Hundreds seek help at alcohol rehabilitation centre

Some of the young men at Murang’a County’s Alcohol and Drugs Rehabilitation Camp at IIhura Stadium in Murang’a town yesterday. [PHOTO KIBATA KIHU/STANDARD]

More than 400 men stand in a hudle with cups and plates waiting for breakfast to be served from a makeshift tent at the Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Camp at Ihura Stadium in Murang’a County.

The camp set up by the county government three weeks ago offers free screening, treatment and rehabilitation for alcohol and drug addicts.

The men come from all walks of life, and have voluntarily agreed to stay at the facility for the next three months to help them get back on their feet after years of wasting away.

John Njoroge, who graduated with Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) degree from the University of Nairobi in 1996 is the ‘head captain’ of the camp.

His calm demeanor and clean suit hide the torment of 19 years of abusing alcohol. Njoroge hails from Kahuhia Location in Murang’a County and has been a teacher since he graduated. He, however, has never taught in one school for more than two years because of misconduct related to alcoholism.

“I was one of the first volunteers to come to the camp on July 20, hoping that I could change my life and stop the indignity of being an alcoholic,” Njoroge said.

The most humiliating experiencing for him was when he was forced to drink the so-called second generation drinks with young men some of whom were high school dropouts.

“Some of those drinks were not conducive for socialising because if you meet with a friend to discuss business, 20 minutes into the conversation you become incoherent and senseless,” Njoroge said.

His colleague Kabiru Kimani was a Physics teacher at Njiiri High School for 15 years before he lost his job due to absenteeism attributed to alcoholism.

“I was reprimanded more than three times before the Teachers Service Commission finally fired me, and I deteriorated to the extent that I couldn’t hold onto another job for more than two months,” said Kimani.

Another, Martin Gitau Mwangi, was a police officer whose promising career ended when he staggered to the Operations rooms at Murang’a Divisional headquarters.

“I was only 25 years old, my wife and two kids left me. I used to leave the drinking den 20 minutes before I was supposed to report to work and then one day I was caught and fired,” Mwangi said.

Their stories seem to reveal a similar pattern that started as a social activity before it turned to addiction nightmare.

 

Rachel Maina, the assistant camp coordinator, said that on average they receive 50 individuals a day. “We have staff who work for 24 hours and offer counseling and psychological needs of the victims. Most of them have a genuine desire to get better, and that makes it easier to rehabilitate them,” she noted.

She said the victims will undergo a three-month rehabilitation that involves counseling, group therapy, devotion with clergy, night vigils and entertainment.

They wake up at 6am and after prayers, clean the compound. The addicts are educated on the effects of alcohol and other drugs and how to avoid indulging again.

In the evening some of them take medicine to overcome insomnia, restlessness and lack of appetite.

The camp takes roll call in the morning and evening but Maina regretted that many drop out of the programme. “From the first batch of 17 volunteers who reported on June 20 only two are left, the rest dropped out,” she said.

Majority of the victims are aged between 30 and 40, three are below 20 years while a significant number between 20 and 30 years.

The County government has received beds and tents from the National Youth Service.