First cohort of Pastor Dorcas' boy child inductees graduate

The first cohort of young men who underwent rehabilitation under the Boy Child Programme ran by office of the Spouse of the Deputy President has graduated.

They were battling drug, alcohol and substance abuse before they volunteered to reform.

A total of 85 men were placed under a three-month rehabilitation programme in Timau, Meru County and Donholm, Nairobi County.

The jovial men came dressed in suits at the official residence of the Deputy President, a transformation from their look three months ago.

While speaking during the graduation, Pastor Dorcas Rigathi said her office will roll out the programme across the 47 counties in the coming days.

"These are from Nairobi and Mt Kenya, but we are not doing it in one area. Every journey starts with one step and we had to start somewhere," she said.

Sixty five of the graduads were from Meru while 18 were from Donholm, Nairobi.

Pastor Dorcas is also set to set up a health village that will incorporate all aspects of life to assist in rehabilitation.

She revealed that her office has received more than 2,000 requests from youth across the country who want to be placed in rehabilitation programmes.

"My office has a record of more than 2,000 individuals who wish to undergo rehabilitation. Our approach to rehabilitation incorporates various forms which include inpatient," she said.

Besides the Boy Child Programme, Pastor Dorcas is running a wellness camp at the ASK Jamhuri Grounds while 50 others are undergoing an inpatient rehabilitation programme in Limuru.

A community-integrated rehabilitation programme is also running in Bomet and Mombasa counties.

During the screening exercise of the graduands, more than 1,000 youth were screened out of which 533 expressed the desire to be taken for rehabilitation.

One of the reformed addicts Godffrey Mwago, an Economics graduate from the University of Nairobi, expressed his joy after getting a second chance in life.

"When we joined the rehabilitation centre in Timau, we came to realise that we were powerless and our lives were unmanageable and drug addiction is a disease. We are now ready for the job market," he said.