ALCOHOLISM.
Whenever I’m in the presence of people who drink alcohol, their first assumption is that I don't drink because I’m a Muslim. Far from it. I don't drink because I don't. I have made a conscious decision to never drink alcohol in my life. I have chosen to stay sober. My choice stems from having an uncle who suffers and still suffers from alcoholism. An uncle who is rarely sober. Whose family still wallows in absolute poverty because of the disease and what it has done to him. We all pay dearly for his choice. One that he made as a young man who was just having fun but isn't that the same word that constructs funeral?
Alcoholism is a disease. In the beginning, it will manifest itself as a stress reliever or a means in which steam is blown but with time if not controlled one falls in the trap unnoticed. Four out of every 100 deaths in Kenya are linked to alcohol or drunk driving. The number of Kenyans who tend to use illicit brews commonly referred to as “changaa” or “kumi kumi” remains predictably high, at 37 percent of all the alcohol consumed. This is linked to the poverty levels which are also on an all-time high hence the cheapest drink possible is preferred. “Changaa” has claimed millions of lives while sentencing a number to a lifetime of blindness. Changaa is common in the slum areas and in the dingy bars in Nairobi's downtown hence the numerous number of partakers.
University and high school students have not been spared. It is common to hear jokes on Konyagi, Heineken and other cheap liquor that is not only pocket-friendly but also easily accessible by students. According to a report carried out by the National Authority for Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) students, Nairobi County was the hardest hit by the vice, with the report indicating that four out of 10 students are consuming alcohol. Boys are hit hardest by this epidemic. The report further details how easily accessible alcohol has been to students. The study, which involved pupils aged between 12 and 18 in boarding and day schools across Kenya, showed that a majority of those consuming alcohol had their first drink while aged between 12 and 16. The findings show that 49.3 percent had their first drink from relatives.
This usually goes unnoticed and by the time the students are on campus, the drinking is on an all-time high. These same students graduate get jobs and start making money. The higher the paycheck, the more expensive the drink becomes. As much as the numbers among men are high, women too are suffering from alcoholism. About 2.5% of alcoholics are women. It has the same effects as men. It destroys the breadwinner, the mother, the nurse the nurturer. Alcoholic in women is more frowned upon unlike men, women have to be cultured, they said.
Alcoholism is a disease just like malaria. The only difference is that the plasmodium, in this case, ranges from peer pressure to traumatic childhood events that need to be drowned. Whatever the case, check on your drinking buddies. The ones who have been nicknamed, “guzzler”. It is not a joke or a fun moment but a disease that is claiming lives. As a community, we should support anyone who is seeking help from this addiction. At the school level, drug and substance abuse should be taught in a manner to educate and not threaten the kids. The message shouldn't be that you will die if you drink alcohol, but alcohol will kill you if you get addicted. Illicit brews should not only outlawed but the law implemented. Most importantly women who seek help shouldn't be seen as failures. Its a disease and as cancer has taught us, they do not discriminate.