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Curbing Alcohol and Substance Abuse

CEEC with support from DKA Austria and in partnership with local churches is implementing an alcohol and substance abuse prevention program for teenagers in Kikuyu, Kiambu County through basic life skills training. This project is informed by findings from the 2018 CEEC baseline survey on the prevalence and effects of alcohol and substance abuse among 13 – 35-year-olds in Kiambu County. The survey revealed that the age of first use of alcohol and other substances among youth in Kiambu County is as low as 11 years while 1.4% of eleven-year-olds and 28.9% of sixteen-year-olds in Kiambu County have gotten drunk on alcohol at one point in their lives. Reasons for alcohol and substance abuse among the children are peer pressure, stress, desire for adventure and idleness. Life skills training is an effective substance prevention program aimed at building personal competencies in self -management and social skills such as self-awareness, communication, managing relationships, decision-making, problem-solving and drug refusal skills.