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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 44870, member: 636"] People talk about mental health problems among Kenyan police officers and doctors all the time. High school students never come up during these conversations. Adults think teenagers have nothing serious to worry about. The World Health Organization found that one out of every seven teens deals with mental health issues. Depression and anxiety cause major problems for young people around the world. Ann studies at a high school near Busia and loses sleep over her grades. She feels terrible when her test scores drop below what she knows she can achieve. Kevin missed two months of school during his first year because he got sick. He worried constantly about falling behind his classmates. Their experiences show how many students struggle with hidden emotional pain. The Shamiri Institute started helping teenagers deal with stress back in 2018. Young counselors between 18 and 22 years old run group sessions at schools. These peer helpers understand what students go through better than older adults. Students feel more comfortable sharing problems with people close to their age. The program teaches kids how to think positively and solve their own problems. The organization has worked with 178,000 students across 350 different schools since 2021. They want to help one million young people every year before 2027 arrives. Their approach costs much less money than traditional therapy methods. Group sessions include six to fifteen students who learn together. The program focuses on building up strengths instead of fixing weaknesses. Government officials created a mental health team during 2019 but never followed through with their plans. Kenya still lacks proper mental health support systems for schools. Experts warn that teenagers will keep suffering without real government action. [/QUOTE]

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