- Pastor Dorcas outlined that these health villages will be comprehensive setups comprising medical facilities equipped with essential amenities
- They will include rehabilitation centres, talent development centres, sports academies, polytechnics, churches, and agribusiness facilities, among other features.
Image: GEORGE MUGO
Pastor Dorcas Rigathi has revealed that the government is set to construct health villages in all 47 counties across the nation.
The announcement was made during an interview with a local television station on Sunday.
Pastor Dorcas outlined that these health villages will be comprehensive setups comprising medical facilities equipped with essential amenities, including rehabilitation centres, talent development centres, sports academies, polytechnics, churches, and agribusiness facilities, among other features.
"Everyone comes from a village, and that's why we are ready to establish health villages where our children will be accommodated back into society once they recover after rehabilitation," she expressed during the interview.
She said that the objective behind this initiative is to provide a holistic approach to rehabilitation and offer job opportunities to individuals recovering from addiction.
She noted that already, the pilot project has been started in Nyandarua while they have also partnered with Laikipia County.
She said that more than 20,000 youths have registered for the rehabilitation while others are undergoing treatments.
Highlighting the severity of the drug and substance abuse crisis, particularly in the Mount Kenya region, Pastor Dorcas emphasized the urgent need for intervention.
She lamented the loss of lives, the increase in widows, and the overall impact on the community.
"In Mount Kenya, we have lost enough men. We have so many widows. It is time to say no and bring this to an end," she declared.
Pastor Dorcas condemned drug peddlers and illicit alcohol brewers as murderers, asserting that the government would not allow them to continue their harmful activities.
She characterized the illicit alcohol trade as selling poison to the youth and productive members of society.
"We are burying our children every day. Parents are losing children daily. Those people selling poison in the name of alcohol are murderers, and we must speak against this, and the church should also be at the forefront in condemning this," she passionately stated.
Referring to the Kirinyaga incident in Kangai where 17 people lost their lives, she said that she would work with community leadership and church leaders to fight the vice.
She urged parents and the church to collaborate with the government in the collective effort to eradicate the consumption of illicit brews, second-generation drinks, drugs, and other harmful substances.
The National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) recently expressed concern over the deaths and loss of eyesight reported in Kangai due to the consumption of suspicious alcoholic drinks.
Nacada CEO Anthony Omerikwa issued a caution to the public about the increasing cases of illicit alcohol-related deaths and illnesses, emphasizing the urgency of addressing the issue.