Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Asmaa, President of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation, and Her Excellency Rachel Ruto, First Lady of the Republic of Kenya and President of the Voice of Children Foundation, chaired the launch of the fourth phase of the "Together, We Hear Each Other Better" program, at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi on Wednesday.
This operation, in line with the humanist and solidarity-based Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, for strong and effective South–South cooperation, involves the implantation of cochlear devices in some 70 Kenyan children suffering from profound hearing loss, allowing them to discover the world of sound, to communicate, learn, and flourish.
Upon her arrival at Kenyatta National Hospital, HRH Princess Lalla Asmaa was welcomed by Rachel Ruto. Subsequently, Her Royal Highness and the First Lady of Kenya were greeted by Kenyan officials, including Aden Duale, Minister of Health; Anna Cheptumo, Minister of Gender and Children Services; Korir Sing’Oei, Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs; Ouma Ouloga, Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Health; Richard Lesiyampe, Director of Kenyatta National Hospital; Phillip Kirwa, Chief Executive Officer of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital; and Mary Muinde, Head of the Voice of Children Foundation.
They were also greeted by Naima Ben Yahia, Minister of Solidarity, Social Inclusion and Family; Abderrazzak Laassel, Ambassador of His Majesty the King to the Republic of Kenya and the Republic of South Sudan; Mohamed Methqal, Ambassador and Director-General of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation; and Karim Essakalli, Deputy President of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation, and Abdelaziz Raji, medical director of "Together, We Hear Each Other Better" surgeries.
Her Royal Highness and the First Lady then proceeded to plant a tree on the hospital’s esplanade, in keeping with Kenyan tradition, in a powerful and symbolic gesture that embodies life, peace, and continuity.
By planting this tree of hope, HRH Princess Lalla Asmaa expressed the deep ties between the Moroccan and Kenyan peoples and their shared resolve to build a future of inclusion and African solidarity.
After unveiling the plaque commemorating this solidarity-based initiative, HRH Princess Lalla Asmaa and Mrs. Rachel Ruto visited the ENT pavilion of the hospital, where they inquired about the condition of children awaiting cochlear implantation, as well as others who had already undergone surgery.
Thanks to the action and vision of Her Royal Highness, within just four days, 70 children are beneficiaries of full and free cochlear implant surgery—70 new beginnings fruit of cooperation and faith in humanity.
Under her impetus, and in partnership with the Voice of Children Foundation, eight Moroccan surgeons are working hand in hand with their Kenyan counterparts, sharing expertise in a spirit of African brotherhood.
This program of skills transfer, which lies at the heart of the mission, aligns with the Royal Vision of tangible, sustainable, and humane South–South cooperation.
For each family and each child, this mission represents a passage from silence to light—a moment when science, courage, and compassion come together.
The faces seen today are those of rebirths, of shared miracles, and of an Africa united by action and by heart.
This mission reflects the Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, which HRH Princess Lalla Asmaa brings to life on the ground: that of a compassionate, active, and inspiring Morocco, one that creates, innovates, and shares. A Morocco that seeks not to grow alone, but to grow with others. For in Africa, we rise together, and thus, we hear each other better.
At the close of the visit to the ENT pavilion of Kenyatta National Hospital, Her Royal Highness Princess and the First Lady presided over the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Lalla Asmaa Foundation and the Voice of Children Foundation.
This agreement, signed by Karim Essakalli and Mary Muinde, marks a new era of humanitarian and medical cooperation between Morocco and Kenya.
On this occasion, an imam and a Kenyan priest have prayed for strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation uniting Morocco and Kenya, as well as for fostering a lasting and fruitful relationship between the two countries.
At the opening of the ceremony, Karim Essakalli delivered an address emphasizing that, thanks to the enlightened Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who has placed the human dimension at the heart of development and made human solidarity one of the pillars of African cooperation, the Lalla Asmaa Foundation has become, under the impetus of HRH Princess Lalla Asmaa, not only a space of care and education but also a home where every child rediscovers their voice, confidence, and place in society.
Through the "Nasmaa" program, he added, more than 850 Moroccan families have rediscovered the joy of life after their children heard, for the first time, their mothers’ voices and their friends’ laughter, stressing that Her Royal Highness has ensured that this surge of hope transcends seas and continents, reaching the hearts of other children.
For her part, Kenya's First Lady expressed her deep gratitude along with her high esteem to HRH Princess Lalla Asmaa for her humanitarian commitment and the generous cochlear implant donation, noting that this gesture does not only contribute to the Kenyan healthcare system, but represents a genuine gift of life.
Mrs. Ruto underlined that this donation, which not only restores hearing, but also dignity and hope, by enabling several children to hear for the first time the laughter, music and voice of their beloved ones, pointing out that this MoU between the Lalla Asmaa Foundation and Voice of Children Foundation lays out the foundations of a sustainable cooperation, which seeks not only to conduct surgery, but also to strengthen the Kenyan healthcare system's capacities, promoting a future where each child would be able to hear and be heard.
For his part, Kenya's Minister of Health voiced his profound gratitude to HRH Princess Lalla Asmaa for the generous cochlear implants donations offered by Morocco to Kenya, emphasizing that this noble and highly humanitarian gesture, which will contribute to enhancing the care provided to children with auditory impairments, reflects the the solidarity and dedication of the Kingdom in favor of the well-being of Kenyan Children.
At the close of the ceremony, HRH Princess Lalla Asmaa and Mrs. Rachel Ruto posed for a souvenir photo with Moroccan and Kenyan officials, Moroccan surgeons from the "Together We Hear Each Other Better" program along with their Kenyan peers.
MAP: 05 November 2025
