June 26th Kenya joined the rest of the world in marking the international Day against Drug abuse and illicit trafficking.
This day is meant to raise awareness on challenges and effects of illicit drugs on individuals and society as a whole.
This year’s theme was pegged to ending stigma.
However, as we continue championing for families and societies to integrate persons using drugs back to the society, there has been increased stigmatization which has had negative impact.
Appearing on Ghetto radio’s Sare Madree show, addiction counselor Fatuma Musau called on families to project tough love to members struggling with substance abuse.
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She says many families, do not understand that addiction is a disease, with majority still labeling it as witchcraft or bad behavior and calls for more sensitization,
‘’Addiction is not a moral issue,sio tabia mbaya, neither is it a sin or a curse and certainly not witchcraft it’s a disease’’ she said
She says ,once families understand the depth of addiction, it becomes easy to seek necessary support.
Adding on to that ,she says dis functionality in families has had traumatic impact on children, majority coming from such backgrounds tend to indulge in drugs more.
She says the war against drug and substance use has to begin at the family level,
‘We need to sit back as parents in the communities, and ask ourselves how are we raising our children ‘’ She added
She called out on parents to actively be involved in their kids day to day activities and not leave that responsibility to the house helps.
