By Fredrick Odiero
President William Ruto, daughter Charlene Chelagat Ruto went on a charm offensive in Kisumu County where she led tree-planting exercises in a number of learning institutions with an aim of mitigating climate change and its adverse effects.
Charlene who appears keen to use her role as a member of the first family to positively impact the environment first went to Kasagam Secondary where she presided over a tree planting session.
She later donated sanitary towels to female students at the learning institution located in Kisumu East constituency.
Charlene later went to Joyland Special School where she presided over a similar exercise and promised to donate a school bus to the institution.
Charlene who was accompanied by area Member of Parliament (MP) Shabir Ahmed later went to Nyalunya Secondary School where she also presided over a similar exercise while in the company of Kisumu County Commissioner Josephine Ouko and also promised to donate to them a school bus.
She donated sanitary towels and books for the primary section of the school.
Charlene later visited former Kisumu Mayor Mama Grace Onyango at her home in Tom Mboya estate.
Earlier on, she impressed upon learning institutions to be at the forefront in fighting climate change through a massive tree planting campaign. She urged students to each plant 300 trees towards that end.
She said one’s background does not inhibit them from excelling in society.
“My father came from a very humble background but he is now the President,” she said.
During this year’s Mashujaa Day celebrations, President Ruto urged Kenyans to plant more trees saying that was the only way to combat the adverse effects of climate change and the severe drought that is currently ravaging various parts of the country.
While asking citizens to plant 15 billion trees in the next 10 years, Dr. Ruto shared that in order to reach the target every single Kenyan would be required to grow 300 trees.
“The objective is to grow 5 billion trees in the next 5 years, and an additional 10 billion trees by 2032.
This will eventually lead to the rehabilitation and restoration of 10.6 million hectares in the 290 constituencies, as well as some specially selected ecosystems and water towers threatened by degradation and destruction.
“Of the 59.2 million hectares land area in Kenya, only 5.2 hectares are under forest cover. The remaining 54 million hectares are largely in arid and semi-arid lands,” he noted.
The former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta concentrated on Beyond Zero campaigns to improve maternal health care and raise funds to construct mobile clinics to ensure no pregnant woman dies while giving birth. She ran several marathons in Nairobi, London, and Kigali for that purpose.
The late Lucy Kibaki was known to empower women and ask them to fight for their rights and positions.
