CS Interior Kipcumba Murkomen during the launch of NACADA report. Parents in Marsabit urged to work with teachers to end drug abuse among students. Photo: PSC.
Parents in Marsabit county have been called upon to help school administrations to fight drug and substance abuse menace among students.
According to Fredrick Ochieng’, a drug and substance abuse activist in the county, said the efforts cannot be won by teachers alone, as it requires collaborative efforts. He further stated that it was unfortunate that some parents blame teachers when their children are caught abusing drugs in schools.
“It has become a major issue in our schools, teachers are struggling to deal with the students, as they are using drugs even in school. when they take the initiative to inform the parents, the parents attack teachers, which demoralizes them, as students understand that they have the back from their parents,” Ochieng’ explained.
Ochieng stated that most behaviour involving indulgence in drug abuse starts at home, as they interact with users in the community, who later recruit them into abusing the easily available local drugs, and the move to fault teachers is misguided.
“Let us monitor our children, because for a student to carry drugs to school, they must have learnt it from home for awhile, that has given him fake courage to carry it in school, this we cannot blame anyone even our leaders, it is a behaviour that has began from their immediate environment at home,” he further explained.
However, the activist stated that along with other stakeholders, they have formed a campaign program aimed at reaching out to students in schools to fight drug abuse and influx in schools, to educate students on the dangers they expose themselves for using drugs at a young age.
“After accessing the menace, we are currently moving around schools educating our children about the dangers of early indulgence in drugs especially in high schools, where they disclose the reasons for them using drugs. It is a call that needs to begin at early stage to cushion them,” Ochieng’ said.
The calls as the county witnessed an increase in use of insulin injection to reduce weight among youths, a move that that Dr. Sororo Abudho Ginda, insulin is meant for diabetic patients, and any use outside the prescriptions is very harmful to the body.
