MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday, April 5, 2023, State House, Nairobi: The First Lady, Mama Rachel Ruto, received a donation of 100 sewing machines from I Love Africa, a non-governmental organisation based in South Korea committed to the economic empowerment of women in Africa.

In her remarks, the First Lady thanked Mrs. Chang Lee, the CEO of I Love Africa, for the generous donation of sewing machines and affirmed her commitment to economically empowering women in Kenya.

The donation of the sewing machines is a great contribution to the Women Economic Empowerment pillar, which is one of the three pillars of the Mama Doing Good organisation, the other two being Environment & Climate Action and Faith Diplomacy.

The First Lady emphasised the influence women can have when given opportunities and the right tools to engage in livelihood projects.

She also noted that the garment and textile sector is an area of focus in Kenya Kwanza’s ‘Bottom-Up’ Economic Transformation Agenda, and urged Kenyans to buy and wear locally manufactured clothes.

The Government of Kenya is encouraging public institutions to buy from local suppliers, such as school uniforms, and reserves 30% of procurement for women and youth under the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) program.

The CEO of I Love Africa organisation Mrs. Chang Lee, expressed her interest in partnering with the Mama Doing Good organisation to positively impact more lives in Kenya.

The First Lady further encouraged more partnerships with I Love Africa and other like-minded organisations, for the empowerment of women as economic transformation agents.

The End

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For more information, Contact:

The Office of The First Lady, Communications: oscar.kimani@president.go.ke / ofl@president.go.ke