The youth in Kikuyu Sub County were treated to an eye opening experience during a seminar on Alcohol and Substance Abuse which was held at Lusengeti Social Hall on 9th June 2017. The seminar was held under the DKA funded project Positive Masculinities: Working with young men to combat Gender Based Violence in Kiambu County, Kenya”. This was against the backdrop of the prevalence of this vice among the soccer players and fans in the Sub County. According to the soccer team leaders, this is a problem that is threatening to wipe out a whole generation of youth. In addition, it is a major contributing factor to the numerous cases of violence, both general and gender based as well as high crime rates in the Sub County. Most of the 55 young men who attended the seminar easily identified with the experiences described by the facilitator who is himself a young recovering addict. The youth appreciated the fact that for once, someone was not condemning or stigmatizing them but instead acknowledged and understood the challenges they were going through as they tried to get out of a problem that the society does not understand. It was particularly helpful for them to learn that their inability to get out of the addictions they were battling with was not a reflection of weakness on their part. They realized that they needed professional help and they called on CEEC to follow up with more initiatives that would help them reclaim their lives again.
Understanding Alcohol and Substance Abuse
