With the worrying trend of drug and substance abuse among the youth as per the recently released National Survey on the Status of Drugs and Substance Use in Kenya, various stakeholders have called for concerted efforts to resolve the challenge.
The five-year survey released by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) showed a high prevalence of alcohol use among youth in the productive age bracket of 25 to 35 years.
Speaking at Thingithu Secondary School during a mentorship workshop for boy child that brought together about 1,000 boys from various schools across Laikipia County, stakeholders said if the situation is not reversed, the future generation is doomed to fail miserably.
They lamented that the majority of young people, especially boys, had lost hope in life and engaged in wayward behaviours, including alcohol consumption and hard drugs, for lack of support.
Bishop Geoffrey Gichuki, who was the chief guest, said that sensitization about the adverse effects of drug and alcohol abuse and empowerment of the boy child would salvage the situation.
“The space of the male gender in society is declining; they have lost hope, and their self-esteem has been shuttered. Consequently, we are destroying future generations if we don’t salvage the situation now,” said Gichuki.
He said young people needed support to shun bad behaviour and be responsible for the prosperity of the country.
“The majority are enslaved to drug abuse, and others are not doing well in school. This is dangerous for our country. It’s important that we support them to be responsible and productive men,” urged the bishop.
Nurture Him organisation Director Dr. Margaret Kangai said that supporting a boy child would enable him to access opportunities to help him live a dignified life.
“We want to see men living dignified lives, and our aim is to create a conducive environment for them to access opportunities to enable them to have a fulfilled life,” said Dr. Kangai.
She pointed out that drug abuse and poor study skills were some of the problems affecting boys, hence the need for them to organise the forum and train them on how to set achievable goals.
“Boys have raised issues that affect them in their day-to-day lives. The main one is drug and substance abuse. Our mentors have trained them on how to overcome those challenges,” she pointed out.
Nurture Him is a community-based organisation in Laikipia whose key objective is to bridge the gender gap between boys and girls through empowerment programmes and education. They were the sponsors of the boy-child mentorship workshop with other partners.
Laikipia County Assistant County Commissioner Ms. Fridah Kawira said that the use of narcotics had led to an increase in suicides and domestic violence cases in society and called for concerted efforts to eradicate the menace.
“We need to bring boys on board since they are the most affected by the issue of narcotics and rehabilitate them so they can engage in economic activities. They should not shy away from reporting instead of committing heinous acts,” said Ms. Kawira.
Laikipia County Gender Coordinator, Ms. Karen Kiogora, said that boys needed to be informed about their rights for them to be responsible and earn respect in society.
Lamenting the rise in defilement cases in the county, Ms. Kiogora advised sexual abuse victims to seek help at Nanyuki Police Care, a one-stop shop that seeks to address sexual-based violence in the county.
A group dubbed Beacon Teachers Movement, whose Nyeri County Branch Chairman is Gitonga Muriithi, told the youth not to feel neglected, saying many stakeholders were willing to support them whenever they needed it.
The theme of the workshop, which sought to rekindle the hope of the boy child, was “Towards a re-engineered boy child.”
By Muturi Mwangi
