Exclusive: Janet Mbugua – Why I look up to Wangari Maathai and Farida Karoney
Media personality Janet Mbugua has revealed the people she looks up to and why.
Mbugua, a former TV journalist, in an exclusive interview with Nairobi News, explained the people she looks up to influenced her life and motivated her to climb up the career ladder.
She specifically mentioned Wangari Maathai, Farida Karoney, her children, and parents.
“This is a tricky question but I would say there are several people who have made my journey lighter. This ranges from my two boys, to the late Wangari Maathjai to my parents to Farida Karoney,” Janet told Nairobi News.
“I also look up to my two kids although they are young because they have taught me so much.”
However, she notes that she cannot single out specific individuals but the people she mentioned are top of her list.
Farida Karoney who is a former Cabinet Secretary for Lands is a celebrated TV journalist.
“There was one time she called me and said ‘I want you back here so that I can train you and put you on the news’.
She was immediately roped in by Citizen TV and was paired with Hussein Mohammed as they forged a formidable pair.
However, Ms Mbugua says for the longest time, Wangari Maathai leads her list.
“This is because of what she stood for and fought for. And it was one of my biggest honors to meet her in 2009. That’s something I will never forget.”
Wangari Maathai is a Kenyan politician and environmental activist who was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize for Peace, becoming the first Black African woman to win a Nobel Prize. Her work was often considered both unwelcome and subversive in Kenya, where her outspokenness constituted stepping far outside traditional gender roles.
Just like Wangari Maathai developed the idea that village women could improve the environment by planting trees to provide a fuel source and to slow the processes of deforestation and desertification, Janet through her Inua Dada initiative is restoring sanity among women and ladies by teaching them how to make sanitary towels and also supplying them to various counties.
On the other hand, some of Janet’s dreams were sparked through Wangari Maathai.
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