160 countries.
The championships will involve 24 girls’ events and 21 boys’ events with over 100,000 spectators expected to grace the international event being held for the first time in Kenya.
Led by Sports, Culture and Arts Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario, the steering committee said it has covered a lot of ground and preparations are on top gear.
The committee intends to activate the website for the 10th Edition of the IAAF under 18 championship before the end of this month.
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