Parents have been urged to protect children against early exposure to drugs as one way of protecting them against engaging in drug and substance abuse.
Speaking on behalf of the Elgeyo Marakwet county commissioner during the launch of the national Susbstance Use Prevention week in Iten, deputy county commissioner Herbert Kombo said children who grow up surrounded by parents who abuse drugs are more likely to become abusers in future.
The DCC while declaring war against brewers and drug peddlers said even as the government does its part in fighting the menace, there was need for a concerted effort from parents, teachers, and the society at large for the war against drugs to succeed.
He said after the launch of the exercise, the sensitization against drug abuse will be spread out to the whole county especially in schools and other learning institutions to ensure that they reach as many youths as possible.
The county coordinator Nacada Joan Chebon appealed to parents to make the home environment safe so that children are free to talk to their parents and if they are into drugs they can be rescued early.
“Some parents are too strict such that their children cannot open up to them when they are facing challenges,” she said.
Speaking during the same occasion, the CEC public service Edwin Seroney discouraged parents and elder siblings from sending young children to buy cigarettes and called on shopkeepers not to sell the same to children.
Noting that Iten receives many foreigners coming for athletic training, county secretary Lazarus Chebii called on the national government to ensure that apart from being cleared at the airport they are also monitored while inside the country.
“There are some who engage in illegal activities like supplying drugs to our athletes which has adversely affected the reputation of our athletes,” he said.
The Keiyo North DCC Michael Odulwo said the department of interior, immigration, training camps and those offering accommodation to such athletes will sit down to see a way forward on how the foreigners can be monitored.
Pastor Steven Mwei a rehabilitated addict narrated how just one sip from a traditional brew during an initiation ceremony led to years of addiction while 26 years old Titus Kiprop a student at Kipsoen National polytechnic told the crowd of how he was lost in addiction for 12 years before he was rehabilitated and taken back to school.
They warned the youth against experimenting with alcohol saying just one sip was enough for one to get lost in addiction.
Odulwo called on residents to take advantage of the ongoing RRI on registration saying the government was issuing national identity cards, birth, and death certificates free of charge.
“We are appealing to all to ensure they get IDs before the rolling out of mass registration of voters,” he said.
By Alice Wanjiru
