Speeches Shim
Today is International Day of the Girl Child during the year of the 25th anniversary of the World Conference on Women in Beijing. A wise woman once told me that “show me the state of the adolescent girl in your country, and that will tell me what the state of your country really is.” I have found that to be true.
When women are economically empowered, they re-invest in their families and communities, producing a multiplier effect that spurs economic growth and contributes to global peace and stability. The Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) initiative seeks to reach 50 million women in the developing world by 2025 through U.S. Government activities, private-public partnerships, and an innovative fund.
They call themselves the “Superstars” and are in their own little way helping Kenya tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The women’s group in the lakeshore county of Homa Bay is making soap as part of a chama (a type of small savings and loan group that is popular across Kenya). Each of the group’s members contributes money, which is used to buy soap-making ingredients. Once it is produced, each member receives an equal amount of soap to sell. The group meets every week to share out the proceeds, setting some of the funds aside to buy more reagents and provide loans to its members.
The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is donating 200 brand-new, state-of-the-art ventilators to Kenya to assist its fight against COVID-19. The donation delivers on President Trump’s generous offer of these critically needed supplies and supports Kenya’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter and Acting Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) John Barsa highlighted three recently announced activities under the White House-led Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative that partner with the private sector and invest in Kenyan women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses.
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