- She made the sentiments while on an official visit to Israel with President William Ruto.
- Ruto on Tuesday said he realised that there is a spiritual connection between prayers and tree planting.
Image: RACHAEL RUTO / FACEBOOK
First Lady Rachael Ruto has said Kenya will partner with Israel to establish 'Zion forest' in Machakos county.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mama Rachael said that Kenya needs to take action in combating climate change.
"Climate change is a present reality affecting our lives and livelihoods, and it will only get worse if we don't take action. I am excited about the upcoming partnership between Mama Doing Good and KKL-JNF to establish the 'Zion forest' in Machakos," she said.
Mama Rachael said the move is an important step towards restoring the ecosystem.
The process will be coordinated in collaboration with the the Kenya Israeli Embassy.
This was after the First Lady visited KKL-JNF in Jerusalem to learn about their seed development, preservation, tree nursery, and seedling nurturing.
KKL-JNF promotes sustainable development and environmental conservation in Israel and will guide the establishment of the new forest.
She made the sentiments while on an official visit to Israel with President William Ruto.
Ruto on Tuesday said he realised that there is a spiritual connection between prayers and tree planting.
"I was pleased to learn this afternoon that is not only a good thing to protect our environment but is also biblical," he said.
"And it is also spiritual. I understand here because, for the first time, I found that we have to pray before we plant trees."
Ruto explained that Kenya has always tried to plant trees but the success has not been optimum, alluding it to a lack of prayers.
"I think because we didn't have the element of prayer and now that we do, I am very confident we will succeed in our plan to plant 15 billion trees in the next 10 years," Ruto said.
On December 22, 2022, President Ruto launched a tree restoration programme at Ngong Hills Forest in an effort to combat the effects of climate change in the country.
The initiative, which aims to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, will work to reduce greenhouse emissions, stop and reverse deforestation, and restore 5.1 million hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes through the African Landscape Restoration Initiative.