This archive report was first published on 16 July 2019.
On a scorching day at the Desa Grounds in Nairobi's Carlifonia estate, 17-year-old Sustaf Ali led his team Monaco FC to a resounding win against Star Socca in a match used to raise awareness about the prevalence of drug use and abuse in the area.
Ali, who has been nicknamed 'Mahrez' after the Manchester City and Algeria star, admitted that many youths in the area are involved in drugs.
“It’s a serious issue here. But we welcome this initiative because we started coming together about three months ago to engage in sports, more youths are now finding solace in playing football during their free time,” Ali said.
Ali's team is part of the Change Fora Society initiative, which aims to keep youths out of drugs through sports. The society has already attracted 100 youths and plans to rehabilitate them after using football to attract them.
University of Nairobi business student Faiza Hassan, the founder of the initiative, said sports has proven to be an effective platform to address idleness and drug use in youth.
“We started this initiative to try and get the youths out of drugs. It’s sad that many of them have dropped out of school for various reasons, but through this programme we are hopeful to change lives and give the youths a chance in life,” Hassan said.
The initiative plans to offer rehabilitated youths entrepreneurial skills to help them start a living and stop engaging in crime.
Published on July 16, 2019.
