Charlene Ruto: “My Father, a Chicken Seller, is My Inspiration”
Key takeaways
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- First daughter Charlene Ruto attended the United Nations Summit of the Future Action Day in New York City on Sunday.
- Charlene appeared on the high-level summit to support her friend Ambassador Lynette Mwende, who delivered a keynote speech.
- Lynette Mwende serves as Kenya’s Deputy Head of Mission in Beijing, assisting His Excellency Ambassador Willy Bett in the daily management of the Kenyan embassy in China.
- Charlene Ruto was invited to make brief remarks at the event, where she expressed her passion for transforming the lives of the youth through agriculture.
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Charlene Ruto invites tourists to Kenya to see swimming lions
First daughter Rachael Ruto delivered a moving speech on farming and biodiversity at the United Nations Summit of the Future Action Day in New York City.
The self-styled Youth Champion took the opportunity to promote Kenya’s tourist attractions, inviting the attendees to the country’s national parks and game reserves.
Charlene highlighted Kenya’s rich and diverse wildlife that has earned the country billions of dollars since independence.
In addition to agriculture, tourism is a key sector that mainly supports the hospitality industry. Counties such as Narok, Mombasa, and Kajiado rely on tourism to sustain daily livelihoods and drive development.
“Allow me to welcome all of you to come to Kenya, We have beautiful beaches, we are the only country where our national park is in the capital city, and we have swimming lions,” Charlene said.
Charlene’s striking reference to swimming lions draws from the incredible ability of African lions to make short swims across rivers and ponds in search of prey and mating partners.
While you can spot swimming lions in some of Kenya’s parks, the most impressive sightings are in the famous Okavango Delta Game Park in Botswana.
Charlene Ruto seeks to empower young people through agriculture
In her remarks at the summit, Charlene Ruto maintained her stance of bringing in more young people to agriculture.
The first daughter, an enthusiastic beekeeper, lamented the lack of youth engagement in agriculture, pointing out that the average age of an African farmer is 60 years.
Ms. Ruto has made it her goal to cut down the average age of the African farmer from 60 to 16 years.
The SMACHS Foundation founder and patron also credited her parents President William Ruto and First Lady Rachael Ruto for introducing her to farming from a young age.
“When I looked at how I could work with young people, agriculture was a no-brainer. Every Easter and Christmas since I was 3 my parents would insist that we go to the farm. I hated it at that time but now I am so grateful,” said Charlene.
According to Charlene, her experience in beekeeping has shown her that there are numerous opportunities for young people to explore within the agricultural sector.
The first daughter has been a strong advocate for agribusiness as a means of empowering youth and has participated in various events to encourage young people to embrace it as a viable livelihood.
Charlene believes that her parents’ successful stories can inspire other young people across the globe to also venture into farming.
“My father is a chicken farmer, my mother has a green thumb she’s great with flowers she does amazing kitchen gardens. I am a beekeeper. I do sell honey as a business.”
Drawing from her parents’ inspiration, Charlene Ruto established the SMACHS Foundation which advocates for smart mechanized agriculture and climate action for humanity and sustainability.
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