Trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, Muhoho Kenyatta, attended the President’s Gold Award ceremony held at State House and presided over by President William Ruto.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is a youth achievement programme for young people between the ages of 14 and 24, and as the chair of the African region, Muhoho attended the event on Wednesday, January 21, 2022.

Themed ‘Shaping Young People’s Character and Encouraging Purposeful Interaction,’ the Gold Awards ceremony was presided over by the Head of State.

Ruto’s promise

Ruto promised that his government is set to double the budget of the President’s Award-Kenya in order to enable it to reach more students across the country.

According to the president, the budget increase will help address the financial constraints facing the programme which have stifled its operations.

“The Cabinet Secretary responsible will, in the coming budget, double the budget for this agency so that they can extend this most consequential training and reach out to our young people in more schools and institutions,” Ruto stated.

Ruto made the pledge as he presided over the presentation of the Gold Award under the President’s Award.

What is the Gold Level award?

The Gold Level represents the highest achievement in the President’s Award and is designed for young people who demonstrate consistent commitment, maturity, and leadership.

It requires a longer period of participation across the core sections of service, skills, physical recreation, and adventurous journey, and it uniquely includes a residential project that brings participants from diverse backgrounds together to live, work, and serve as a team in an unfamiliar environment.

Mvurya backs Ruto’s move

Also in attendance was Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya, who backed the expansion of the President’s Awards, as over one thousand youths received gold medals.

“A society grows great when people plant trees whose shade they shall never sit in. The President’s Awards Kenya (PAK), patroned by H.E. President William Ruto, embodies this timeless wisdom by deliberately empowering young people to transform their mental well-being, step out of their comfort zones, and embrace volunteerism and leadership as tools for service.”

“Through PAK, young people across Kenya have demonstrated they are ready, sharp, and committed to walking the transformation dream of shared prosperity, becoming beacons of hope within their communities.

“I welcome the President’s directive to expand the programme, increase annual allocation, and allocate an operational base. Further, the Gold Awardees will receive priority status by the Public Service Commission,” Mvurya said.

What is DofE, and what do they do?

According to the foundation’s website, it is an open programme for any young person aged 14-24. Each young person builds their own DofE programmes – picking their own activities and choosing which cause to volunteer for – in order to achieve a Bronze, Silver or Gold DofE Award.

The DofE is run in schools, youth clubs, hospitals, fostering agencies, prisons, sports clubs and more, all over the UK and internationally.