- The youths also held a tournament in a programme initiated by the inter-religious council of Kenya to address issues about mental health, especially amongst the youth.
- They also promote mental health by raising awareness through awareness campaigns, counselling and assisting youth experiencing mental challenges.
Image: ABDIKADIR CHARI
A section of Marsabit youths has formed an interfaith youth network with the aim of empowering them to become active in their communities and discourage drug and substance abuse.
The platform gives them an opportunity to share their experiences, ideas and creativity.
The youths also held a tournament in a programme initiated by the inter-religious council of Kenya to address issues about mental health, especially amongst the youth.
They also promote mental health by raising awareness through awareness campaigns, counselling and assisting youth experiencing mental challenges.
Speaking to members of the press, Marsabit youth interfaith network chairperson Abdiaziz Boru said young people are the most vulnerable to mental health challenges due to high exposure to socio-economic inequality.
He explained that the most common challenges are addiction, depression, anxiety and trauma arising from violence.
He said, raising awareness about health among the youth, sharing information on what they are doing and providing a platform for learning about mental health will remain their focus.
Boru called on parents to keep an eye on youth who are isolating themselves and showing significant personality changes.
He attributed most of the mental health cases to sustained ethnic attacks, Gender-Based Violence, drought and drug abuse among youths.
Abdiaziz added that some adolescents are at higher risk of developing mental health problems as a result of stigma, discrimination, and lack of access to quality support.
Youth's network vice chairperson Stephen Roba said the rate at which youths were becoming addicted to illicit drugs had reached an alarming rate and called for all relevant stakeholders to rise up and make the county better especially for young people.
"The prevalence of drug abuse and the negative impacts on public health necessitates that all hands must be on deck to curtail the challenge," said Stephen
He said the youth network was presently undertaking sensitization on drug abuse and its consequences.
He added that drug abuse was not beneficial in any way, but rather cause severe damage to the body system.
Stephen explained that as a Marsabit youth network, their biggest accomplishment is the daily efforts they made in offering psycho-social support.
Muslim leader Sheikh Mohamednur Kuli appealed to county residents to adopt the value of peaceful coexistence.
He noted that the promotion of peace among the diverse ethnic and religious groups in the county was critical to the county's development.
Kuli said the inter-religious council of Kenya advanced the inclusion of young people by supporting the establishment of a youth forum.
The platform will promote engagement in security matters and involve hundreds of young people in the implementation of the peace agreement as well as in countering and preventing violence.
He lauded the cohesiveness of the two warring communities by ending their conflicts for the sake of peace and asked the security team to also end cattle rustling which has become rampant in Saku sub-county.
In its efforts to end gender-based violence, the inter-religious council of Kenya works towards changing harmful social and gender norms that perpetuate gender inequality.
This is by working with youths and religious leaders to promote positive masculinities with the aim of securing gender equality and ending violence and harmful practices against women and girls while being accountable to feminist movements.