Shule zinachomwa
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As schools reopened…niliambia jirani huu mwaka watagoma na kuchoma shule sana (yeye ni high schooler)…niliambia teens wa church pia…well, it has just begun. Na tuko January.
There’s no way we can keep watoto home for 10 months, then resume learning like nothing ever happened. Schools needed group therapy and debriefs for a week, at the very least…and continuous mental health education.
But Kenya ni ya wenyewe. Saa hii wako (Ministry of Education) Kabarak na School Chaplains planning how each school is to have a chaplain. As if the problem is spiritual. It is social. It is economic. It is psychological.
Adolescent amekaa ten months akimake pesa kama kuuza viatu, mboga, kamagera, nduthi,bread distributor, mpesa agent etc…hawezi tulia tu uanze kusoma tena. Wengine wamekuwa hathibandi na wives…
True, as a society we ignore mental health issues. I once worked with schools in Naivasha after the post election violence…children in this area had internalized violence to such an extent that they would fight with knives. They would only stop when they saw blood. Mental health issues must be anticipated and addressed by professionals.