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{
    "id": 907665,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/907665/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 466,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kasanga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13185,
        "legal_name": "Sylvia Mueni Kasanga",
        "slug": "sylvia-mueni-kasanga"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we started this, my Seconder, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., spoke from his heart. He gave his own personal account and set the stage for this conversation to happen. There is something that he said that I really appreciated; that they must insist to see the funds that are devolved for mental health funding. If they do that, as the Committee on Finance, Commerce and Budget, we will have sound Kenyans. Therefore, county governments will have no choice but to have those funds in place and begin to institutionalize some of the programmes that we are proposing. I repeat that we are not re-inventing the wheel. These things are do-able because they have been done in other countries. When I was first moving the Bill, I gave an example of Kigali, where they have managed to put institutions down to the villages that help people with psycho-social support and psychiatric access. They have gone as far as having call centres where when somebody has an issue, for example, the cases of gender based violence which many Senators spoke about, they have a system where a person can call and the police, who will come and pick up everybody and take them to a centre where they shall receive psycho-social help. If there was an issue of violence, there is a lawyer in that centre to help with that. They also have a person to collect samples in such situations. So, these things are possible. Kenyans pride themselves as being progressive and ahead of our brothers and sisters in the region, yet we are unable to do some of these simple interventions. We are, therefore, not re-inventing the wheel. When Sen. Mugo stood to speak, she talked about the kind of language that we use. I remembered, in my opening remarks that I emphasised on the need to use the right language and terminologies. I was a bit worried because we do not know these terminologies, and it took me time to also understand them. I recall one situation in a public forum where I kept being reminded to not refer to these people as this, but rather as that. However, I said to myself that let us also allow Senators to speak freely and let Kenyans appreciate that a little humour here and there does not necessarily mean that we look down upon people. It is actually the beginning of embracing the situation. We must embrace mental health because it is a disease like any other. Sen. Mugo put it really well. When Sen. M. Kajwang stood up to speak, we again had a light moment. However, something he highlighted and which a few other Senators also spoke about is the use and abuse of drugs being a leading cause of mental illness. I picked up on that when he brought it up and I thought a little deeper about it. This is because my journey also started from a query that came from Makueni. The youth of Makueni were concerned about their fellow youth, who reside along the towns on Mombasa Road. The use and abuse of drugs is prevalent there, and the youth have completely lost their lives because of it. They asked me what I can do about it. Therefore, I decided when this was discussed to go a step further. This is because as a low hanging fruit, maybe there is something we can begin to do as we wait for the Bill to become law. We do not have to wait all that time. Therefore, I made a stop at the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) and asked them what we can do. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}