Clerics and stakeholders in Kiambu County have raised concerns over increased addiction in mobile devices by Kenyans especially among the youths warning that it poses a threat to the society’s social and moral fabric.
The clerics who spoke at Mugutha village in Juja, Kiambu County during the opening of Ambassadors Wellness Center, a rehabilitation center aimed at assisting addicts recover as well as other mental health patients said that if the norm is not stopped then young people will be consumed by mobile phones and end up doing less to no work.
Led by Federation of Evangelical and Indingenous Christian Churches of Kenya General Secretary Bishop David Thagana, the clerics said that uncontrolled addiction to tech devices including mobile phones, laptops and computers among others is a ticking time-bomb that is affecting almost every young person across the country.
Thagana, who’s also the Presiding Bishop at Glory Outreach Assembly, said that its high time focus on rehabilitation is extended to mobile devices addiction in tandem with the fight against drugs and alcoholism as well as rehabilitation of addicts.
“We should exercise self-control and restraint on the use of mobile devices. In as much as today’s world is tech driven, the devices and internet should be used appropriately,” the cleric said.
He argued that the latest form of addiction is slowly causing disintegration of families noting that social set-ups from the family level are being disrupted by the menace. He observed that everyone in the families have access to a mobile device and internet which has crippled socialization.
“It’s sad that nowadays even when a child cries, they are given a phone to pacify them. Even games are now been played on phones unlike before when children would engage in diverse gaming activities. It’s sad that we might be bringing up a lazy lot,” he observed.
He also noted that the addiction has exposed children and the youth to a myriad of ills in the tech space including vices like pornography, cyber crime among others.
The Bishop urged parents to limit access of mobile devices and unchecked internet by their children adding that they should only allow them access the devices while learning important tech skills. He asserted that tech devices should be used appropriately and for the right course.
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The wellness center was established by John Wachira, a resident who have endured years of suffering after his only two sons plunged into alcoholism and drug abuse.
Wachira said that he donated his property and resources and established the center to assist members of the community willing to be rehabilitated and those with different mental illnesses, after his sons were saved from the jaws of death posed by their addiction.
“I had made a promise that I would donate my property and establish a wellness center for the community if my sons were saved. Today I’m grateful that they are freed from the shackles of alcoholism and I hope other addicts in this region will benefit from this facility and be saved,” he said.
His son Daniel Gachanja said that he has battled alcohol and drugs addiction for the last 14 years since he was in high school. He said that he had a turbulent life while studying in university, resulted to petty crimes and stealing from his parents to satisfy his urge for alcohol and drugs.
Gachanja told journalists that that the addiction took a toll on him and even tried to commit suicide. He however embarked on a rehabilitation journey and has successfully overcome the menace.
He called on fellow youths who are still held up in the dungeons of alcoholism and substance abuse to take a leap of faith and seek help to recover.
By Kamau Njoroge
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