Raila grants Baby Wendy Waeni’s wish to meet him

On Wednesday, Wendy Waeni, the gifted young acrobat, who was recently appointed an Inspirational and Enthusiastic Young Champion Ambassador by UNICEF, sought out Raila Odinga expressing her wish to meet him ahead of the World Children’s Day that falls on November 20.

Waeni, who sat for her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) this year, has emerged as a strong advocate for the right to education.

“This year’s World Children’s Day on 20th Nov 2018 we advocate a World where every child is in school to achieve their dreams . Every child in the world has the right to a free and quality education. More than 260 million children and young people are out of school, and many of them will never get an education. Millions more are in school but not learning due to poor education. Lets all #GoBlue and have a world where every child goes to school & gets quality education,”  she said after being tapped by UNICEF.

Good Morning Hon @RailaOdinga ,my name is Wendy Waeni,i am a @UNICEF Young Champion for World Children’s Day & Children’s Rights.I would love to meet you ahead of the World Childrens Day that is on 20th.
WCD is UNICEF’s annual global day of action to advocate for Children rights pic.twitter.com/sVohRrvgzK

— WENDY WAENI (GLOBAL CHILD) (@WendyWaeni) November 14, 2018

Her appeal to Raila attracted immediate response from ODM Director of Communications Philip Etale who assured her that the former PM will find time to meet her before the celebrations.

Raila Junior Odinga also reached out to Waeni and asked her to send him a direct message (DM).

Well, her wish was fulfilled in less than 24 hours. She got to meet Raila on Thursday during which Waeni says she  emphasised to him the need for world leaders to ensure that every child gets a free, quality and safe education.

As a unicef young Champion for Children Rights i emphasized to H.E @RailaOdinga the need of World Leaders to ensure that Every Child gets a free,quality and safe education .
Thankyou H.E for supporting this. pic.twitter.com/x5BiP3PZ1X

— WENDY WAENI (GLOBAL CHILD) (@WendyWaeni) November 15, 2018

In a tweet, Raila said: “The rights of children must be upheld at all times and we should all strive to create an enabling environment so that they may fulfill their potential and blossom into productive members of society.”

13-year-old Waeni, a gymnast, is a girl on the rise. She has previously exhibited her talent by performing for various Heads of State, including President Uhuru Kenyatta, Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and former Presidents John Mahama (Ghana) and Jacob Zuma (South Africa).

In September 2016, she got to personally meet Kagame though she said he took so long before replying to her Twitter request.