| goinghomedotcom Annual Report - 2002 |
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The year started off with work on the website continuing and more emails requesting advice and guidance as a result of the newspaper articles. This further stressed the urgency of completing the website as the volume of emails were becoming too many to handle alone. One positive aspect of this was that from the queries coming in with the emails I could easily assess what was still missing from the website. (For List of articles written in 2002 see appendix 1)
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In March I was introduced to the National Coordinator of the National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) Mr. Joseph Kaguthi and subsequently went on the first trip with him to Muranga where the women there were up in arms over the drinking of illicit brews by their menfolk and youth. They felt these drinks were harmful as evidenced by their men failing to even perform their conjugal duties apart from spending all their waking hours in these dens. I briefly told my story to the baraza concluding by stressing that these were not criminals but sick people and that they should not give up hope on their men.
It was around this point that NACADA took me on board as one of their consultants in what has proved to be a mutually beneficial cooperation. My association with NACADA enabled me to travel the length and breath of Kenya talking to administration personnel, security personnel, clergy, education officials, teachers, headmasters/mistresses, and thousands of students on the subject of alcoholism and drug abuse in general.(For list of activities where goinghomedotcom participated see in 2002 appendix 2)
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Soon after this I was also selected to serve on the committee which was organising the activities, including the buildup activities for the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking on June 26th. This culminated in my giving a talk on my experiences as a 'wet' alcoholic portions of which were aired on some TV channels news broadcasts.
It was in March that goinghomedotcom Video Production Unit started shooting footage for its first documentary, 'Nobody Kicks A Dead Dog' on alcoholism. This forty minute documentary was launched on the 21st. of August at the French Cultural and Cooperation Center (FCCC) Nairobi. The launch was part of an awareness workshop organised by goinghomedotcom
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Mr Calleb Angira (Programme Director, Asumbi Treatment Center), Ms. Teresa Ngigi (Programme Director, Redill Place treatment center) and Dr. Peter Gaku (Clinical Pharmacist, Consultant NACADA) all gave presentations. goinghomedotcom is especially grateful to Mr. Angira and Dr. Gaku who both came from long distances (Homa Bay District and Kirinyaga respectively) to facilitate at the awareness workshop.
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The guest of honour was the Minister for Public Health Hon. Prof. Sam Ongeri EGH, MP and the function was also graced by the PS Dr. Julius Meme and the National Coordinator Mr. Joseph Kaguthi.
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goinghomedotcom Video Production Unit is extremely grateful to the FCCC for the assistance they gave us during the launch as well as to NACADA who sponsored the launch and to the National Coordinator, Mr. Joseph Kaguthi who personally worked tirelessly to make sure that the launch was a success. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the NACADA staff who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the whole affair the huge success that it was.
The video tape has been sold to schools as well as individuals and other institutions of learning as well as rehabilitation centers and other organisations dealing with substance abuse awareness. Feedback has been extremely positive leading to the documentary being aired on December 14th. On Citizen TV in a prime-time slot. The station also plans to air it in January due to to requests by public who called the station after the programme was aired on the 14th.
For this we would profusely like to thank Mr. Salim Amin of Camerapix Ltd. who generously agreed to waive all fees in the dubbing of the Beta copies for broadcast. This allowed us to deliver in time to Citizen T.V. the copy they had asked for. Without this help from Mr. Amin we would have lost weeks trying to pur together the money needed to pay for this.
In April I started a column in Biosafety News a monthly newspaper dealing with issues concerning biotechnology, agriculture, environment and health. This column entitled Alcoholism Digest has been highly successful if the volume of emails I receive, is anything to go by.
At the same time I continued to freelance for the East African Standard Newspaper.
Books for the resource centers were being purchased at a steady rate while arrangements are being made to have the first library at Langata Junior Academy, in Langata Constituency of Nairobi.
goinghomedotcom also reached an agreement with the Redhill Place treatment center to wholly sponsor the design, hosting and maintenance their website for one year and this should be up and running by the end of the year or early in 2003
Television appearances to pass the message were not left out either and to this end I
appeared on:
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These programmes including repeats were aired a total of eleven times and so including airing of the documentary 'Nobody Kicks A Dead Dog' make a total of 12 programmes on television. This enabled us to reach tens of thousands of Kenyans of all ages with our message.
We feel that we reach the highest number of people this way and thus are more effective. We intend to have several productions next year as well as branching out into live radio call in shows.
On October 18th. 2002 through a letter signed by the Director of Medical Services, I was one of the 13 members appointed on the 'Task Force On Establishment Of The Drug/Substance Rehabilitation Center.' The main task of this committee is to discuss and make recommendations on establishment of rehabilitation centers as stipulated in the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act. 1994 under section 52.
Through the articles, TV appearances and word of mouth we were able to get several people to Asumbi Treatment Center. Some I took personally others were introduced to the Programme Director whenever he was in Nairobi to go back with when he left.
Many of these successfully completed their stay at Asumbi and are now back and thriving.
Though some did not make it yet to the rehab centers, they have been put on the right path and we pray for them and hope that ultimately they will act on their disease. The important thing was that we showed them that there was hope and a way out. We showed them that they had a CHOICE
For the families who were having problems coping with having an alcoholic or other substance dependent person among them, my wife Eileen talked to them either in their offices or the privacy of their homes and gave them guidance on how to best handle the situation.
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But by far the greatest part she played this year in our awareness campaign was her frank appearance on the video 'Nobody Kicks A Dead Dog'. Her moving dialogue on how she coped living with an alcoholic and her practical advice to those who find themselves in a similar situation gave solace and direction to the thousands who have watched the video on television or during other occasions.
Thus we feel this was a very fruitful year for goinghomedotcom and that we managed to carry out our main mandate of 'getting some people home' to where they were before alcohol and substance abuse. We know from letters that we also touched the lives of others and got many to make the right choices, all this in line with our motto 'touching lives through inspiration'. We can only hope that some of the policy makers we had the pleasure of interacting with will also help shape policy change or formulation accordingly
Work on the goinghomedotcom website is nearing completion and we hope to be 'live' by early March 2003. This includes the websites for Asumbi and Redhill Place Treatment Centers
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As we go into the new year with a new government we hope that greater efforts will be made to address some of the policies which create a conducive atmosphere to alcoholism and underage drinking in this country. But we will continue to strive to create awareness on the dangers of alcohol, and the need to control its' use more than the current situation where it is sold with impunity from kiosks, to the street. As we constantly hammer away at the myths surrounding alcoholics and the disease of alcoholism, we need to tell our stories, for it is only as we tell these stories will the blame shift from those afflicted back to the drug - alcohol!. This is where the focus should be. Only then will the prejudice gradually fade. As Eileen my wife always says, "together we will win!".
David Ogot snr.
Director, goinghomedotcom Trust,
Nairobi,
18th December 2002.
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