Clean up Nairobi 9 august 2014 At least 300 volunteers were today involved in a major cleaning exercise at the Mathari National Teaching and Referral mental hospital in Nairobi to mark this year’s United Nations International Youth Week. Senior Administrator at the Ministry of Devolution and planning Hassan Noor Hassan, representing the Principal Secretary said the event was in line with this year’s theme of the day dubbed, “Youth and Mental Health” as part of the weeklong celebrations. The actual International Youth Day will be marked Officially on Tuesday 12th, August, 2014. He said the clean up was to promote the involvement of the youth in community work and reduce the stigma associated with patients suffering from mental related ailments. Noor expressed fears that cases of mental ailments due to various causes including drug addiction was on the increase saying statistics indicated that at least one in every four Kenyans suffered from the disease. He urged the youth in the country to refrain from indulging in drug abuse and engage in gainful activities especially now that the government offered loans amounting to more than Ksh 22 billion for the Youth , Women and persons with disability. “The current regime has made remarkable strides in promoting the empowerment of the youth who must take up the initiative to exploit the opportunities instead of lamenting” Noor said. He reminded the youth that nothing comes easily and on a silver plate. It is upon the youth to take up the challenges positively and work hard to get and utilize wisely what the Government is offering. He cited the Ksh 6 billion Uwezo fund which is already at the County level,National Youth Enterprise Fund, Women Enterprise Fund and the 30% Government Procurement Opportunity (AGPO) as some of the bold and deliberate initiatives to empower the segment of the society that was marginalized by past administrations. Noor revealed that the Devolution and Planning Ministry was implementing the new procurement policy saying contracts worth Ksh 1.57 billion are already allocated to the targeted group but said plans were underway to make the new guidelines mandatory. Director of Youth Affairs Timothy Gakuo invited the cleaning team to Uhuru Park where everybody was expected to converge for a prayer session later in the day. Notable personalities engaged in the clean up exercise included the Youth Ambassador to the UN, Wambui Kahara, Senior staff at the MatharI Hospital and other officials from the United Nations Environment programme(UNEP). Other organizations represented during the clean up that culminated with a tree planting exercise at the Mental Facility included the National Youth Service, National Youth Council and the Nairobi County Government. Ends………………
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 14:40:25 +0000
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