 woman will be strong-minded, strong-hearted, strong-sold and strong-bodied. Strength and beauty must go together. And that is what you get here at the Betia Dero Foundation, a place you will call the home of empowerment and inspiration. My name is Petra Nilanguono, the founder of Nkave Otau Volunteers Foundation, a foundation that empowers people in the community through volunteerism and in particular young people influencing them to change their society through acts of volunteerism. I met Beti in 2019, I was volunteering at an event near KICC, it was Good Ditz Day and a friend of mine called me and told me, Petra, I have invited someone for that event. I'm not sure if she's going to come but if she comes I really want you to take care of her. So this is her number when she arrives she's going to call you. I didn't know it was Beti. I was following what she was doing during Miss President and I really wanted an opportunity to meet her so the contact just read Beti. So when she arrived she called me and I was supposed to show her where she's supposed to sit, it was a very big event and she called me, she told me, I was told to contact you when I get here and yeah, where are you? So when I saw it was Beti, I was shocked, I was like oh my god, I really wanted to meet Beti for the longest time. I admire her work with Beti Adera Foundation so for me it was an honor. So that was the first time we interacted and I told myself, you know what grasp this opportunity because you're never going to get it again. So I interacted with her during the event and after that I asked her, can I meet you? Like can we get to have a sit down and maybe have coffee because it's so much I would really just want to learn from you and that was the beginning of an amazing relationship up to date. She has been a pillar in my life and I love her and she's such a support system, you know, I have worked with her and she has worked with me since 2019 to date. My name is Beti Adera. I am a loving mother of two young men, I am an enthusiast of women and youth issues. I'm a woman myself and I'm a mother of young, the youth today, mentoring thousands out there. I'm Ms. President, Narobi County. I am president and founder of Beti Adera Foundation and by training I am a public health specialist with specialization on adolescent sexual reproductive health and rights and policy and financing in the health sector. Originally I come from Seah County so in my tribe we say I am a Nyargim, a daughter from Game Area in Seah County, but my parents migrated to Migori County so I grew up in Migori County. My family has been a large one, both my parents arrested, but of our siblings we are eight of us, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and we are so closely tied together and closely following each other. I recall one time when we were almost four of us in high school at the same time and my parents being teachers, I think they gave us the best gift that any parent can give their children and not just education but also grounding in principles of life that I have applied to this day and that I will continue to apply until my last breath on earth. So I attended Migori primary and then I was the best in the district at that time and I was invited to come to Narobi to pursue my secondary education in Kenya high school. That was a transition. You know like from Wotogik village, my village is called Wotogik and it actually means the end of the road. We show a safari. So if you grow up in a village with a funny name and you make it you know to a school such as the Kenya high school here in Kenya in my time that was not a joke, that was not a small achievement and I want to believe that apart from the academics the secondary setup in Kenya high school and the values that they instill to girls there you know of being bold of going for it if you wanted to go for it actually that's what we kept on hearing every single day in that school and again that added to who I have been today. So after that I pursued my bachelor's degree in sociology here at the University of Narobi and then moved to pursue a master's degree in public health and pursued another master's degree in management and I'm currently pursuing my doctorate in global public health again depending my skills and knowledge set on adolescent health but apart from that I have also done about 10 postgraduate diplomas spanning from international law to diplomacy and sustainable development and I'm pursuing another one concurrently right now on climate action. You know if you're a health expert we believe that everything you know is a health is a health issue and at my level I need to speak intelligently about you know health health issues. I currently work for an organization called Global Communities that's an international organization and there I serve as the senior technical advisor for HIV AIDS and Health and I'm also the focal person for infectious diseases. All that wrapped in me but what's most important is that out of my own upbringing my parents taught all of us not just me all of us the value of sharing and the value of giving. You might think your case is the worst case scenario but when you listen to somebody else you want to tell yourself that hey heri mimi I am not that bad you know and there's always somebody out there who is praying to God to make them be like you while you think your case is the worst case scenario someone wants to be like you you know so growing up in a large family and every school holiday all our cousins used to come sometimes we go and it was such a beautiful a beautiful thing and we all kind of looked alike until at some point people couldn't tell you know who's who they were all oh those are the children of Mualimu Adera you know and and and that was fine so that has gotten me to where I am today plus I mean other experiences that I have had you know in my own life I have had