{"id":129150,"date":"2026-01-21T13:02:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/ruto-urges-youth-to-shun-pessimism-vows-unshakable-confidence-in-young-kenyans\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T13:02:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:02:53","slug":"ruto-urges-youth-to-shun-pessimism-vows-unshakable-confidence-in-young-kenyans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/ruto-urges-youth-to-shun-pessimism-vows-unshakable-confidence-in-young-kenyans\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruto urges youth to shun pessimism, vows \u2018unshakable\u2019 confidence in young Kenyans"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 21 \u2014 President William Ruto on Wednesday urged young Kenyans to reject pessimism and believe in their country, saying his confidence in the ability of the youth to transform Kenya is \u201cdeep and unshakable\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking at State House during the President\u2019s Award\u2013Kenya Gold Award Presentation Ceremony on Wednesday, Ruto said the future of the country rests on a generation that chooses hope, discipline and purpose over despair.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy faith in the ability of Kenya\u2019s young people to transform our nation is as deep as it is unshakable,\u201d the President said. \u201cKenya\u2019s future belongs to those who choose hope, effort and purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

He warned young people against being consumed by negative voices in public discourse, saying pessimism only magnifies obstacles while optimism unlocks opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not allow yourselves to be consumed by the pessimism that afflicts some voices in our public life. Optimistic people see opportunity in every challenge, while pessimists see only obstacles in every opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ruto said he remains confident that Kenya\u2019s youth possess the skills, energy and resolve to drive the country to first-world status, noting that young Kenyans rank among the best globally in terms of human capital and capability.<\/p>\n

Education and youth empowerment <\/h2>\n

The President used the occasion to reaffirm his administration\u2019s focus on education and youth empowerment, saying the government has completed the transition to the Competency-Based Curriculum, recruited 100,000 teachers and built more than 23,000 classrooms over the past three years.<\/p>\n

He also said the government has introduced a new student-centred funding model that has stabilised public universities and committed to increasing national research funding to 2 per cent of GDP to boost innovation and knowledge-driven growth.<\/p>\n

Ruto highlighted the importance of character, service and volunteerism, saying education must go beyond academic achievement to shape values and a sense of responsibility to society.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we are not just giving awards. We are recognising effort, sacrifice and grit \u2014 young people who stayed the course when it seemed insurmountable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He cited several success stories from the President\u2019s Award programme, including Vivian Kinya, who represented Kenya internationally, Mohamed Hassan Omar, who built a thriving beekeeping enterprise in Wajir, and Sheldan Nduta, whose life was transformed after joining the programme while at Kamae Borstal Institution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese stories remind us that leadership is not defined by titles but by service, and that with guidance, discipline and opportunity, young Kenyans can rise from any circumstance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The President congratulated the Gold Award recipients and urged them to continue serving as role models, saying the country\u2019s transformation depends on a generation that believes in itself and in Kenya.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 21 \u2014 President William Ruto on Wednesday urged young Kenyans to reject pessimism and believe in their country, saying his confidence in the ability of the youth to transform Kenya is \u201cdeep and unshakable\u201d. Speaking at State House during the President\u2019s Award\u2013Kenya Gold Award Presentation Ceremony on Wednesday, Ruto said the future […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129150\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}