Rachel Ruto asks MPs’ spouses to adopt forests
President William Ruto and his wife Rachel Ruto hosted a breakfast meeting for spouses of members of the National Assembly at State House, Nairobi on Friday morning March 31, 2023.
The office of the First Lady Kenya said the agenda of the meeting was to explore areas of partnership between Mama Doing Good, an initiative of Rachel Ruto, and the spouses as they support their respective Members of Parliament (MPs) and deliver to their constituents.
The president expressed his commitment to working with every MP for the benefit of Kenyans.
Further, Ruto urged the spouses to support the MPs by taking up initiatives geared toward greening Kenya.
"Greening Kenya is a collective effort; it is not so much a president's initiative. We all need to be committed to reversing the effects of climate change," Ruto said.
On her part, Rachel Ruto urged the spouses to adopt a forest in their constituencies to support the national government’s target of growing 15 billion trees by 2032.
Kakamega forest
The First Lady on March 21, 2023, announced that she has adopted 200 hectares (494 acres) in the Kakamega forest.
Rachel Ruto noted that she took up 200 hectares in the Kakamega forest for re-afforestation.
She explained that her initiative was aimed at protecting the environment in the country and also encouraged like-minded Kenyans to partner with her in restoring forests.
Mama Rachel made the announcement while marking the International Day of Forests, saying the move was motivated by her commitment to growing 500 million trees in the next 10 years as a long-term solution to combat climate change.
“Warm greetings on this 2023 International Day of Forests, celebrated on the theme "Forests and Health”. The day is a reminder of the undeniable correlation between nature and health: the healthier our surroundings are, the merrier our well-being,” she stated.,
“Knowing this, we should make deliberate efforts to grow and protect our forest cover through sustainable forest practices. As part of the Office of the First Lady’s commitment to growing 500 million trees by 2032, I have adopted 200 hectares of Kakamega forest for restoration.”
