By: DPPS
Worth Noting:
- “My mother instilled in me the discipline I have today. She raised me and pointed to the future, and I live today despite coming from a very poor family where we did not have all the privileges. I understand what it means to not have enough food to eat, clothes to wear, but my mother (widow) put the family together.” said Pastor Dorcas.
- “That is why I tell every woman that, in order for the world to change, you (women) are the changing agents. You are the transforming agent. The woman is the centre piece that will bring the world together,” she added.
Women are transforming agents, Second Lady Pastor Dorcas Rigathi has said.
She spoke on Thursday in Gujarat, India to more than 10,000 women on the need to have balanced families and the role of women in society.
Pastor Dorcas Rigathi was attending the Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav 100-year celebrations in India, which included presentations on recycling, entrepreneurship, blood donation, theatre shows and drama about drug addiction, alcoholism, unconnected families, choosing friends, and other topics.
“My mother instilled in me the discipline I have today. She raised me and pointed to the future, and I live today despite coming from a very poor family where we did not have all the privileges. I understand what it means to not have enough food to eat, clothes to wear, but my mother (widow) put the family together.” said Pastor Dorcas.
“That is why I tell every woman that, in order for the world to change, you (women) are the changing agents. You are the transforming agent. The woman is the centre piece that will bring the world together,” she added.
Pastor Dorcas is working under the agenda of family values in her office to support and strengthen families in Kenya, especially the boy child, and also care for the vulnerable populations.
Present during the women-only meeting were Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, government officials, authors, and business leaders. The event included different cultural dances and plays, and was broadcast across 152 media stations.
Pastor Dorcas also engaged with diverse methods employed in India to fight against alcohol and drug abuse, and build strong families that included artistic works, theatre and video productions, and health interventions.
The children were heavily involved in communicating the interventions to inform and protect them early on in life against these destructive vices.
She made a rallying call to the women in India to “be involved in the mentoring of the boy child” a statement she has repeated in Kenya in public forums.
“If you want to change and transform the world, you must become the agent of transformation and change. Bring up that bundle of joy (baby) and show them how to love. Teach them to respect and honour women as well as their parents. And when that boy child grows up, they will be able to respect women. At the formation stage, mothers shape the child through the right teachings, and this is our (women’s) purpose,” she added.
She reminded the thousands present of the vulnerable living in the neighbourhoods and urged all in society to step up and show love and care for them.
“A woman will take care of all the vulnerable in society. There are enough vulnerable children, drug and alcohol addicts in this world, and the voice of a woman to her son, husband, and brother will make a difference. As the second lady of the Republic of Kenya, I desire to see a changed man,” she said.
In her quest for balanced families, she expressed her agenda and desire for a society that teaches men to respect women and girls; not abuse, misuse, or disrespect them.