Speeches

The Official Handing Over Of The Flag To The Deaflympics Team At State House

SPEECH BY AMB. (DR.) AMINA MOHAMED, EGH, CAV, CABINET SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF SPORTS, CULTURE, AND HERITAGE DURING THE OFFICIAL HANDING OVER OF THE FLAG TO THE DEAFLYMPICS TEAM AT STATE HOUSE, NAIROBI, ON TUESDAY, 19TH APRIL, 2022

Your Excellency Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya,

Colleague Cabinet Secretaries,

Principal Secretaries present,

Our Distinguished Athletes, Ladies, and Gentlemen,

Your Excellency, I am pleased to present to you the sportsmen and women who will be representing our country in the Deaflympics Games that will be held in Brazil from May 1st to 15th, 2022.

Kenya is sending 124 athletes who will take part in 5 different disciplines, athletics, basketball, golf, handball, and football competitions.

This is a historic moment because, for the first time since our first participation in the Deaflympics in Copenhagen in 1997, we also qualified for handball and football competitions.

Your Excellency, we thank you Sir for your commitment to nurturing talent among our youth and improving the standard of sports in the country and for the continued support to the Ushanga Initiative.

Through your Sports, Arts, and Social Development Fund, sports teams that represent Kenya in regional and international competitions are now well catered for and adequately prepared to fly the Kenyan flag with pride and honor.

This team which has been in camp since April 4, has received adequate preparation and is ready to break the 2017 record of 17 medals.

Besides the usual training for the competition, the team has also undergone sensitization on anti-doping regulations, mental health, and media relations.

We are, therefore, confident of posting great results that will cement our place in the world charts as a hub for talent.

I would like to thank the Deaflympics Committee for their professionalism and thoroughness in ensuring the team is in the best shape and form ahead of the competitions.

Additionally, I wish to thank our women from the Ushanga Kenya Initiative who have produced beaded attires and jewelry that will be donned by the teams in Brazil as we seek to showcase our rich and unique culture to the world.

The Initiative has had an immense contribution towards the empowerment of women from pastoralist and marginalized communities by training them on value addition and improved techniques in beadwork.