Asection of Afya Care Foudation Members posing with students and Teachers after a mental health education session, championed by the Foundation. Photo: Ezzy Pixels/ Afya care Foundation.
Operating in the vast regions where mental health is associated with dark powers, Calistus Wekesa, founder Afya Care Foundation is filling the gap by demystifying the reality about mental health, as well as implementation of preventive measures against drug and substance abuse, to foster mental well-being in the society today
A journey that began in 2023 with a team that aligns with his passion, Wekesa said he directed his efforts to the group that is not only marginalized, but financially dimmed unattractive and easily exposed to factors that can led to developing mental health issues, despite being the hope of the future.
With the youths often charged with the need to succeed in life and meet the demands of education, less focus has been factored in to keep them mentally sober to fulfill their desires, a major drive to them to develop mental instability. Stepping in to cushion them is Wekesa; through mental health education programs, workshops and trainings to make them understand their role in the society.
“We specifically deal with youths aged 13-35, as it is the age group that has been marginalized in terms of access to mental health education, as compared to the older generation that can access mental health education at their workplace. The youths are the future of the success of the next generations, destroying their lives means a broken generation with no future,” Wekesa explained.
Echoing his sentiments, Dr. Neccism Okumu a member of the foundation, said there is more that is needed to ensure that this crucial age group is nurtured in the right path as they are human resource that is being depended on to drive the economy of the nation.
Operating in border counties of Kenya, Afya Care Foundation says the youths in the region are at a danger of developing mental health illness owing to the fact of heavy influx of drugs and substance abuse into the country through the porous borders in Busia, Trans Nzoia, West Pokot and Turkana.
Okumu called on the government to strengthen and enforce measures, and policy across the borders to stop the influx of drugs in the country, he also added that the youths in their region of operation are mentally affected by the high poverty rate .
“Youths in border counties are affected by the family poverty, to forget their stress; they access drugs that are easily at their disposal from the neighboring country Uganda. We call on government to ensure they strengthen policy at our border entries to stop the entry of these harmful drugs and substances,” Okumu explained.
During a session in Busia, Katakwa High School, guiding and counseling teacher Susan Mwenyekenye, echoes similar sentiments by Okumu, stating that as teachers they need more training to understand the mental health among youths to effectively deal with them, and government to put in place measures to curb the entry of drugs and measures to address the poverty situation in the county.
According to them, addressing the two pertinent issues of entry of drugs and poverty will boost the concentration of students, and how the youths can sustain themselves instead of indulging in drug and substance abuse.
Wekesa explained that treating a mental health related case is expensive, and can drain the family resources leading to extreme levels of poverty. This further increases the risk of the children to be affected by situation, thus developing mental stress.
“Treating a mental related case is more expensive in this country; a single dose of monthly treatment goes for KSh 27,000. As Afya Care, our job is to ensure that we do not reach at that level, and help this young generation find alternative case to handle the stress in a healthy manner,” Wekesa explained.
Florence Ngaira, a member of the team, a principal at Sabwani Girls High School in Tans Nzoia County and a caregiver to a mentally ill son, reinforces the challenge that comes raising a child with mental issue.
“The pain of raising a person with mental issue is not easy, it is the struggle that no mother will wish to undergo, and it affects the whole family as it drains one emotionally and financially, which is why as Afya Care, we have taken the responsibility to ensure that we create awareness on building a society with a generation of mentally healthy young men and women,” she added.
From their impactful session, teachers from both Trans Nzoia and Busia, reinforced the need to include mental health education in the education system, so that students can be enlightened on mental sanity.
Wekesa has also called on the government to sign a memorandum of understanding with mental health champions to ensure that mental health education awareness is a continuous process for impact and change.
Following their noble passion driven, the Foundation signed a working partnership with Aspire Integrated Health Care Solutions to champion for mental health education among refugees across Africa.
