Jill Biden talks about condoms and safe sex during MTV event in Kenya

Jill Biden spoke about condoms and safe sex with teens on Saturday, saying she pushes her granddaughters to be financially independent as she spent the day in Nairobi promoting women’s empowerment issues.

The first lady, who teaches at a community college in northern Virginia, was in a professorial mood for most of the day as she met a mix of young people at an MTV-sponsored event and sat down with women at a budget event.

He spent the afternoon at the Shujaaz Konnect Festival, a local youth empowerment event sponsored by MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation.

The show is meant to help young people talk about difficult topics like sex, HIV and money, with much of the conversation centered around sex.

The organizers showed Biden a quiz tool they use to get young people to talk about issues. The first question was: ‘What would you say if I told you that I have a condom in my pocket right now?’

The first lady laughed. ‘And this is the first time they’ve met?!’

“I’m surprised you don’t start with something like what is your greatest achievement instead of ‘I have a condom in my pocket,'” he said.

Biden is on the fourth day of his five-day tour of Africa. In addition to women’s issues, she focuses on extolling the value of a democracy as she tries to strengthen America’s relations with African nations and counter Chinese influence on the continent.

He spent his first three days in Namibia, a young democracy, where he praised the high rate of women in the country’s government and emphasized how the futures of Africa and the Americas are combined.

The first lady is using her time on the mainland to offer the soft sell on America’s strengths, reminding countries that in times of natural disasters or humanitarian needs they turn to Washington for funds.

His stops included a focus on Pepfar, which provides US dollars for HIV prevention, and on food insecurity, which the United States is spending billions to help combat.

On Sunday, Biden’s last day in Kenya, he will focus on food insecurity problems caused by droughts and record shortages left in the wake of covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But during the MTV event on Saturday, young people spoke to Biden about how they talk to each other about safe sex and using PrEP to combat HIV infection. It was held outdoors and under tents at a place called Village Creative. The young man sat on bales of hay, each wrapped in a patterned Kenyan cloth.

One of the young men spoke to the first lady about a popular program in the country, MTV Shuga, which talks about COVID, HIV prevention and money. Biden was shown a short clip of a girl talking about sex and dating.

“I must have missed the money part,” he said with a laugh. She spent several minutes talking to the group about condoms, safer sex, and HIV prevention.

Jill Biden met with the first lady of Kenya, Rachel Ruto, for a financial event

Ruto ties an apron around Biden’s waist: it read ‘Joyful Women,’ the name of the Ruto-sponsored charity

The previous Saturday he met with the first lady of Kenya, Rachel Ruto, to visit a program called Joyful Women.

Sponsored by Ruto, it promotes the economic empowerment and financial inclusion of women, through the unique model of ‘table banking’ groups, which convene communities of women pooling their resources to work together.

The event began with a prayer. Both first ladies bowed their heads.

Ruto then wrapped a cloth known as a leso or kanga around Biden’s waist. It’s white, green and orange and it says Happy Women.

“It goes with my shoes,” Biden said. He wore espadrilles with orange details.

He listened to the women’s stories and then talked about his own work experience.

“I have always taught my own daughter and granddaughters the importance of being financially independent,” she said.

Her granddaughter Naomi Biden was with her. Naomi, 29, has been on the trip to Africa with the first lady. She sat in a corner to listen to the discussion, but she stood up and waved when the moderator pointed at her.

Biden wrapped it up one day with a visit to the US Embassy. She met with girl scouts and boy scouts, the Marines stationed there, and many embassy employees.

Jill Biden looks at one of the flyers handed out to youth during an MTV event; US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman stands to Biden’s left

He completed his visit by laying a wreath at the 7th August Memorial Park, which honors the lives lost in the 1988 embassy bombing in Nairobi.

On August 7, 1998, terrorists detonated bombs near the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The attacks killed more than 200 men, women and children, and injured more than 4,000 people.

Biden had visited the memorial in 2010 when she and then-Vice President Joe Biden were visiting Kenya.

He spent a few moments there Saturday with his head bowed before the white crown and the names listed on the memorial.