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Othaya , November 19, 2006

First Lady Mrs. Lucy Kibaki unveils a plaque to mark the laying of the foundation stone for the Kariko Catholic Parish Pastoral centre in Othaya, Nyeri

First Lady cautions Kenyans to be wary of unpatriotic leaders

The First Lady Mrs. Lucy Kibaki has cautioned Kenyans to be wary of unpatriotic politicians out to malign their motherland.

She said some politicians have formed a habit of roaming in foreign capitals spreading lies about their nation and its leadership adding that such people lacked self discipline and therefore need to be ignored by wananchi.

The First Lady noted that the same leaders who were in the forefront urging wananchi not to accept the draft constitution are now busy spreading empty rhetoric adding that such politicians do not deserve any leadership position.

She therefore called on the church leaders to come out and tell their members the truth concerning the country's leadership so as to ensure that Kenya continues to enjoy the fruits of good leadership.

" Religious leaders have a duty to tell their flock the truth concerning the country's leadership. It's unfortunate that Church leaders have been mum concerning major issues facing this nation currently and yet they are supposed to show the right way," said Mrs. Kibaki.

She noted that politicians who are criticizing the Government are trying to cause confusion for their own selfish gains and disrupt peace and harmony among Kenyans.

" You cant afford to give these people leadership positions, they can easily derail the country. If they have been talking ill of their motherland all through these years how do you expect them to change if they take over the leadership of the country?," Mrs. Kibaki asked.

The First Lady made the remarks when she laid the foundation stone for the proposed Kariko Catholic Pastoral Centre and School Hostel in Othaya, Nyeri district.

She at the same time reassured the youth of the Government's commitment to develop and implement strategies that will enhance their opportunities to acquire decent and productive work.

The First Lady therefore urged the youth to cooperate and support the Government in its efforts to provide a conducive environment for them to realize their full potential.

Said the First Lady, " I wish to assure the youth in the country that the Government is fully aware of the challenges facing them and is committed to developing and implementing strategies that will give them a real chance to develop, acquire education and find decent and productive work."

Mrs. Kibaki noted that it is impossible to progress as a nation without the deployment of the youth who constitute 75 per cent of the country's population.

The First Lady added that in order for the country to succeed in the task of nation building there is need to harness the energies, enthusiasm and creative abilities of the young people.

"Our youth need all the necessary facilities they can get to develop body and mind, and to acquire the necessary skills they need to cope with life in the new information society," the First Lady said.

In this regard the First Lady called on all Kenyans to dedicate themselves to nurturing young people to enable them lead full lives and contribute to national development.

This, she said, would entail addressing challenges facing young people the most important being early childhood up bringing, health education and drug abuse.

"In seeking to develop the youth and shape them into responsible and productive citizens, we must pay particular attention to early childhood development," said the First Lady.

Saying a child's future is largely determined in the first six years of their lives, Mrs. Kibaki urged parents to ensure that their children acquire right values and attitudes in the early stages of life so as to shape them into responsible citizens.

In this connection, the First Lady called on parents to acquire right values, which include personal discipline as well as values embodied in all the world's religions. She said parents need to ensure their children understand their responsibility to God in order to grow up into obedient adults to God and the laws of society.

Besides early childhood development, the First Lady said education also played a critical role in the development of the youth noting that in seeking to provide education, emphasis must be placed on quality education, which aims at providing life skills and preparing young people more adequately for participating in the labour market.

She noted that since the introduction of the Government's free primary education policy, enrollment in schools has increased tremendously standing at 7.6 million children in formal public education and another 350,000 in non-formal schools.

She however noted that in spite of this progress, poverty, gender inequality and access to education in rural areas remain major barriers to schooling.

Mrs. Kibaki therefore called on all stakeholders to support the Government's efforts in ensuring the achievement of the universal education goal by 2015.

The First Lady once again welcomed the Church's efforts in supplementing the Government's efforts in the provision of education saying other stakeholders including development partners need to come out in support of the Government in increasing bursaries for needy students, improving existing training facilities for the youth and establishing enough special schools and rehabilitation centres to cater for the youth in special circumstances.

"Other areas of partnership include enforcing the re-admission policy for girls who drop out of school due to pregnancy and creating linkages between educational institutions and the private sector through research, internship opportunities and financing" noted the First Lady.

The First Lady further noted that health is also a major challenge facing the youth saying a part from the common health problems like malaria and tuberculosis, the spread of HIV/AIDS has become an issue of major concern.

Mrs. Kibaki pointed out that 75 per cent of people infected with AIDS in the country are those of the age bracket of 20-45 adding that 33 per cent of all cases reported are of young people aged 15-30 years.

Noting that other health challenges facing the youth include teenage pregnancies and abortion, the First Lady said it was sad to note that many young girls use pregnancy control drugs and therefore become more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and other sexual transmitted disease.

Said the First Lady, " It is sad to note that many of our young girls use pregnancy control drugs, which are available over the counter. This makes them more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections because they concentrate on prevention of pregnancy and overlook the risk of getting infected."

The First Lady therefore said there is need for partnership between the Government, Church and other stakeholders in addressing this challenge saying the Government is planning a wide range of measures to tackle the challenge.

She noted that among the measures being taken by the Government include promoting and establishing home and community based welfare programmes to help youth orphaned by HIV/AIDS and supporting their campaigns aimed at changing sexual behaviour.


She further said other planned measures include establishing affordable rehabilitation centres to help youth addicted to drugs, improving the technical and institutional capacity of youth organizations to enable them effectively promote health programmes for youth.

The First Lady added that, "Other planned measures include establishing affordable rehabilitation centres to help youth addicted to drugs, improving the technical and institutional capacity of youth organisations to enable them effectively promote health programmes for youth and establishing guidance and counseling units managed by the youth in all learning institutions."

The First Lady therefore urged the youth to abstain from sexual activity, avoid the use of harmful substances and resist various forms of peer pressure that can compromise their health.

She thanked the Catholic Church for playing a leading role in the provision of community service saying the construction of the centre is a testimony of its expanding role in providing spiritual nourishment, education facilities and other forms of support to disadvantaged children.

During the function a fundraising was held towards the construction of a boarding facility for St. Peter and Paul Academy, a pastoral animation centre and a support centre for orphans and other bright disadvantaged where a total of Ksh,3,866,675 was raised which included Ksh 550,000 from the First Lady and her family.

The Nyeri Arch-bishop John Njue who is also the Chairman of Kenya Episcopal Conference presided over the fundraising and gave his contribution of Ksh 45,000.

Present were Minister for Gender, Sports, Culture and Social services Maina Kamanda who gave his contribution of Kshs.300,000, Central PC Joseph Rugut Ksh, 10,000 and the Nairobi Mayor Dick Wathika Ksh 20,000 among others.