Image: Duy Nod from Pixabay
A woman from Murang’a County has left many astonished after narrating how her alcohol addiction drove her to sell her child for only twenty thousand shillings to satisfy her craving for alcohol.
In her testimony to the Nation magazine, Wanjiru, who is now a counseling teacher at a rehabilitation center for substance abusers in Murang’a, explained that before reforming, she was a dangerous alcoholic.
In her narrative, Wanjiru said she found herself mingling with groups of drunken women after failing to secure a spot at Alliance High School, where she was admitted due to a lack of school fees.
Wanjiru said that a woman introduced her to her brother, who introduced her to alcohol at the young age of 14.
"At first, he would give me soda, then soda mixed with a little alcohol, and later he started giving me hard liquor. That's how I found myself addicted to alcohol at the age of 14," Wanjiru recounted.
The mother of one said that was the beginning of her long and challenging journey, revealing that at one point, she attempted to engage in prostitution and even tried stealing from retail stores.
"One day I was caught stealing and was severely beaten. After that, I was taken to jail and charged with theft. Fortunately, family members paid my bail and got me out of jail. I also stole from many men, especially those who appeared wealthy.
I would spike their drinks before robbing them. I made millions of shillings, but the money didn't help me because I would end up spending it on buying alcohol and drugs," she was quoted as saying.
Fearing being jailed again, Wanjiru decided to return home to Kiharu, Murang’a County, where her addiction worsened to the extent that she reached the point of selling her child for twenty thousand shillings.
However, she saw a glimmer of change in her life in 2015 when retired President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a crackdown on illicit brews, during which the then Murang’a governor, Mwangi wa Iria, established a rehabilitation center for substance abusers.
She joined the center, underwent behavioral rehabilitation, and later became a teacher helping others to reform against illicit substances.
