• Mentorship, according to community leaders and organizations, is effective because it substitutes constructive guidance for harmful influence.

What if the same peer pressure that drags young people into addiction could be flipped into mentorship that pulls them back out? Across Kenya, mentorship programs prove that the same energy once fueling peer pressure now transforms into guidance, giving young people not just recovery, but a reason to dream again.

Addiction often creeps in subtly—through curiosity, the urge to fit in, or the pressure to belong. What begins as experimentation quickly hardens into dependency, trapping youth in cycles of despair, loneliness, and dashed hopes. Yet a new narrative of healing, resilience, and rejuvenation is emerging.

Young people battling drug addiction are finding more than rehabilitation in mentorship programs; they are finding direction, meaning, and second chances.

Mentors walk beside them not as judges but as supporters and role models, creating safe spaces where youth speak openly about trauma, peer pressure, family struggles, and mental health. In these spaces, confidence returns. Self‑worth grows. Peer support groups, skills training, group discussions, and counseling sessions help youth rebuild their lives.

These programs go beyond recovery. They emphasize transformation. Young people learn entrepreneurship, digital skills, creative arts, leadership, and community service—discovering purpose beyond addiction. Many former addicts become mentors themselves, turning pain into purpose and experience into tools for change.

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Community leaders say mentorship works because it replaces harmful influence with constructive guidance. It fosters accountability, restores identity, and rebuilds a sense of belonging—things many addicted youth desperately lack.

Stories of resilience are replacing stories of relapse. Former addicts are starting businesses, returning to school, serving in churches, and leading community projects. Their journeys show that recovery is not just about stopping drugs; it is about starting over.

Mentorship is emerging as one of the most potent tools for change in a society where youth addiction is on the rise. It saves lives, molds leaders, rekindles hope, and rewrites futures. Sometimes, a lost youth does not need punishment—they need support, encouragement, and someone willing to walk with them on the road back.

In his New Year 2026 address, President William Ruto declared alcohol and drug abuse a national emergency. He revealed that one in six Kenyans aged 15–65—about five million people—are affected, with young men most vulnerable.

His plan combines stricter enforcement, expanded rehabilitation, and community mobilization. 

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