President Uhuru Kenyatta has lauded single mothers for the special role they play in upholding their families and bringing up their children in the absence of their fathers.
Eulogizing the mother to National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Mama Virginia CiarĂąnji, Uhuru noted how she remarkably raised the children single-handedly for over 40 years.
Speaking during the funeral ceremony in Embu on Saturday, he celebrated Mama Virginia as hardworking, jovial, kind-hearted based on her deeds of benevolence to her local community.
[caption caption="Uhuru arriving for Mama Virginia's burial"]
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Likewise, Uhuru drew a comparison from his own upbringing where the family has been under the care of Mama Ngina Kenyatta for past 40 years.
"Vile vile kwa familia yetu tumekua na mzazi moja na ni mama. (Equally, in our family, we have been brought up by a single mother)."
"I know many people don't like acknowledging this fact, but I will put it across: The mother is the foundation of the family."
Uhuru said that going forward, there is a need for the country to take care of mothers as they are an important pillar of the family.
"If you take care of a mother, you have taken care of the nation. As it is often stated, "If you feed a man, you have fed an individual, but if you feed a mother you feed a community."
Terming the late as a hero, Uhuru noted that her exemplary life has provided an admirable character that should be imitated by all.
[caption caption="CJ Maraga condoling with Speaker Muturi"]
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He further noted that the children Mama Virginia left behind are enough testimony of her well-lived life: "She went to the Lord a happy woman, happy that she had lived a fulfilling life."
