Pastor Dorcas Rigathi, on Saturday, kicked off the preventive program against drug and substance abuse in schools at the Dagoretti High School in Nairobi.
In a function attended by the Area MP, John Kiarie (KJ), the 2131 boy students were taken through the danger of alcohol, drug and substance abuse by officers from the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA).
The team of Nacada officials was led by the National Compliant Officer NACADA, James Macharia, and spoke to students about the dangers of alcohol, drug and substance abuse during interactive break-out sessions that included how drugs are added in cakes, cookies and juices.
Pastor Dorcas expressed her delight in seeing the boys, emphasizing her desire for Kenya to have strong, bright and drug free boys and men, securing the future of the nation.
“In every epoch of history, the satanic agenda is to destroy the boy child. The deliverance of this nation is planted in the boy child. The future hope of this nation is in you (boy students). You cannot afford to engage yourself in this drug menace, or the marriage of a man and another man. We must reject what is not in divine order,” she said.
Pastor Dorcas also shared her life story to encourage the boys, especially those from humble backgrounds not to look down on themselves.
“In the 1970s, I was living in Kiandutu slums, Thika Sub-County and my legs were infested with jiggers. I have come to tell those from obscure backgrounds, it is possible, and nothing is impossible. A ghetto cannot stop you from going where you want to go. The lack of school fees does not stop you. Your dream and vision is valid. There is a God who can lift you from nothing to something,” she said.
The Chair of the School Board, Simon Kinuthia, said “This is a day when a seed has been planted and will be seen in very many ways in the future”.
MP Kiarie appreciated the OSDP for including the school in their programs. “We believe the seed you shall plant here shall do us good in future. We believe today, you shall help us in molding these young men into whom they will become. These boys will be men of value, service and integrity.”
Acting DCC, Dagoretti Sub-County, John Kanyira, said Dagoretti High had contributed greatly in shaping the lives of leaders in the nation, including the current area MP, John Kiarie. He, however, acknowledged the problem of drug abuse in the area.
“We have a problem with drugs in this region. I call upon the students who live around Dagoretti, and also the teachers to help us fight the drug menace in this area. Your visit, Your Excellency, Pastor Dorcas, and the call by the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, for us to fight the abuse of drugs is something we are engaged in, and are committed until it comes to an end. We will not sit around and watch as our children and parents are destroyed by drugs,” said DCC Kanyira.
The event was hosted by Chief Principal, Lawrence Nyakweba. The School’s Patron of the Christian Union, Moses Mutinda, and CU officials led the gathering in a time of devotion.
The OSDP is running the boy child program that includes both preventive and curative pillars against the abuse of drugs and other substances. In May this year, Pastor Dorcas visited drug dens in the streets of Mombasa and also the Miritini Rehabilitation Centre in Mombasa.
