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A Ghanaian citizen who is a mental health advocate, Lydia Abena Manu has thrown a party for drug addicts in Kenya as part of strategies to help in rehabilitating them from mental illness.

Abena Manu who is the CEO of Willingway Foundation Ghana, a Ghana-based non-profit organisation dedicated to rehabilitation of mental health patients has joined friends to throw the party at the Mathare ghetto, Kenya.

Apart from food, she led in counselling and education for the drug addicts to choose above drugs but rather, revert to natural healthy lifestyle.

Speaking in an interview, she said it was necessary to observe the day in creating awareness of drug addiction.

She noted that mental illness was no respecter of persons and that anybody at all could in one way or the other, become mentally ill.

She said though drug addiction was difficult to fight, there was hope for tomorrow and urged people with relatives having mental problems to immediately report the first suspicion to the nearby health facility.

“There is hope of recovery for addiction and I urge people with relatives having mental problems not to delay in reporting such cases to the immediate health facilities,” she stated.

The CEO further noted that drug addiction was one of the major causes of mental illness, hence the need for society to take the issue of mental health seriously.

She commended the Kenyan government for organising “Menthadom Programme” in Kenya and appealed that the government give the opportunity to mental health advocates in sister African countries to get access to the programme.

Establishment of addiction and treatment school

She indicated that Willingway Foundation Ghana was collaborating with Uzima Mental Health Service in Kenya to establish an Addiction and Treatment School in Ghana.

That she said would help in the fight against mental illness and promote wellbeing of the people in the area of mental health.

A Co-CEO of the foundation, Mr Robert Galevo for is part said as part of its education programme the foundation visit slums and ghettos in and around Kumasi and support them with food, water, Bibles, Korans and clothes.

He said upon visitation, the foundation would educate them and drug addicts who were ready to give up on drugs were been taken to the rehabilitation centre of the foundation for where they were treated and taken care of.