President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton in Nairobi, Kenya – Saturday, May 2, 2015

President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton began the day at an event at the amphitheater at Kasarami Stadium, where they were greeted by over 5,000 secondary school scholars who have benefitted from the Wings to Fly program, part of the Clinton Global Initiative commitment “Investing in Kenyan Youth and Women.”

This commitment, launched in 2010 by Equity Bank Limited and the MasterCard Foundation, awards scholarships for school fees, uniforms, supplies, transport, and other needs to low-income young women and men so they can afford secondary schooling in Kenya. Since it was launched, Wings to Fly has provided 10,377 secondary students with training, with 98 percent of those students graduating secondary school and 94 percent going on to college. Wings to Fly not only provides financial support for children but also gives them mentors and hosts an annual Leadership Congress, which took place today.

President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton heard the stories of a variety of young women and men who have received scholarships for secondary schools through Wings to Fly. Chelsea Clinton and President Clinton both delivered remarks. President Clinton told the students:

So here you are in Nairobi, near where humanity began, at the center of the battle that will define the whole future of the planet. Will the future look like you? Or look like a mall, or a college after an attack? You need to decide just by living your story. You have more power than you can possibly imagine to say, I’m proud of my religion, no matter what it is. I’m proud of my tribal roots, whatever they are. I’m proud of the place I grew up, however tough it has been. I’m proud that I got into this program and I’ve been a good student and I’m going to make more of my life. I’m grateful for the chances that I have and proud of my story. But when I see another person, I see someone who also has a right to a story. I may have an argument. I may have a difference, but what we have in common, this brief, wonderful gift of life, is far more important than our differences.

President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton then answered questions from the audience.

From there, President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton visited a hearing aid fitting event by Starkey Hearing Foundation, held at the Savelberg Retreat Centre in Nairobi. They were joined by over 150 individuals at the event, including Bill and Tani Austin, the founders of Starkey Hearing Foundation. Starkey Hearing Foundation conducts hearing missions in the United States and around the globe to bring the gift of hearing to those who would otherwise live in the isolation of a silent world. As a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, Starkey Hearing Foundation has pledged to fit more than one million hearing aids to people in need this decade.

The Starkey Hearing Foundation is meeting their commitment goals as they pledged to fit 100,000 hearing aids to individuals in need annually to reach a total of one million and in the last year alone, provided more than 165,000 hearing aids worldwide. Overall the commitment is 40% ahead of schedule for reaching its goals. President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton participated in fittings for several individuals who have not been able to hear in many years.

Next, President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton traveled to the National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NARL) Centre in Nairobi, where they saw some of the research and information for that is contributing and received a briefing on the System for Land‐based Emissions Estimation in Kenya (SLEEK) program, part of the Clinton Climate Initiative.

The SLEEK program is collecting millions of data points on soil, forest, land cover, and climate. These points help inform national strategies about climate change in Kenya, and as early as 2017 will help assist Kenyan farmers who face less predictable crop seasons, rain patterns, and soil quality as the result of climate change.

President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton were joined by Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of the Clinton Climate Initiative, and Jackson Kimani, the Regional Director of CCI for Africa. They heard from several experts at the National Agricultural Research Laboratories, including Elizabeth Okwuosa who discussed how they tested soil quality, and Dr. James Kimondo who discussed mapping of rainfall and reforestation efforts. Dr. Felix Ng'etich then talked about how SLEEK brings these data points together in a way that will inform national policies and landholders in a way that is user-friendly and informative.

After this site visit, President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton visited the American Embassy Memorial Garden in the city center of Nairobi, which memorializes the 1998 terrorist attacks on the American Embassies in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam. This was their first visit to the Memorial Garden.

They were greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Robert F. Godec. President Clinton, upon arriving at the Memorial Garden, remarked "I'll never forget that day." He and Chelsea laid a wreath at the foot of the Memorial, and toured the visitor center where they saw artifacts, pictures of the aftermath of the attacks, and drawings from children whose parents were lost in the attacks. President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton also remembered Elif Yavuz, a Clinton Health Access Initiative staff member who lost her life in the Westgate Terrorism attack.

Pictures from visit can be found here .