seasons where I've lacked I've had seasons where with my two boys I didn't know when the next meal is going to come from or where the next school fees is going to come from so when people come to me with those issues you know I feel it I identify with it I say that whoa I was there even was but God brought me out God brought me through and at that time God also brought for me help us somehow God has his own ways so maybe I'm called upon now to also be a helper you know to others and it's because of that that then I founded Beti Adera foundation mainly to respond to issues around violence against women and girls but that's not all we do we have metamorphosized into a youth program you know identifying talent and and linking young people to to opportunity economic empowerment of women of women and girls peace building you know not just here but you know globally aspects around climate climate action as well is a space that that that that we actually occupy hence the global and regional and in-country recognition you know that I have achieved over the years thanks to God and also then now occupying the space now at my age of now mentoring young people especially both men and women but mainly you know young women who look up to me you know for direction who look up to me to want to tap into my spaces you know nationally and also internationally but most importantly those who come and just ask me I want to find purpose in my life where do I begin all right I am a leader in academia in STEM in business as a young woman so what you know what can I do to expand you know my influence hence I also function as the patron for young women forum in Africa not just Kenya in Africa and in there we talk mainly about issues to do with leadership skills of young women because I feel if I don't do that now who will be better tomorrow because my time is coming I'm facing myself out you know but who's there if I face my God one day and he asked me so what did you do with the life I gave you I want to look back and say hey look at them look at them at least I impacted them in one way the other a hero's journey entails a lot that ordinary people and other heroes can learn from and these always are starting point you know integrity is a term that people loosely loosely use you know but if you don't stick to your own promise that's an integrity issue integrity is not only some money grew legs in your in your hands or under your care no it's much it's much broader than that how authentic are you how can you be believed that if you say something you actually mean it if you say you're gonna do something by time x you actually do it by time x I can tell you for a fact that I'm still learning and trying to get better at this value around integrity but so far it is my integrity that has made my name to be mentioned in places that my legs have never stepped it is the value and my outlook around integrity and my practice of it that has caused all these awards to come from nowhere I get an email we were talking in your name came up we were discussing what what what and your name came up there's an opportunity to go and speak somewhere and we looked around and looked around the room and looked and look and your name you know your name came up I have traveled internationally a lot and if I just speak about the last one a few weeks ago when I was invited to San Diego California to give a keynote address in a room full of like almost a thousand private sector donors to give the meaning of what it means to do work in a context such as ours and the email came random email from diabetes we are thinking about this we were talking and we considered who would be best placed to you know deliver that message authentically and people I don't know these are even wazongus you see my point and the email just came so integrity is something I keep telling young people every single day you can be quick to point it out on someone oh that president oh that leader oh that politician what about you what are you doing yourself you know to be authentic to people in whatever space you are how can people believe you how can people live all other youth but come to you this there has to be something you know about you so integrity is one that guides me every single day and I think it compasses everything else you know once you live by that principle then it kind of makes everything else you know like like fall in fall in place the other one that I'll mention is the principle of giving it is what to be honest gives me a good night's sleep actually and it's not about giving a thousand people no no no and it's not about giving money or giving food or it's giving of your time time is the most precious gift as far as as far as I'm concerned so if you can give your time to someone even if it's five minutes a day even if it's one hour even if it's what to me that really keeps me going so giving of your time just checking upon people so I make it a principle of mine every day I have to call three people who I have not spoken to in the last three months you can imagine how many people I know at least see that's what I can deal with I mean in terms of time of the day and let me tell you you call even one person just that you called them oh we may enter in agenda I was just calling to find out how you're doing how your family is doing even me I'm doing fine bye you know that kind of wakes people up so the value of giving all right for me it's giving of your time and of course in that space you'll figure out someone has not eaten someone is stuck with school fees someone is stuck with a medical bill someone is stuck with something you know that needs money to whatever extent you know I can help I do if I can't help I always try to refer to places where you know help can be found but that I give of my time to people outside of my two sons or outside of my family let me call it that gives me a good night