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EAST AFRICAN STANDARD, Monday, March 11, 2002

After reading your article in the Face the Facts column on the 15-year-old who died after he consumed alcohol in Ndia division of Kirinyaga district (EAS, March 5), I can only say that I am not surprised at your surprise. Indeed this state of blissful ignorance or denial applies to most Kenyans.

We have to act on the root causes of this behavior among the youth many of which are already known. Others will come to light after a profile is built from data collected in the national survey done by the National Agency for the Campaign against Drug Abuse (Nacada).

But the one thing which we can all do immediately and all the time is to create awareness. Each of us in his or her own little way has a part to play in informing the youth on the dangers of alcohol abuse.

We have to take every opportunity to inform them about alcohol and its negative effects with the same enthusiasm and creativity that producers of these beverages, legal or otherwise, use to market their products.

All we can really do is let them have all the information as early as possible because at the end of the day the choice is theirs. But it will make a major difference - it will be an informed choice.

At the same time, as adults we have to shake off the lethargy caused by the long slumber of denial and wake up to the ugly fact that alcohol is not the harmless social beverage it is touted to be. We should not continue being unwitting enablers by encouraging our children to " take a sip you are a big boy now". Let us take cognisance of the fact that 'hard times come easy.'

If you have to drink, drink responsibly.

But a festering problem which is literally soiling the very fabric of our society is the issue of illegal alcohol. The question of whether to make them legal or not should be settled once and for all. License them under stringent controls or stamp them out with alacrity.

But either way, some decision must be made about illegal alcohol, a lesson our neighbhours Tanzania and Uganda learnt (they too after a lot of grief) - namely love them or hate them, we cannot afford to ignore these drinks. They will not just go away.

As a freelance journalist who is also a recovering alcoholic, I use my God-given skills to pass the message of awareness. I strongly exhort my follow Kenyans to do the same in whatever manner they can. Let’s all shout from the rooftops if we have to. The three things we must pass on to our youth are awareness, awareness and awareness!

Thus my slogan nowadays as I live one sober day at a time is " Milk - My drink, My Choice"

David Ogot
Via e-mail.

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