Naomi Biden helps hold on to Jill’s dress as she arrives windy in Kenya

Naomi Biden helped Jill Biden fasten her dress on her windy arrival in Kenya on Friday, sparing her grandmother an embarrassing moment on camera.

Naomi, 29, stepped in to help after a gust of wind sent the first lady’s dress past her knees and into potentially dangerous territory after she stepped out of her blue and white Air Force plane.

The first granddaughter kept one hand firmly on the skirt of Jill Biden’s blue dress as the two walked down the stairs side by side.

Jill Biden and her granddaughter are on the third day of their five-day trip to Africa, where they are working to strengthen relations with the United States and try to counter China’s influence on the continent. They arrived in Nairobi after spending three days in Namibia.

The first lady will spend much of her time in Kenya focused on food insecurity, an issue affecting some six million Kenyans due to the dry conditions in the arid nation. The Biden administration also blames the Russian invasion of Ukraine for contributing to food shortages.

And Jill Biden sent her prayers to her Ukrainian counterpart Olena Zelensky and to all Ukrainians on the first anniversary of the invasion.

“I just wanted to say on Ukraine’s one-year anniversary that there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about President Zelensky, Olena, his family and all the people in Ukraine and what they’re going through and how hard it is.” they are fighting to keep her freedom,’ he told reporters who were traveling with her on her plane.

At the bottom of the plane, upon arrival in Kenya, two girls in pink dresses presented flowers to Jill Biden to welcome her to the country.

The wind blew again and the first lady’s dress rose into the air.

Next door, a group of dancers sang ‘Welcome to Kenya’ in Swahili and danced to the beat of wooden drums.

It is Jill Biden’s third trip to Kenya.

During his three days in the country, he will visit a drought-stricken area in Kenya to highlight the issue of food insecurity.

“The Horn of Africa is experiencing a historic drought that, compounded by the impacts of climate change and Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine, has increased food insecurity and threatened livelihoods across the region,” the White House said. .

According to the UN World Food Program, around a third of Kenyans live in poverty and 29% of children in rural areas have been affected by food insecurity.

Jill Biden visited Kenya in 2011, as second lady, in the midst of East Africa’s worst drought in 60 years. During that trip, she also met with Somali refugees and held meetings on how the United States could help with the current refugee and food crisis.

She later wrote about visiting the Kibera community in Nairobi: ‘The quality of life is almost unimaginable: there is no electricity in homes and little access to running water. But it is where I met some of the bravest women and girls that I will never forget, fighting to change the circumstances of their community.’

Kenya has been plagued by a dry rainy season.

Naomi Biden stepped in to help hold up Jill Biden’s skirt

The wind was a threat when Jill Biden accepted flowers upon her arrival.

Kenyan First Lady Rachel Ruto (2nd L) welcomes US First Lady Jill Biden (2nd Right) upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

President Joe Biden, speaking in Poland on Tuesday, criticized Russia for exacerbating the global food crisis.

“Putin tried to starve the world, blockading ports on the Black Sea to try to stop Ukraine from exporting its grain, exacerbating the global food crisis that hit developing nations in Africa especially hard,” he said. “This week my wife, Jill Biden, will travel to Africa to help bring attention to this critical issue.”

Additionally, on her trip, the first lady will focus on women’s empowerment, including issues related to gender-based violence, and youth, and promoting the administration’s pro-democracy message.

Kenya has experienced violence surrounding its elections. The country has also seen its rate of violence against women increase since the COVID pandemic.

Nearly half of women in the region experience gender-based violence in their lifetime, and a third of Kenyan girls experience some form of sexual violence before they turn 18, according to the Gender-Based Violence Recovery Center. Nairobi Women’s Hospital.

Naomi Biden has been by the first lady’s side at every stop on her journey, thus far.

Naomi Biden is the eldest granddaughter of the first family and lives in the White House. She married Peter Neal on South Lawn in November.

Jill Biden’s plane lands in Nairobi

Jill Biden watches the dance show

Naomi Biden has been by Jill Biden’s side throughout the trip to Africa

Jill Biden defended taking her granddaughter on a taxpayer-funded trip to Africa, noting that other presidents and first ladies have taken family members on trips abroad.

‘It’s great for me to be able to bring a family member. I think it is a tradition, or, in fact, we have seen other families from the first families bring their family members to see the rest of the world and experience the world,” she said during a stopover in Namibia.

Michelle Obama brought her daughters Sasha and Malia to Africa when she visited Africa in June 2016. And Hillary Clinton brought her daughter Chelsea when she traveled to the region.