Children should be taught as early as possible about the inherent dangers in alcohol and other drugs and above all parents should no go around abusing their children calling them names like kondo (sheep) or mbuzi (goat) because then they might become that way. Talk to your children don’t pass the buck.

This was the message from Dr. Joyce Nato a NACADA consultant on the second day of the awareness campaign by the high powered team from the Office of the National Coordinator, National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) led by the National Coordinator himself, Mr. Joseph Kaguthi.

In a session for teachers and religious leaders from the town and surrounding areas chaired DO I Uasin Gishu, Francis Mutie on behalf of the PC Dr. Nato explained the intricacies involved in rehabilitating an alcoholic or hard drug addict. She emphasised that one should not hide their alcoholics or other drug addicts in shame, but get them into treatment.

The National Coordinator also echoed these sentiments stating that recovering alcoholics and other addicts were very productive people. He stated that he would pursue Ministry of Finance for money so that the Ministry of Health could set up rehabilitation centers. But while this was being done "do not throw these people away."

He asked the head teachers association if they thought they were helping their students every time they threw out the ones they caught taking alcohol? On the other hand British American Tobacco was exhorting the Kenyan youth with the slogan 'if you are old enough to vote you are old enough to smoke,' yet the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) had not reacted. "Teachers and parents, what are you waiting for, who are you waiting for?" he wondered.

"All the media are part and parcel of this campaign so every time I am in the province on the last day of tour of particular area I have time with the media." This was the message during the traditional NACADA press briefing for members of the fourth estate.