Princess Lalla Asmaa, President of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation, and Rachel Ruto, First Lady of the Republic of Kenya and President of the Voice of Children Foundation, launched the fourth phase of the “United, We Hear Better” program on Wednesday at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi.
This phase includes cochlear implants for approximately 70 Kenyan children with profound hearing loss. The program is intended to support children in developing speech, communication, learning, and psychosocial integration.
Upon arrival at KNH, Lalla Asmaa was received by Rachel Ruto. Both were then greeted by Kenyan officials, including Health Minister Aden Duale; Anna Cheptumo, Minister for Gender and Child Services; Korir Sing’Oei, Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs; Ouma Ouloga, Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Health; Richard Lesiyampe, Director of KNH; Phillip Kirwa, Director of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital; and Mary Muinde, Director of the Voice of Children Foundation.
They were also greeted by Naima Ben Yahia, Minister of Solidarity, Social Inclusion and Family; Abderrazzak Laassel, Morocco’s Ambassador to Kenya and South Sudan; Mohamed Methqal, Director General of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation; Karim Essakalli, Deputy Chair of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation; and Abdelaziz Raji, Medical Director of “United, We Hear Better.”
Lalla Asmaa and Rachel Ruto then planted a tree on the hospital grounds, in keeping with a Kenyan ceremonial practice. A commemorative plaque was unveiled.
Following this, both visited the ENT pavilion, where they met children scheduled for cochlear implant surgery as well as others who had already undergone the procedure.
According to information provided during the visit, around 70 children will receive complete cochlear implantation at no cost over a four-day medical session. Moroccan surgeons are working alongside Kenyan medical teams as part of a skills and knowledge transfer arrangement conducted jointly with the Voice of Children Foundation.
After the medical ward visit, Lalla Asmaa and Rachel Ruto presided over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Lalla Asmaa Foundation and the Voice of Children Foundation. The agreement was signed by Karim Essakalli and Mary Muinde.
Prayers were offered by a Kenyan imam and a Kenyan priest for continued cooperation.
During the signing ceremony, Essakalli noted that the Lalla Asmaa Foundation provides medical and educational support to children with hearing impairments, and referred to the “Nasmaa” program, through which more than 850 children in Morocco have received cochlear implants.
Rachel Ruto expressed appreciation to Lalla Asmaa for the donation of cochlear implant devices and for cooperation in hearing care. She stated that the agreement aims to support surgical intervention as well as capacity development within Kenya’s health system.
Kenya’s Minister of Health also voiced gratitude for the cochlear implants provided, stating that the devices will support the care of children with hearing impairments.
At the end of the ceremony, Lalla Asmaa and Rachel Ruto posed for a group photograph with Moroccan and Kenyan officials, as well as surgeons from both countries involved in the “United, We Hear Better” program.
MWN with MAP
