Drug abuse and alcohol consumption in Kisii County as a whole is heavily populated with people who take drugs and alcohol consumption as is traditionally accepted drugs and alcohol being taken as traditional herbs that help a person to clear up their head. In the old days, drugs and alcohol consumption was allowed to be taken by adults and adults beyond the age of thirty five (35) years. This was largely believed that at that age a person had attained the age of capacity to control one’s self desires. In other words at that age, a man was able to take the drug and also consume alcohol with great ability to judge. Taking of drugs and alcohol consumption was taken in togetherness in other words men came together and converged in one of their community member where alcohol was brown and they could drink happily locally manufactured pipes made of wood. The most interesting thing about the kind of drinking, the pipes were not enough and therefore, for those who did not come with theirs from their homes, they could happily share the pipes in turns you could think they are siblings.

Whenever men drunk traditional brew and drugs, there they could exchange ideas and advice on matters concerning marriage and challenges that come a long with the institution and also this was the place where men could rectify each other whenever any of them went astray in regard to treatment of their wives. Drug taking and alcohol consumption was taken to be something of great honor and it was more of a religion and that was why only men who had come of age were the only and exclusive ones allowed to participate. Women were never allowed to take alcohol and at most they could only be allowed to take some little with themselves home but never were they allowed to drink in the presence of men. This was so to make sure that women were never drunk so that they could be always sober to take care of the homestead and also could for them and children.

These days things have taken a different turn where even young men and women drink themselves to death. The young men and women are now educated and once they are through school, they feel on top of the world and cannot be managed nor corrected by the elders as it were in the old days. So in the circumstances, drug abuse and alcohol consumption has been greatly abused by the young generation who drinks and take all sorts of drug without control. Some have abused the drugs and have run mad, some have become drug addicts and some have died while some have become so irresponsible.

Gucha Community Based Organization having the community as its primary concern, it has partnered with the Government and more so with NACADA which is the only Government body charged with the responsibility of ensuring that Drug Abuse and Alcohol consumption in the country has been minimized and if possible be wiped out. Now for last two years, Gucha CBO has managed to identify 15500 youth and 4100 old men who are drug addicts and alcohol abusers and have referred them to various rehabilitation centres with the help of Government. The CBO is currently going from school to school, public Barazas with the help of local Administration agencies. This idea of school visitation came as a result of the information that came to the CBO office indicating that a large part of the drug abusers and alcohol consumption abusers which then poses a great risk to the county’s educational status.

In light of the above, the CBO has entered into a memorandum of understanding with both private and public school within Kisii and beyond to allow the CBO through its trained manpower to visit and talk the students and pupils out of the drug and alcohol abuse. The CBO had so far visited five hundred (500) schools which has seen most students confess and promising never to touch drugs and alcohol till they are through school. The CBO supplies literature on drug abuse that was donated to it by NACADA and with that kind of literature, pupils and students are able to learn on various experiences of the aftermaths of drug abuse as presented and contained in some of the photographs therein some of which are a little bit scary in terms of damage caused. This has really helped explain well to the young generation their future is so oblique should they engage in such uncouth behavior of drug abuse. The CBO has launched a great campaign against drug abuse and alcohol consumption throughout Kisii and beyond with an aim and objective of stamping out the vice completely.