Guiding and counselling teacher during in Busia during mental health awareness by Afya Care Foundation. Teachers have called on government to provide mental literacy among them. Photo: Afya Care Foundation/Easy Pixels
Guiding and counselling teachers in Western Kenya have called upon the ministry of Education to train them on mental health education and awareness to empower them deal with youths with mental issues in their country.
According to Susan Mwenyekenye, a guiding and counseling teacher at Katakwa, she urged the government to fully equip them with mental health education, as she acknowledged the issue as a major challenge among youths in the region, yet teachers have not been trained to handle the arising cases among youth.
“Mental health is such a problem especially in this region, sadly guiding and counseling teachers have not been fully equipped to handle such issues. I would love to urge the government to train us on issues mental health to sufficiently deal with the cases among youth,” she urged.
Operating in an area usually linking mental health to witchcraft, Afya Care Foundation is going around the region dispensing the myth, creating awareness that mental health is a real issue, and they target the youths to cushion them form advanced effects of mental health.
Calistus Wekesa the founder, says the focus is on youth as the population is vulnerable to external forces that can trigger mental health cases among them. Together with his team, Wekesa also deals with implementation of programs to prevent drug and substance abuse among them.
“Youths are a population often dependent for guidance and cannot manage them, creating awareness among them about the reality of mental health is a future impact and a protection for the coming generations,” Wekesa explained.
As the country struggles to deal with the menace in tertiary institutions, Mwenyekenye urged constant tailored programs on mental education in schools, especially in Busia County where drug flow is easier owing to the porous border with Uganda.
His sentiments come even after Neccism Okumu, member Afya Care Foundation urged a multi-sectoral collaboration between the ministries of health and education, to deal with drug and substance abuse prevention, as well as inclusion of mental health education into the curriculum.
