16-year-old girl becomes Ambassador of Ireland for a day

Two Kenyan schoolgirls, Sheryl, 16, and Patience, 14, had the opportunity to tour the Irish embassy in Kenya, where they interacted with staff and learnt how the Embassy operates.

Through Plan International’s Child Sponsorship programme, the two young girls spent time at the embassy, where they undertook some of the activities carried out by the Irish ambassador to Kenya.

These included chairing a meeting with the senior management team and learning their portfolios and overall work of the Embassy of Ireland linked to empowerment of girls and young people.

Sheryl acted as the ambassador while Patience was her deputy during the girls take over tour at the embassy.

According to Evelyn Maris, the Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Ireland - Kenya, as a young girl growing up, it was historically hard to see visibility of women in certain leadership positions.

"I think the opportunity to come to the Embassy today, and see that we have a female Ambassador, a female Deputy Ambassador, female Second Secretaries, and Deputy Head of Corporations, I really hope that this inspires them to say that yes we can do it," said Maris.

"The work that Plan International are doing and getting those voices heard is critical," said Maris who hosted the two girls a the Embassy.
Sheryl and Patience hail from Homa Bay and Machakos counties, respectively.

The two girls shared their experiences and proposed recommendations and future opportunities for collaboration to address issues that girls in their communities face.

They spoke about issues like menstrual hygiene management, lack of access to education, sexual and reproductive health and rights, climate change and discrimination among others.