Chinga Boys alumni association chairman Alex Gathii Gitonga addressing students during the launch of counselling programme. Photo/PAUL WANJIRU
By MKT Reporter
Worth Noting:
- Gachutha said that the government funded counseling board that she heads would be making a request to have counseling teaching made mandotary in secondary learning institutions.
- “By offering counseling issues as a subject, our country will be giving a rebirth to our learning institutions,” said Prof. Gachutha.
- On her part, Ms Gathii who is the Managing Director of Second Chance Counseling Center said the introduction of counseling subjects mostly in Secondary Schools will make a lot of differences in terms of performance.
- Ms Gathii who is also the Psychological Ambassador said more needs to be done in those learning institutions on matters on counseling touching students, teachers, non teaching staff and even parents.
There is a dire need to introduce counseling as a subject in secondary schools, it has been suggested.
Kenya Counselling And Psychologist Association (KCPA) want everybody to have basic counselling skills so as to reduce vices related with lack of it.
KCPA chairperson Prof. Catherine Gachutha and a board Rose Wamucii Gathii says by having students enlightened on such matters, Kenyans will be able to address the pandemic since most citizens have mental challenges that can only be understood through psychological skills.
The two spoke on Saturday during the launch of counseling programme at Chinga Boys High School in Othaya Constituency, Nyeri County.
The programme is an initiative of the school’s Alumni association which is headed by Alex Gathii Gitonga, a director of Second Chance Counseling Center.
Prof. Gachutha said that the government funded counseling board that she heads would be making a request to have counseling teaching made mandotary in secondary learning institutions.
“By offering counseling issues as a subject, our country will be giving a rebirth to our learning institutions,” said Prof. Gachutha.
On her part, Ms Gathii who is the Managing Director of Second Chance Counseling Center said the introduction of counseling subjects mostly in Secondary Schools will make a lot of differences in terms of performance.
Ms Gathii who is also the Psychological Ambassador said more needs to be done in those learning institutions on matters on counseling touching students, teachers, non teaching staff and even parents.
Similar services should be extended to other public institutions, they noted, adding that by doing so, incidents like last week’s shooting of a magistrate by a police officer would be avoided.
They thanked the government for the efforts of the recently formed Counselling and Psychologists Board though she insisted that more need to be done.
Second Chance Counseling Center is a Kenyan counseling organization specializing in a diverse range of services in child and adolescent counseling, crisis counseling, addiction counseling, marriage and family, and so forth.
It is also an institution equipped with personnel who are trained to offer different types of assistance; most frequently talk-based styles of therapy.
They also help people with physical emotional and mental health issues to improve their sense of well-being, alleviate feelings of distress and resolve the crisis. They also provide assessment, diagnosis and treatment of more severe psychological symptoms.
“My goal with the Nationwide Schools’ Program is to help the students with physical, emotional and mental health issues, to improve their sense of well-being, alleviate their feelings of distress, and resolve any crisis in their life that could get them stuck away from their bright futures like my life did,” Ms Gathii said.
She also hoped to facilitate self-awareness to all students and help them navigate the identity crisis, to facilitate behavior change, psycho-educate on different topics such as social media, peer pressure, and contextual issues like LGBTQ, to enhance career and personal development, to teach life skills e.g. stress management, anger management, and time management, to enhance decision-making process and maximize students potential and to assist students achieve self-actualization.
The Chinga Boys Alumni Chairman Alex Gathii said the team wants to have complete mental wellness with time through a holistic approach which will help raise the meanscore to 8.4 this year.
The institution’s 1,500 students were taken through the counseling services by the KCPA officials and other invited guests.
These included Mr Allan Njenga of NIBS Technical College who encouraged young men that there is still hope despite mental challenges. He also urged the Government to give equal chances to boys just like those of girls.
The other guest, a counseling expert Joe Wisdom encouraged the students that their future is bright despite the current challenges
The programme launch at the schools comes barely a month after the Alumni launched their association during a ceremony that was presided over by Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira who is also an old students.
The Alumni are targeting to raise over KSh100 Million by March next year for improvement of school infrastructure.
“We want to make Chinga Boys giant again by involving the three pillars; students, teachers and parents,” said the chairman.
The school Principal M’Rachi Kirimi appreciated the Alumni for this noble initiative as Second Chance Center will improve the mental welfare of this school touching students, teaching and non teaching staff.
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