Abothuguchi West MCA Patrick Muthuri (second from right) hands over LPG gas cylinders to the residents of the ward during the launch of the program at Githongo | PHOTO-PMF
By Kuura Ibeere
A member of the County Assembly of Meru is saving thousands of rural women in his ward from hazardous firewood smoke by availing affordable alternatives of clean energy.
Abothuguchi MCA Patrick Muthuri recently launched an ambitious program of helping members of women groups by procuring for them LPG gas cylinders to use instead of relying on firewood.
Speaking to, The Eastern Newspaper, during the launch of the first phase of the program in the ward, Muthuri said the program is aimed at conserving the environment with a special focus on the Mt Kenya forest that forms part of his ward.
He added that smoke-related health problems have been on the rise in the area one of the major reasons that prompted him to start thinking of ways of improving the quality of life of the residents of his ward.
‘I mind the wellbeing of my people of Abothuguchi Central Ward, I care about the environment this is
why I have sourced for an LPG gas manufacturer and partnered with other stakeholders to avail affordable cooking gas for the local community’ Muthuri said.
During the launch, 700 women who are members of various groups benefited from the gas donation after paying Ksh 1000 only for a Six-kilogram gas cylinder LPG cylinder, a pipe, and a burner package that usually costs Ksh 5000 at the local market.
The program will run for the next three years and aims at covering 5000 households.
The MCA is now appealing to the national government to take measures of reducing the cost of getting LPG gas cylinders in the country to save thousands of people in the rural areas who are silently suffering from the negative effects of relying on firewood for cooking.
