First Lady Rachel Ruto has praised Governor Anne Waiguru for championing women’s leadership and economic empowerment in Kirinyaga, saying the county’s progress demonstrates what is possible when women are given opportunities to lead and prosper.
Speaking during a Joyful Women Organization empowerment forum in Kirinyaga on Thursday, Rachel said women in the county had for generations played a central role in sustaining families and driving the local economy, while pointing to Kirinyaga’s election of Waiguru as one of the clearest demonstrations of women’s leadership potential.
“There is great power in women who choose each other. Kirinyaga was among the first counties to elect a woman governor, showing what is possible when women are given an opportunity to lead,” Rachel said.
She said President Ruto’s Government remained committed to ensuring women took their rightful place in Kenya’s economy and leadership, urging them to become entrepreneurs, investors and leaders in the country’s transformation. “Women shall not remain sidelined. They must be entrepreneurs, investors and leaders in our country’s transformation,” she said.
Rachel also pointed to Kirinyaga’s agricultural wealth and emerging industrial economy as providing opportunities for women to build sustainable livelihoods, citing the county’s production of rice, coffee, tea, avocado and poultry, as well as the Sagana Industrial Park.
“Kirinyaga is showing what is possible when we invest in women,” she said, citing the Kaitheri Apparel Centre, where women have transformed tailoring into an enterprise producing hospital linen and school uniforms for the county.
Her remarks provided a strong endorsement of Waiguru’s focus on women’s economic empowerment, which has seen the county place women, youth and other vulnerable groups at the centre of its development agenda.
Welcoming the First Lady to Kirinyaga, Waiguru said her administration had deliberately pursued empowerment programmes aimed at giving women and other vulnerable groups the means to build sustainable livelihoods rather than relying on handouts.
The governor noted that over the past nine years, more than 35,000 residents had benefited from various county empowerment interventions targeting women, youth and people with disabilities. These include the provision of tents, chairs, car-washing machines, catering equipment and Meko gas cookers, among others. The county has also distributed more than 5,000 assistive devices, including wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids and prosthetics, to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Waiguru said the county had further established the Kirinyaga County Empowerment and Development Fund, a kitty that has so far been allocated Ksh.90 million to provide women, youth and persons with disabilities with access to capital, training and innovation financing for income-generating activities.
She described women’s empowerment as an investment whose benefits extend far beyond individual beneficiaries to entire families and communities. “When you uplift a woman, you uplift the family and transform the community,” Waiguru said.
The Governor said partnerships between the County Government and organisations such as Joyful Women were critical in ensuring women had access to the capital, knowledge, skills and opportunities needed to turn their potential into sustainable enterprises.
As part of the forum, Rachel extended practical support to families, farmers and small-scale traders in Kirinyaga, providing 260 bags of beans, 300 bags of rice, 1,005 blankets, 1,000 mosquito nets, 40 boxes of soap and 100 mattresses. Farmers received 5,000 coffee seedlings, 5,000 Hass avocado seedlings and milk cans, while 100 market shade umbrellas were provided to support small-scale traders.
Waiguru said the support would complement the county’s efforts by addressing immediate household needs while creating opportunities for sustainable economic empowerment. She said the seedlings were particularly important because they represented an investment whose benefits could continue supporting households for years.
Rachel also noted that government programmes were providing women with the capital and opportunities they need to grow their enterprises and achieve greater economic independence.
“The Women Enterprise Fund has disbursed over Sh28 billion to more than 2.28 million beneficiaries, while the Hustler Fund has disbursed Sh90 billion to 28 million borrowers,” she said, urging women to join groups and work together to overcome barriers to economic advancement
The event also provided a platform for women beneficiaries to share how empowerment programmes had transformed their lives.
Eva Mwangi, a member of Joyful Group and owner of Beyond Limit Group in Mwea, said her journey with the organisation had opened up business and financial opportunities that enabled her enterprise to grow from a venture she started with only Ksh.2,000 in 2016.
“Through Joyful, I have also been able to access loans. As a group we have a turnover of Sh1.9 million, almost able to acquire a lorry. We now have a catering business and can now cater for 3,000 people and above,” she said.
Another beneficiary, Susan Wanjiku Maina from Kiamugumo, said she had been a member of Joyful Women for 17 years and had used opportunities accessed through the organization to expand her horticulture and dairy farming activities and support her family. She said the empowerment had also helped her finance her child’s university education
Joyful Women CEO Elizabeth Koskei said the organization, which has been in existence for 17 years, had 3,058 members organized in 326 groups, with its core mission being to empower women.
She described Kirinyaga women as “women of strength” and among the most powerful contributors to the county’s economy, adding that the organization was strengthening its grassroots capacity-building programmes, including training trainers and equipping women-owned enterprises with skills in artificial intelligence, digital marketing and financial management.
Koskei also applauded Waiguru’s Wezesha Kirinyaga programme, saying it complemented Joyful Women’s efforts to strengthen women’s economic independence.
The Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards, Mary Muthoni, together with Karumandi MCA Caroline Wanjiku, also commended Waiguru for mentoring women and creating opportunities for them through her leadership.
The forum brought together national and county government officials, leaders of Joyful Women Organization, elected leaders and hundreds of women from across Kirinyaga.
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