Day: May 30, 2024

Kenyans have been urged to embrace their cultural diversity in order to promote unity, national cohesion and economic progression.

Kajiado Deputy Governor Martin Moshisho noted that Kenya is home to diverse of ethnic cultures each with its own unique traditions, beliefs and practices.

Speaking in Kajiado Town during celebrations to mark the World Cultural Diversity Day, Moshisho emphasized the need to embrace one’s culture and traditions so as not to lose identity in the growing face of globalization.

‘Through embracing our diverse cultures as a nation, we will be able to appreciate our differences and live together peacefully. Embracing our culture also helps us not to lose our identity,’ he said.

The Deputy Governor noted that Kenya has a rich tapestry in its customs, beliefs, languages, and values that have continued to shape the world with the Maasai culture recognized internationally.

He called for the patenting of various aspects of the Maa culture such as its dress code, beads and artefacts so as
to ensure that the community benefits from it economically.

‘The Maasai shuka is now being used by many Kenyans and foreigners as a ceremonial dress and that it is a high time the rightful owners were given credit. This can only be achieved through patenting it,’ said Moshisho.

County Executive Committee Member for Gender, Cooperatives, Culture, Tourism and Wildlife Janet Sereu reiterated the importance of passing on our culture and traditions to the youth for posterity.

She emphasized on the need to respect one another’s cultures so as to co-exist peacefully.

During the event, participants were able to showcase food, clothing, artefacts, traditional medicine, songs and dances from various cultures.

Celebrated annually, the UNESCO World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development highlights not only the richness of the world’s cultures, but also the essential role of intercultural dialogue for achieving peace and sustainable development.

It provides an opportunity for nations to promote cult
ure and emphasizes the importance of its diversity as an agent of inclusion and positive change.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Nyamira County technical and vocational institutions’ staff marched in Nyamira town with a lit torch flame in solidarity to mark 100 years of existence of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVETs) institutions in Kenya.

Led by Emily Ongaga, County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for education who was representing the area Governor Amos Nyaribo, TVET managers and staff lauded this initiative put in place long before they were even born saying they are of immense benefit to the youth countrywide.

‘The county has graduated hundreds of youths who are adequately and professionally trained in numerous marketable technical and vocational courses to enable them secure employment opportunities and at the same time customise innovations which suit the twenty-first market demand of their skills.’ CECM Ongaga noted.

‘The current job market requires people who have hands-on technical skills since they are key in sustaining our country’s economy from the daily services they provide to Kenyans. Our education’
s new curriculum system has mainstreamed technical subjects as early as Junior Secondary Schools (JSS). It will enable learners to be exposed early and create interest in technical subjects to endear them to critical thinking and innovators in various technical courses,’ she stated.

She appealed to parents who are worried that their children who never managed to score grades which will enable them to have direct admission to university to study courses at degree level to enroll them in TVET institutions.

‘Our county has invested heavily in TVET institutions by equipping them with appropriate labs, equipment and apparatus and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE) deployed professional instructors and lectures so that our youth get the best. Our county national polytechnic has been identified to collaborate with National Youth Service (NYS) to train its recruits in various technical courses.

Nyamira National polytechnic principal Geoffrey Andama confirmed that they offer professional hands-on
courses which have helped very many youths secure jobs, become job creators and technology innovators and have economically stabilised through earnings from using their earned skills.

‘Students enrolled in TVET institutions countrywide are equally entitled to various education scholarships and bursaries including Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) just like those students enrolled in Universities undertaking degree programmes to facilitate their tuition fee. Students should therefore not fear that they will not manage to pay school fees. There are avenues which will enable them to finish their courses without deferring due to lack of school fees,’ Mr Andama advised.

TVETS in Kenya have existed for 100 years. The first TVET institution was the current Kabete National Polytechnic, which was initially known as Jeanes School started in 1924. Nyamira County has established 5 polytechnics and 43 vocational training centres with a boarding student capacity of 5000 students though the enrollment currently is 2300
students.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Turkana Governor’s spouse, Lillian Ekamais Napotikan has issued a stern warning to men fond of preying on girls and abusing them sexually.

