SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE INVESTITURE OF H.E. THE PRESIDENT AS A PATRON OF KENYA SCOUTS ASSOCIATION, STATE HOUSE GARDENS, NAIROBI, 1ST DECEMBER, 2013 Fellow Scouts, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning, I welcome you this morning to the grounds of State House, and to what I hope is a visit filled with both inspiration and optimism. It is, indeed, an honour for me to be installed as the patron of the Kenya Scouts ssociation. I ta!e this opportunity to sincerely than! Honourable Francis "le Kaparo # the $hief Scout, %r. &ay $harles %usau # the $hief $ommissioner, and the entire Kenya Scouts fraternity for bestowing this honour upon me. I am confident that together, we shall continue to strengthen the scouting movement throughout Kenya. I understand scouting is the largest youth movement in the world, with over '( million young members and continues to compliment the education and youth empowerment agendas of many governments. Kenya is no e)ception, and I am happy to see that the Scout %ovement has continued to grow in strength in our country. I have been informed that, since its humble beginnings in *+*,, the Kenya scouts movement has a current membership of over (,,,,,, boy and girl scouts as well as over ',,,,, scout leaders in the country. -his ma!es the Kenya Scouts ssociation the largest youth organi.ation in Kenya, and, indeed, the whole of frica. I am, therefore, proud to be associated with this vibrant and growing movement. -oday, we are honouring several scouts who have gone through the /rogressive Scheme and attained the highest badge of SI%0 S$"1-. -he occasion is also an opportunity to recogni.e Scout Leaders and partners who have given e)emplary service and support to the movement. I congratulate all those who have received awards and honours and encourage the rest to wor! hard so as to be awarded in future. Ladies and Gentlemen, Scouting owes its e)istence to the selfless service of the many young people who continue to live up to the ideals of the founder, Lord 0aden#/owell. Indeed, in the early part of the last century and in his last

message, Lord 0aden#/owel beseeched all scouts to try and leave this world a little better than they found it. -oday the words of the Founder of the Scout %ovement resonate loudly. 0ut we must all as! ourselves2 are we are doing our best and striving to ma!e the world a better place than we found it3 Ladies and Gentlemen, Scouting is not 4ust a vocation, but a way of life. I note that over the last *,, years, scouting, as an educational movement, has continued to contribute greatly to the character formation of thousands of our nation5s youth, helping them to grow into disciplined and responsible persons. Indeed, many of our leaders at national level have been scouts and they continue to provide e)emplary service in diverse fields. I recogni.e that the principles of duty to God, duty to others and duty to oneself found in the Scout promise, and the values enshrined in the Scout law, are important to the sound character development of our young people. -hese values instill important virtues such as trustworthiness, endurance, good citi.enship, hard wor! and self#reliance. I especially note that a scout is a brother or sister to every other scout no matter what country, community or religion the other may belong. I emphasi.e on the adherence to this critical aspect of scouting at this time in Kenya5s history when we all need to appreciate our ethnic diversity, foster peace and unite as a country. Ladies and Gentlemen, Scouting compliments the education system and the Government has invested heavily in the education sector by providing free primary education and subsidi.ing secondary education. %y dministration has further pledged to build an 6nterprise 6conomy within the framewor! of 7ision 8,',. Given the large of our population under the age of '9 years, there is no doubt that the enterprise and success of this country lies in the youth. -he youth shall most certainly be the drivers of the recently launched second leg of the :ational 7ision 8,',, by which we intend to become a modern, industriali.ed middle#income country able to provide a high ;uality of life to all our citi.ens. -o my Government, therefore, the march to progress will be powered by young energy and young thin!ing that is empowered with the right values and s!ills such as those provided by scouting.

Ladies and Gentlemen, -he fate of our nation in the years to come and, I believe, the future of the world itself, depends on the !ind of citi.ens our young people turn out to be. -he building of strong character is therefore essential to enabling youth cope with various social challenges facing them today. -o this end, the ssociation has made commendable interventions in the nation5s collective war against HI7< I=S and the use of illicit drugs. 0oth epidemics have hit the youth more than any other group in society and have cut short the lives of many of our young people in their prime. I also want to commend the Kenya Scouts ssociation for initiating the >-rees for /eace> pro4ect, which targets the planting of 8, million trees in various parts of the country, especially water catchment areas. -he Scouts have already planted *( million trees since 8,,? and I appreciate this noble initiative, which will contribute immensely towards improvement of the environment and achievement of the national forest cover target of *,@. Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to note that our efforts to prepare the youth for the future cannot succeed unless the youth themselves maintain high standards of personal discipline. I wish, therefore, to ta!e this opportunity to emphasi.e the need for us to populari.e the Scouting %ovement among the youth and appeal to all the parents and heads of institutions to allow as many young people as possible to 4oin the Scouting %ovement. It is my wish that at least every institution which deals with young people should establish a Scouts unit.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am informed that the Scouts movement has put in place an ambitious growth and e)pansion plan for the years ahead. -his plan involves increased recruitment, capacity building and income generation. I urge all sta!eholders to partner with the Kenya Scouts ssociation to ensure that these noble strategic ob4ectives are achieved. %y dministration, on its part, will continue to support the activities of the ssociation financially as it enters this new phase of growth. In conclusion, let us all be proud of the great association that the Aorld "rgani.ation of the Scout %ovement has with Kenya, which is the final resting place of Lord 0aden /owell. I understand that the Aorld

"rgani.ation has planned to develop an International Scouts $entre in :yeri and my government is !een to support the initiative, which is e)pected to attract millions of world scouts to Kenya as they pay homage to the resting place of the movement5s Founder. s your patron, you can count on my support to the fullest e)tent possible. Sta!eholders should also continue to support the movement materially and financially, as part of their corporate social responsibility, so that the movement can continue to grow. Let us all contribute to the noble tas! of educating our young people to play a constructive role in society. I commend my Secretaries of 6ducation and =evolution B /lanning for supporting the Kenya Scouts ssociation and further appreciate the national scout commissioners, trainers, the e)ecutive, scout leaders and parents for their unwavering support for the movement. nd to the young scouts, I appreciate your decision to become scouts and to ultimately create a better world. I wish you all the best and loo! forward to an e)citing and rewarding period as your patron. Tha ! Y"# a $ G"$ B%&'' Y"# A%%.