PSCU 21/11/2018- First Lady Margaret Kenyatta this afternoon led her visiting Mozambican counterpart Isaura Nyusi on a tour of Kazuri Beads Factory and Pottery Centre located in Karen Nairobi. Kazuri Beads Factory and Pottery Centre specialises in the empowerment of disadvantaged women who produce handmade ceramic jewellery which are sold all over the world.
The two First Ladies interacted freely with the over 340 employees of the factory, mostly single mothers who earn their living making items that include necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Speaking during the tour, the Mozambican First Lady expressed her gratitude to First Lady Margaret saying she was deeply impressed by what she saw and promised to replicate the same in her country.
“The designs which I have seen are unique, its unbelievable to see this kind of unique work,” said the Mozambican First Lady Isaura Nyusi. The Mozambican First Lady is accompanying her husband President Filipe Nyusi for a State Visit during which they will also attend the first ever Global Blue Economy Conference being co-hosted by Kenya, Canada and Japan. Before touring the Kazuri factory and pottery centre, the two gracious ladies held tete-a-tete during which they discussed matters of mutual welfare of women and youth especially on matters of health, education and economic empowerment.
The Mozambican First Lady is famously known for the projects aimed at improving the general welfare for the citizens including Adult Literacy projects and support programmes, the National Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and the First Ladies Health Initiative on Cervical, Breast and Prostate Cancer. Just like her host, the initiatives, which she has launched, have had very positive impact in the lives of beneficiaries, their families and the community in general.
The Mozambican First Lady is highly regarded for her outstanding community engagements and has in the past received awards in recognition of her work. She has been feted for expanding access to education for girls through the fight against the negative cultural activities of early marriages and spreading the fight to other countries in the SADC region starting with Zambia.
On the other hand, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has continued to scale up efforts towards promotion of child and maternal healthcare. Through the 2018 to 2022 Beyond Zero Strategic Framework, the First Lady has initiated the Medical Safaris Programme which is aimed at delivering much needed medical services to communities even as the country works towards the realisation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), one of the four pillars of the Government’s Big 4 Development Agenda.
The new strategies are also aimed at ensuring that nobody is left behind including those affected by previously neglected health challenges like Fistula, disability in children and sickle cell complications. So far the First Lady has held a successful Medical Safari in Narok County with another planned for this week in Kisumu County. The success of the Medical Safaris is anchored on harnessing the expertise and financial muscle of partners to deliver much needed medical services.