For the love and care
for our mothers and children; in marginalized areas, slums, rural Kenya and all
mothers and children who are not able to afford or access quality maternal and
child care, First Lady, Margaret Kenyatta chose a noble path to lead the fight
against these and secure the health and future of our mothers and children!
Sunday, 9th
March 2014 and Mama Margaret led the inaugural first ever First Lady Half
marathon in Nairobi and supportive Kenyans, from the political, sporting and corporate
arenas among others joined her in this noble cause! The goal was to save the
lives of our mothers and children and help cut down on the HIV infections
amongst the Kenyan child. Statistics show that at least 5500 mothers die
yearly, from pregnancy and child birth related complications, over 100, 000
children die each year before they attain their fifth birthday and 13,000
children get infected with HIV each year! Now, in terms of projecting into the
future and the current state of the country, these are potentially ticking
time-bombs that call for concern from the government and all Kenyans. Just as a
loving mother is to her child, Mama Margaret saw this and took the giant and
courageous step to fight it. Congratulations Mama wa Taifa!
On 13th
April 2014, under the sweltering London sun, she became the First Lady to ever
run the entire London Marathon course, just to tell the entire world of the
plight faced by Kenyan women and children. Her mission to rally the world to
raise funds to support programmes to stop new HIV infections amongst children
and promote maternal health care, for both the mother and the child was
announced to the world.
By championing her
Beyond Zero Campaign on the streets of Nairobi and along the streets of London
in one of the most prestigious marathon courses, Mama Margaret sent a message
of intent; the healthcare given to our mothers and children in Kenya must be
improved. Children are the future of the entire globe, not just Kenya and thus
efforts must be made to secure their lives, and our mothers who are an integral
part in ensuring that the children mature into a healthy future!
Our expectant mothers
in far flung areas, those who can ill-afford the required health facilities to
deliver, and also the children, can now afford smiles, as the 47 mobile clinics
targeted by Mama Margaret in her Beyond Zero Campaign, are delivered to needy
mothers and unborn children across the country. The ambitious goal to reduce
maternal and child deaths, and HIV infections amongst the Kenyan child are well
on course, spearheaded by a determined woman who has honestly felt the pain of
our mothers and children, and decided to act.
Off to one of the
country’s key economic supporters, Tourism, and Mama Margaret launched the
‘Hands Off Our Elephants’ campaign, earlier in the year. This noble drive is
aimed at educating Kenyans and the entire world on the need to conserve the
elephant, for posterity. Indeed, a timely effort from the nations’ premier
lady, as Kenya’s elephant population has faced near total decimation in the
recent years. In 2014, the number of elephants that have been killed by
poachers has hit a staggering figure of more than 182! 182 elephants butchered
by illegal cartels of poachers in under a year! This includes the death of
Satao, one of the world’s iconic elephants, who was cruelly slaughtered by
poachers in May this year, inside the Tsavo East National Park. The elephant
whose giant tusks were easily identifiable from the air and nearly touched the
ground, and had roamed our wild for 50 years attracting the global eye of all
tourists to Kenya was no more! The anti-poaching campaign direly needed a big
and influential voice, and in Mama Margaret, it has one staunch voice!
The butchering of our elephants by
cartels all over the national parks, game reserves and sanctuaries has silently
gone unabated and in recent years, it has reached the alarming level, thus
threatening the tourism earnings in our country, the jobs that come with it and
the huge economic gains. In the strong willed campaigns that conservationists
have waged against the greedy and selfish cartels of poachers and dealers in
this illegal trade, the entry of Mama Margaret into the fray to lead the fight
is priceless. The timely and much needed shot in the arm! Revered conservationists of our elephants
like, Paula Kahumbu now have the much needed support of the country’s premier
lady, to help protect our elephant heritage.
The concerns that our First Lady has
for this country are unrivalled by most of us, and as politicians deafen our
ears with unending political rhetoric and broke the Kenyan hearts by renegading
on their promises, and enriching themselves at the expenses of Kenyans, one
person has chosen to show us the light and she is doing this in a humbling and
touching manner.
Just to put the icing on the cake for
unrivalled efforts in her Beyond Zero Campaign, she was crowned United Nations Person
of The Year 2014, on Friday, October 24, 2014. A befitting crown for a woman
who has in all ways showed us the way in helping our vulnerable mothers and
children.
During KANU’s 24-year reign, retired
President Moi was Baba wa Taifa! And for these concerted efforts to save our
elephants and improve the lives of our mothers and children, Mama Margaret is
the revered Mama wa Taifa! Since independence,
no first lady ahs ever impacted on the Kenyan society as Mama Margaret has! Well
done Mama Margaret, you are the nation’s mother, May God bless you in all your
endeavors to improve the lives of our beloved mothers and children.
No comments:
Post a Comment