Speaking during the world menstrual hygiene day at Lodwar mixed primary school, Ms Ekamais alleged that she had received reports about uncles who take in their nieces in the name of sponsoring their education and ended up exploiting them sexually.

‘It is so shameful that some men have even impregnated their nieces they had taken in in the name of sponsoring their education,’ she said.

Ms Ekamais also urged fathers as parents to befriend their daughters and even take part in buying sanitary towels for them.

Female medics among them Dr. Fatuma Rajab and Rachel Lokoru also had an opportunity to talk to girls at Lodwar mixed primary school and Lodwar girls secondary school on the need for maintaining hygiene during menstrual days.

They underscored the need for girls to bath and change their undergarments during their periods.

Chief Officer for preventive and promotive he
alth Khadra Abdi said menstruation is a normal physiological process and cautioned against stigmatisation of girls undergoing menstruation.

Abdi said it was regrettable that some girls in the county had dropped out of school due to lack of sanitary towels.

She pledged to reach out to partners and also tap into county government resources to ensure needy girls are able to have sanitary kits during their menstrual periods.

‘As women leaders led by the county first lady we have decided to support issues about women including menstruation in the whole county,’ said Abdi.

Every female pupil and student who attended the event was given sanitary pads and those who entertained the guests were given a full sanitary kit that included sanitary towels, underwear, soap, lotion, three exercise books and pens.

Abdi said Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai had demonstrated his support for women by appointing three women as county executive committee members, six chief officers and many female directors.

At the same time, Abdi
expressed concern over teenage pregnancies in the county and challenged the parents to befriend their daughters to prevent them from falling prey to men who take advantage of them.

100 boxers for boys were also distributed during the event.

County public health and sanitation director Alfred Emaniman challenged men to take lead in buying their daughter sanitary towels.

‘It is ironical that men who stay for long without children become very happy when their wives inform them they have missed their menses yet they don’t want to participate in the dialogue about menstruation,’ said Emaniman.

The spouse to the governor also flagged off eight vehicles transporting sanitary towels to schools in other parts of the county.

Earlier in the day she had taken part in a tree planting exercise at Lodwar mixed primary school.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A total of 11 counties are set to benefit from a USAID-funded program designed to empower grass-roots organisations to actively participate in development planning and budget-making processes.

The programme, valued at Sh3.5 billion for all the eleven counties, will be executed through a three-pronged approach with specific projects focused on empowerment of grassroots organizations, strengthening of health-related regulatory framework, and unity against fraud, waste, and abuse.

Turkana County is among the counties that will benefit from the programme. Other beneficiaries are Kisumu, Kisii, Homa Bay, Kiambu, Samburu, Makueni, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kakamega, Kilifi, and Isiolo.

Speaking at a meeting for the inception of the program in Turkana, Deputy Governor Dr John Erus stressed the significance of community participation, saying that it helps to align development goals with the needs of the local residents.

The DG welcomed the programme and noted that it perfectly resonated with the provisions for public part
icipation envisioned in the Constitution of Kenya 2010.

‘With such a programme, the participation of grassroots level populations is not only guaranteed, but its value is significantly improved,’ DG Erus stated.

In Turkana, the programme will work with local development organizations (LDOs) to identify priorities and shape development aspirations.

Similarly, the programme will capacity-build the LDOs to effectively monitor the performance of the county government and raise questions when the trajectory deviates from the set standards.

Wangiros James (CECM, Public Service, Administration, and Disaster Management), Nicholas Mayo (Director, Budget), Deputy Directors Mike Aupe (Resource Mobilization), Jackson Egusii Arigan (Water Services), and Fridah Ewoton (USAID STAWI) were present.

The programme which was initially launched in Naivasha in April 2024 comes at a time when the County Administration has adopted Ward based development approach where the Ward benefits from budgetary allocation to chart its dev
elopment priority.

It is expected that the approach will strengthen the quality of participation and stimulate growth of crucial sectors.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Absa Bank Kenya in partnership with The Executive Office of the President, through the office of the Women’s Rights Advisor and Africa Guarantee Fund (AGF), have launched a Women’s Economic Empowerment and Investment Curriculum dubbed ‘Empower Her County Program’ to empower at least 30,000 women doing micro, small and medium-sized businesses across Kakamega, Bungoma, and Vihiga counties.

