I have grown up a silent child. With the narratives that you should not have ‘maneno mingi’, ‘uskue na kiherere’, ‘nyamaza utaskia vizuri.’ This has caused me to develop issues with how I communicate with myself and others around me. After my secondary school studies, I couldn't join the university because of a lack of school fees. This got me into a stressful situation that slowly turned into depression. 

I did not know what to do or where to go, especially when the available mental health services were expensive. Luckily, I joined several community outreach activities within Dagoretti that helped me to forget some thoughts. It is only in 2023, 6 years later, that I got the courage to call a mental health, toll-free number and really speak without fear of judgement.

Sometimes I am left wondering where we are headed as a country, because this has been the stories of many. Recently, we were treated to a chilling event of a 24-year-old mother who brutally butchered her 2-year-old daughter in Kitengela. 

As if that wasn't enough, it is now common to hear of university students killing their boyfriends, girlfriends, and themselves. It worsens when a 12-year-old girl dies by suicide `and a young boy of 9 years old begins using drugs. I mean, aren't they just children with their whole lives ahead of them?

With the current economic situation, most youths have no jobs, young families are struggling to feed and provide basic needs for their families. Kenyans, especially the youths are under immense pressure and stress levels are in the increase forcing many to succumb to drug and substance abuse or even contemplate suicide.

According to the Ministry of Health, 1 in 10 people has a mental health disorder they do not know about, with Nairobi leading with the highest number of mental health disorder cases in Kenya.

The ministry of health had mentioned that they have allocated 10% of the overall health budget to mental health. Going by the cases we are seeing and continue to witness, there is need to increase this budget to meet the escalating demands for mental health care.

I am therefore appealing to the Ministry of Health to:

• Increase the mental health budget by 20%.
• Introduce free and regular mental health activities, learning and safe spaces in all learning institutions.
• Set up free, regular and accessible mental health departments in all public hospitals.

Our youths are the future of our nation; they are our pride and vision for a prosperous country. They deserve to be heard and given an environment that does not discriminate against their mental health status when they seek for help

YOUR SIGNATURE will give us a voice strong enough to help appeal to the Ministry of Health for free and accessible mental health support in learning institutions and public hospitals.