By Ndungu Gachane
Over 30 girls have benefited with portable saloon and cosmetic equipment thanks to Daughters of the Mountain group that has initiated women economic empowerment programs in Mt Kenya region.
The group, in full realization that the social moral fabric of the Agikuyu culture is fading away, joined hands and commenced the program where they instill morals to the young women in bid to restore the river back to its course to have a stable future women with dignity and financial status.
Muranga County Assembly Nominated MCA Wambui Njoki, a member or the Daughters of the Mountain (DOTM) says since women are the backbone of the Agikuyu community cultural heritage, they seek to target them in all the 11 Counties in Mt Kenya region.
In their undertakings, Ms Njoki says, the group equips youthful women with tools of trade like the saloon equipment and offer financial literacy skills to grow their businesses to a multi million empire and dynasty.
Speaking at Mathioya Catholic church grounds when they distributed the equipment to the young, deserving but promising women, Ms Njoki said the economic and intergenerational empowerment program aims at eradicating social evils facing the community as well as educating them on available opportunities that could uplift their living standards.
“During such caucuses, we tag along successful professionals such as doctors to enlighten our young women on health, lawyers for them to understand their rights and people with vast knowledge on our culture in bid to preserve it,” The MCA said.
She added that the group started in Kiambu County and now after visiting Muranga and Nyeri, they will be heading to Nyandarua and Kirinyaga Counties until they go round the region recruiting and empowering women backed by a saying ’empowering a woman is empowering a nation.
During the function, the group had invited former Nyeri Women Representative Priscilla Nyokabi who now serves as a commissioner for National Gender Equality Commission(NGEC) who took them through the Building Bridges Initiative report on constitutional amendment bill.
She said the constitutional amendment bill has all the interests of women at heart and called on them to support the changes.
“The bill recognises the need to have gender parity in both the Senate and the National Assembly, its a wonderful document that promotes and protects women and should get a nod especially from women,” Ms Nyokabi a lawyer added.
Muranga Women Representative Wanjiru Chege promised the group her support noting that empowering women is a necessity factor of development of a society.
“Empowerment of women is a necessity for the very development of a society since it enhances both quality and the quantity of human resources available for development,” she said.
The chair for the Health Committee at the National Assembly noted that women:s empowerment and achieving gender equality is essential for the society to ensure sustainable development of the country.
