I was Inspired By A Poor Woman To Empower Others Financially, Rachel Says

According to First Lady Rachel Ruto, the road to starting her organization Joyful Women (JoyWo) began long ago.

Speaking alongside US First Lady Jill Biden at a Table Banking seminar on Saturday in Kibra, Rachel said it all started with President William Ruto's election as MP for Eldoret North in 1997.

"This was roughly 25 years ago. I got the chance to visit the villages of Eldoret and conduct a campaign to support my husband, the current president "She spoke.

Rachel claimed to be a young woman who had recently married and was only 27 years old.

As a result, she added, "I went as a wife and mother to go meet the mothers and the youth and simply to observe what was happening and assist campaign."

The First Lady addressed a specific set of women as she travelled throughout the villages soliciting votes.

"Around 50 of them were seated near the road, and I stopped to chat with them merely to beg for votes. But something else piqued my interest, "Rachel remembered.

She claimed to have observed a woman sitting directly in front of her who appeared to have skipped breakfast yet gave her a friendly grin.

Rachel claimed that she promised to return and take action for women if her husband became president of the House of Commons.

"Since what I witnessed was inappropriate, I wondered what the circumstances would be at home if a mother left her house without shoes to attend that type of meeting.

"How about her offspring? And a lot of thoughts ran through my mind "She spoke.

As the wife of an MP, President Ruto she wondered how she would support the ladies after winning the Eldoret North seat.

I was seeking sustainability for those women, so I kept wondering and talking to individuals, she added.

Rachel claimed that she immediately understood that the banking system that a group of Kenyan economists had discovered in Bangladesh and other parts of Asia was the answer for the women when she received a call about it.

She continued as soon as possible, "I scheduled a meeting with other women leaders, and I met the women under a tree, and we started talking to them about table banking.

The Joyful Women Organization came into existence on August 31, 2009.

It bears the name in honour of the one woman who had no shoes and no breakfast but still had a pleasant grin. It illustrates that even if you might not always have everything you want, no one can take it away.