• Kenyan First Lady, Mama Rachel Ruto has been no exception since Ruto became president in August last year.
• She has continued to actively play her official role as first lady and here is a list of some of the solo trips she has taken since becoming the first lady.
Image: RACHEL RUTO
For any First Lady, just by being the spouse of a sitting president, you will in one way or another be involved in a lot of travelling.
The travels will most of the time have the First Lady accompany the president, but in other instances, the First Lady will be required to travel alone to represent herself, the president of the country at different forums.
Kenyan First Lady, Mama Rachel Ruto has been no exception since Ruto became president in August last year.
She has continued to actively play her official role as First Lady and here is a list of some of the solo trips she has taken since becoming the First Lady.
Indian award
Image: OFLK
In September, First Lady Rachel Ruto was in India, where she was awarded the prestigious KISS Humanitarian Award.
Mama Rachel received the award at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences in Bhubaneswar, India.
Speaking after receiving the award, the First Lady highlighted the urgent need for unity in addressing global challenges such as climate change and poverty.
"With a strong commitment to women, children and vulnerable communities," Mama Rachel said.
She also emphasised the importance of financial inclusion, climate action and promoting youth empowerment, while at it.
US first lady training
Image: RACHEL RUTO
In July 2023, Mama Rachel was among the First Ladies who took part in a Leadership Training Programme at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.
Present at the training was US First Lady Jill Biden and they discussed how to advance critical health and development issues on communicable and chronic disease management, community health, maternal and child health, climate change, health systems and gender disparities in access to health care.
Other First Ladies who attended the four-day event include Jane Masisi (Botswana), Monica Chakwera (Malawi), Auxillia Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe), Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow (Gambia), Isaura Gonçalo Ferrão Nyusi (Mozambique) and Monica Geingos of Namibia.
The programme, organised by the Global First Ladies Academy, aims to empower First Ladies to create lasting change in their countries and contribute to global development efforts.
Business Dinner in Dallas
Image: office of the First Lady
In May, First Lady Mama Rachel Ruto attended a business dinner hosted by Life Bridge Global in Dallas, USA, attended by business leaders. The First Lady hailed the good relations that Kenya and the United States of America have enjoyed for over 60 years, which has facilitated trade and tourism between the two countries.
She urged the business leaders to take advantage of Kenya's strategic position as the gateway to East Africa and partner with the government to implement development projects envisaged in the Bottom Up Economic Empowerment plan.
She affirmed that Kenya is ready for business and had indeed moved from aid to trade in its engagement with development partners.
During this trip, she also made a compelling case for investment in Kenya at the TWEM annual conference in Dallas, Texas.
The forum highlighted various investment opportunities in line with the government's transformation agenda.
These opportunities spanned sectors such as agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), housing and settlements, manufacturing, the digital superhighway, the creative economy, the service economy, and environmental and climate action.
Mama Rachel meets TD Jakes
Image: RACHEL RUTO
During Rachel Ruto’s trip to the US for the First Ladies training, she also attended a church service at the T. D. Jakes, The Potter's House church.
“The Bible reminds us that God is always with us. He will always provide a way for us to overcome life's challenges. Our role is to put our trust in Him," Mama Rachel said.
“I attended Sunday service at The Potter's House. Bishop TD Jakes reminded us that God has an eternal plan for everyone and urged us to be patient and wait for God's timing."
Other trips
Apart from her solo trips, Rachel Ruto has made several other trips where she has been accompanied by President William Ruto and in these trips, she has ended up holding meetings in support of investment into Kenya, as well as support for her projects.
She accompanied the President to the African leaders’ summit where she held meetings with Elizabeth Cousens, CEO and President of the UN Foundation, and Ms. Jennifer Oldfield, Director of External Relations at the Global Partnership on Data for the SDGs, to explore collaboration to accelerate access to experts, ideas and resources with the United Nations to solve multiple and accelerating crises affecting the world and more specifically women.
She also met Princess Sheika Sameer Bint Al-Nahyan, Kyle McCarter, a former ambassador of the United States to Kenya and the Director of Each One Feed One, The Thunderbird School of Global Management leaders Professor Sanjeev and Philip Thigo from Arizona State University among others.
During Ruto’s recent trip to China, Mama Rachel took time to visit the China Women’s University, the only state-owned women’s university, affiliated with All-China Women’s Federation.
She also held discussions with Zhang Tian, CEO of Deep Rock Group and founder of the Vanke Foundation.
The organisations focus on environmental protection, community waste management, environmental protection, disaster response, architectural conservation, education, poverty alleviation, child healthcare, and other areas.
The First Lady previously accompanied the President to the United Kingdom, Israel, and the US several times, among other places.