County: Kakamega
On the 29th of September, the honor of Miss Tourism Kenya 2018, Kakamega County Chapter, was awarded to Y-ACT’s very own youth advocate, Linet Jendeka Kamadi, a 24-year old Peace Ambassadors Kenya advocate with a passion for Sexual and Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR) and Gender Equality advocacy.
The event was hosted by Kakamega County First Lady H.E. Priscillah Oparanya and graced by Chief Guest, Busia County First Lady H.E. Judy Ojaamong, as well as Hon. Robert Makhanu (CEC member for Social Services, Youth and Sports) and Hon. Joseph Indire (CEC member for Education, Science and Technology and Public Service and Administration).
Linet now signs a one-year contract with the County Government of Kakamega as a staff member in the Directorate of Tourism and will manage a 2.5 million shilling budget for Corporate Social Responsibility activities across the county.
When asked how she felt about the opportunity, she said, “I am excited about this golden opportunity. I plan to use to use this platform to amplify my advocacy work especially in pushing for gender and SRHR policies amongst policy makers both in the county and national level.”
Kakamega County is identified as one of the 15 counties with the highest burden of Sexual and Reproductive Health Challenges. A survey conducted by the United Nations Population Fund ranked Kakamega County as the fifth in the nation bearing the highest maternal mortality rates. Young women are the most affected.
“This chance presents me with much greater access to decision makers and I intend on making the most out of it. I also plan on using this countywide platform for medical tourism to address health issues such as obstetric fistula which is rampant in Kakamega County alongside promoting investment opportunities for tourism in the region.”, the passionate youth advocate added.
Y-ACT is proud of Linet’s great stride in identifying a platform where she can influence others to prioritize youth issues in policies on SRHR and Gender Equality.
