Jill Biden To Namibian Youth: Protect Your Democracy

WINDHOEK, Namibia — Jill Biden, the first lady of the United States, told Namibian youth on Friday that the democracy their parents and grandparents fought for is now theirs to defend and protect.

As they move forward, she encouraged them to include women and girls, whose voices, she said, are too often unheard.

“As the first generation born into a free Namibia, the legacy that your parents and grandparents established is now yours to defend and protect,” Biden said to a mostly student audience at Namibia University of Science and Technology.

“It’s yours to grow. And as we look ahead, we must remember that the fight for democracy is never over.”

Namibia is a young democracy that gained independence from South Africa in 1990.

Jill Biden is in the middle of her first trip to Africa as first lady, including a Friday stop in Kenya.

She is using the trip to bring attention to a terrible drought that is making it harder for people in the Horn of Africa to get food and to give women and girls more power.

“We must build on the foundation of democracy by elevating those voices that have gone unheard, particularly those of women and girls, people living on the margins of society, or those vulnerable to abuse,” Jill Biden told a crowd of over 1,000 students from various schools seated around her in a campus courtyard.

Jill Biden is in the middle of her first trip to Africa as first lady, including a Friday stop in Kenya.

The students applauded as she danced to a drum-heavy African beat.

Jill Biden, who has taught young people for 30 years, believes they must exercise their rights to disagree and dissent, to speak up when they see injustice, and to support leaders who listen to their concerns.

Jill Biden stated, “nearly 250 years after our founding, we are still defending and strengthening our democracy in the United States.”

“Democracy is difficult. “It takes effort,” she said during her rousing rally speech. “However, it is worthwhile because democracy delivers.”

She then walked around the courtyard like she rarely does, shaking hands and taking selfies with a slew of excited students.

The students applauded as she danced to a drum-heavy African beat.

SOURCE – (AP)