The Bank has also set aside Sh10 billion to support the growth of women in business across the country.

The programme seeks to address gender-based disparities and overcome economic challenges women entrepreneurs face to advance entrepreneurship by providing them with the tools and resources needed to upscale their businesses, promote resilience and thrive in today’s competitive business.

According to the Bank’s management, the curriculum will offer the ‘Start and Improve our Business (SIYB) module’ which is one of the largest global business management training programmes that was developed by the International Labor Orga
nization (ILO).

Speaking during the launch at Masinde Muliro University, the President’s Women Rights Advisor Harriette Chiggai said the launch of Empower Her County Programme is a demonstration of the need to support women-led MSMEs.

‘My office is partnering with private-sector entities to start up programmes that can reach women at the grassroots and the main reason why President William Ruto created the office of the Women’s Rights Advisor to show his commitment towards every Kenyan woman and girl,’ she pointed out.

Chigai added that the programme entails training on business registration, taxation, marketing, savings and investment, budgeting and financial planning, bookkeeping, digitization of businesses, market linkages beyond counties, and cross-border training.

On her part, Absa Bank Business Banking Director Elizabeth Wasunna- Ochwa said that closing the gender gap through economic empowerment was key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a nation.

‘When more women are empowered t
o create wealth, economies grow. This programme resonates with our corporate purpose to empower Africa’s tomorrow together, one story at a time, and is in line with our commitment to empowering over one million women entrepreneurs by 2025 by providing them with access to market information, markets for their products and services, coaching and mentorship, and business networks, as well as providing the capital required to scale their businesses to the next level,’ she added.

According to a 2018 report by the International Labor Organization, nearly 60 per cent of women’s employment globally is in the informal economy, and in low-income countries, it is more than 90 per cent.

‘Women constitute over 60 per cent of the 74 per cent of Kenyans living in rural areas, where poverty levels remain high. Women’s Empowerment Index 2020 by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics implies that the empowerment rate of women in urban areas is 40 per cent, nearly double the rate of empowered women in rural areas, at 22 per
cent over the same year, signifying the need for empowerment of women, especially at the county level,’ noted Wasunna- Ochwa.

She said the financial literacy program, which is set to be rolled out in all 47 counties, aims to increase economic participation and entrepreneurship among 70 per cent of women and improve financial literacy and management skills for 90 per cent of women, including increasing their knowledge and uptake of the available government and private sector funding.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Narok County has received 616,224 sanitary towels from the National government that will be distributed to school girls in the county.

Speaking during the International Menstrual Health commemoration day, the Narok County Commissioner Lotiatia Kipkech said the pads will keep the girls in school and they will be able to compete with the boy child.

‘The sanitary pads will reach every girl in school. No girl will have an excuse of not attending school because of the monthly periods,’ he said.

At the same time, Lotiatia warned parents to take good care of their girls and protect them from all forms of retrogressive practices that compromise their studies.

‘Mtoto umleavyo, ndivyo akuwavyo (The way you bring up a child that is how he/she grows). Many children are failing in life because their parents failed to bring them up the right way,’ he said.

He cited Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), early marriages and teenage pregnancies as some of the retrogressive practices that hinder the success of the girl child.

T
he commissioner reminded the residents that any parent who subjects their children to the outdated practices or fails to take them to school will be arrested and prosecuted in court of law.

‘It is a crime to keep your children at home while other children are in school. Every parent should take the parental role of modeling their children the right way,’ he said.

Agnes Mtambui, a parent at the school also lauded the government for the free sanitary towels and called on the girls to reciprocate the sanitary donation by working hard in school.

She observed that many girls have fallen pregnant because of being deceived by men who offer them sanitary towels and pants.

‘It is a great honour that the government of Kenya has introduced a programme to distribute sanitary towels to all schools. This will contain girls in school and boost their performance,’ he said.

The function was held at Ilmashariani Primary school in Narok Central Sub County.

Source: Kenya News Agency