By Nicholas Maiyo
Vera Beauty College has partnered with the Kenya Scouts Association among other partners through a mobile application, Yunitok to fight drug and substance abuse among the youth by creating programs that keep them busy and engaged.
Yunitok is a free social media app developed by the Kenya Scouts Association to assist the youth get involved in the development of their communities.
Together with the Kenya Scouts Association, I Choose Life, environmentalists, media personalities and students of Vera Beauty College, it brought together a number of youth in a cleaning programme at Eldoret Market recently.
Speaking during the event, Yunitok Coordinator Elizabeth Nyaberi stated that Yunitok equips youths with additional marketable skills that will add them an advantage in the job market.
“This is a platform that is designed to equip young people with leadership skills and social skills among others. It also aims at engaging the youth to change their perspectives on different issues in the society. We call upon young people across the country to join Yunitok because they will be able to exchange views with other youth whom they share common interests,” stated Nyaberi.
She further urged youth across the country to join the platform and be equipped with skills to cope with life rather than turn to drug and alcohol abuse which derails their lives.
The organization uses cleaning and sports programmes as the major events to mobilize the youth.
A section of parents lauded the programme stating that many youth had lost hope in life and sought comfort in drug and substance abuse.
“Most of our children are idle making them prone to drug and substance abuse. It therefore pleases us as parents when we see such programs because our children will be engaged positively,” said Joseph Tanui, a parent.
The scouts team pledged to give their support to the Yunitok and continue mentoring young people. They promised to continue participating in community work and reach out to more youth across the country.
Yunitok also serves as a means through which young people bring out issues affecting them such as depression and mental health openly to help them manage them.
UNICEF launched Yunitok in Kenya on 25th February 2022 with the aim of addressing issues the youth face in their daily lives.
