Jill Biden talks about safer sex with young people in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — It was a learning Saturday for U.S. First Lady Jill Biden in Kenya.

She praised young adults for learning about safe sex and romantic relationships, attended a gathering of women creating their own banking system, and spoke to local entrepreneurs who have been helped by a program that connects tractor owners to farmers.

All three programs attempt to help women and young people take control of their lives so that they can earn a living and provide for their families. Biden highlighted U.S.-backed efforts to bolster these groups during a five-day visit to Namibia and Kenya this week.

“These are issues that really everyone needs to talk about, and yet somehow they don’t, and the consequences of not talking about them are so dire,” Biden said. to dozens of young people after talking to them about safe sex and condoms. use and birth control at the Shujaaz Konnect Festival, a local youth support event. “So I love seeing the young people here.”

In a tent where several young people were conversing, they showed him a questionnaire that they use to generate discussions. The first question: “What would you say if I told you right away that I have a condom in my pocket?”

Biden laughed. “And this is the first time you’ve met?” he asked in turn.

A Shujaaz representative said such direct offers help teenagers and young adults overcome shyness, noting that it is sometimes easier to ask such questions of strangers.

“I’m surprised you don’t start with something like, ‘What’s your greatest achievement?’ instead of, ‘I have a condom in my pocket,'” the first lady said.

The festival is a collaboration with the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, which works with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to help young Kenyans avoid being infected with HIV. HIV, which causes AIDS.

Biden, who is on the fourth day of his tour of these two African countries, spent the week promoting educational HIV/AIDS prevention programs and initiatives that teach women and young people the skills they need to find a job or start a business.

Hours earlier on Saturday, the first lady visited a government community center in Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairobi, to attend a gathering of women small business owners and participants in the Mujeres Alegres programme. Founded in 2009 by Rachel Ruto, the First Lady of Kenya, the program promotes women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion.

The participants create banking groups, within which they pool their resources in order to be able to lend to each other loans that they cannot obtain from traditional banks. Some of the women used the money to start businesses. One said she had opened a daycare.

At another event, Biden spoke with local entrepreneurs, small farmers and others who have received help from Hello Tractor, a program that connects tractor owners with farmers in need. of machines.