By Primrose Omoto
Eden House, a rehabilitation center with branches in Diani and Likoni, is grappling with a severe funding crisis that threatens the future of its programs and the well-being of its drug addicts.
The center has been instrumental in rehabilitating hard drug users but is now facing an uncertain future following the closure of the offices of the First and Second Lady.
The program, initiated on December 7, 2023, by the office of the Second Lady, Dorcas Gachagua, wife of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, aimed at rehabilitating drug users of hard drugs such as heroin.
Prior to the initiative, Eden House primarily treated individuals struggling with alcohol and marijuana addiction.
The plight of hard drug users caught the attention of the Second Lady, prompting her to launch the program in collaboration with Eden House.
Her office provided essential provisions, including food, medication and covered admission costs for the addicts.
The program has an impressive 70% success rate, with many reformed addicts gaining skills through TVET courses at Diani Vocational Training Center.
However, since the closure of the offices of the First and Second Lady, the program has stalled and provisions are steadily running out.
Recovering addicts at Eden House now lack the support they need to reintegrate into society.
Anthony Njeru, the director of Eden House Rehabilitation Center, expressed his concerns about the dire situation.
“Without the necessary support, the drug addicts who we are taking care of are at risk of falling back into old habits. We are struggling to provide even one meal a day, surviving on donations from well-wishers. If the situation does not improve, the program will close by the 7th of October,” he said.
Stephen Chacha, a former heroin user, shared his fears about the future.
“Without the program to help me transition back to society, I am bound to fall back into old habits. I have come a long way from Simanzi . I arrived here in a pitiful state with nothing to my name. Now, I have no means and no place to go. Society lost its trust in addicts and no one can offer to host me,” he explained.
Strong willed, Stephen is a skilled plant operator, armed with his certificates and ready to be a productive member of society.
Sam Mbugua, age 43, another former user, expressed his gratitude to the Second Lady and Eden House for giving him a second chance at life.
“I deeply regret that the program has ended prematurely. This worsens my odds of staying sober. If I go back to the same environment I was in before getting treatment, it is possible that I might fall back into addiction. I don’t want that, so I’m stuck here thinking about what to do,” he said.
Peris Salim, not her real name after speaking to Coast Times Digital on condition of anonymity, shared her story of hope and struggle.
“The program has restored my hope of reuniting with my two daughters. I humbly request that the program be reinstated with halfway houses to help me get back on my feet. I have relapsed many times, leaving my children under the care of neighbors and well-wishers, by going back to the same environment that fueled my addiction,” she said.
Mr. Njeru is pleading for collaborative support from philanthropic, political and religious leaders in society to help forge a way forward.
“We have run this program for nine months and now we need the support to be able to continue helping these individuals. Without it, we will be left with no choice but to return to the streets,” he concluded.
The future of Eden House Rehabilitation Center and its drug addicts being taken care of now hangs in the balance, awaiting the intervention of compassionate leaders and the community to ensure that the progress made is not lost.
