The North Eastern Regional Youth Coordinator, Abdinoor Adan has urged parents to closely monitor their
children’s daily routines, following increased incident of drugs abuse among the youth in the area.
Addressing the press in Garissa town on Wednesday, Abdinoor said that parents are faced with challenges of taking care of their children now that the schools have been shut due to Covid-19.
“As a department, our greatest fear is for the youth to fall into the trap of drug peddlers and even extremist groupings luring them to join terror cells. I want to urge the parents to closely monitor the movements of their children,” he said.
“The schools have been shut due to Covid-19 and all our children are at home. As a parent you must know whom your children are interacting with and their background,” he added.
The Coordinator said that although the government has played its role of introducing programmes and project among the Kazi Mtaani to cushion the youth against the effects of Covid-19, the parents have a bigger role of guiding their children in the absence of their teachers.
Abdinoor called on the youth engaged under the Kazi Mtaani to use their wages wisely by making saving for the future.
He said that other government agencies among them the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) have come on board in Wajir county and are encouraging the youth to join the medical scheme.
On Covid-19, Abdinoor pleaded with the residents in North Eastern region to stop dismissing Corona virus as a myth.
“This disease is real and is claiming lives. I personally know people who have lost their lives to this disease. Let us take care of our lives and those of our loved ones,” Abdinoor said.
“Let us observe the ministry of health protocols by washing our hands regularly with soap and running water, keep social distancing and wear our masks. There is no shortcut,” he added.
This year’s International Youth Day is ‘youth engagement for Global Action. It seeks to highlight the ways in which the engagement of young people at the local, national and global levels is enriching national and multilateral institutions and processes, as well as draw lessons on how their representation and engagement in formal institutional politics can be significantly enhanced.
By Jacob Songok