Dur­ing the Hol­i­days? Last Thurs­day, I stood before a sea of out­stand­ing grad­u­at­ing stu­dents at Zetech University’s cam­pus in Ruiru, Kiambu Coun­ty. It was their farewell din­ner, just before they dis­persed ahead of the offi­cial grad­u­a­tion sched­uled for Novem­ber 14. As I scanned the hall, packed to capac­i­ty, I saw some­thing beau­ti­ful: hope. Their eyes sparkled with ambi­tion, dreams, and the excite­ment of becom­ing. But as I con­clud­ed my keynote address, a sober­ing thought struck me: schools across the coun­try are now clos­ing for the long-await­ed August holiday.

And with that, the bells fall silent.

But here’s the urgent ques­tion for every par­ent, teacher, reli­gious leader, and even every online con­tent cre­ator in Kenya: When the school gates close, who is still respon­si­ble for par­ent­ing our chil­dren? This is not a rhetor­i­cal ques­tion. It is a nation­al emergency.

We must remind our­selves of this truth: every child fol­lows the path avail­able to them. And in today’s Kenya, that path is lined with both gold­en bridges and dark alleys.

Let me be bru­tal­ly hon­est. I was raised in a very reli­gious fam­i­ly under the strict guid­ance of a preach­er. But even that could­n’t pre­vent me from exper­i­ment­ing with drugs when I was young. I was­n’t inher­ent­ly rebel­lious. I was just left unsu­per­vised dur­ing cru­cial moments, and curios­i­ty took over. What saved me was a lat­er inter­ven­tion that might have hap­pened soon­er if more peo­ple had been watching.

This is why I speak with both sor­row and hope. Too many chil­dren still face these dan­gers, espe­cial­ly dur­ing school hol­i­days. Par­ent­ing isn’t sole­ly the respon­si­bil­i­ty of bio­log­i­cal par­ents. Teach­ers, cler­gy, matatu crews, Tik­Tok­ers, and even bar own­ers, we all influ­ence the minds and morals of our youth, whether we real­ize it or not.

Inte­ri­or CS Kipchum­ba Murkomen’s call to restrict alco­hol near schools was not a coin­ci­dence; it was a response to increas­ing under­age drink­ing and drug abuse. Today, chil­dren access bhang and syn­thet­ic drugs more eas­i­ly than men­tors. Between 2023 and 2025, NACADA found that over 430,000 youth aged 15–24 had tried mar­i­jua­na. Add vapes, shisha, and pills sold on Telegram and Insta­gram, and the prob­lem becomes clear. Unsu­per­vised par­ties now often serve as gate­ways to abuse, crime, and men­tal health issues.

Accord­ing to a 2024 Min­istry of Health study, 43 per­cent of teen men­tal health refer­rals occurred dur­ing school hol­i­days. That is not a coin­ci­dence; it is due to parental absence.

Mod­ern neu­ro­science con­firms what African wis­dom has long known: a child’s brain stays under devel­op­ment until about age 25. This means struc­tured, val­ue-dri­ven par­ent­ing isn’t option­al; it’s bio­log­i­cal­ly nec­es­sary. How­ev­er, we now face a dan­ger­ous wave of what I call “nar­ra­tive con­fu­sion.” Too many young peo­ple believe suc­cess must come instant­ly. They chase fame over char­ac­ter. They suf­fer from gen­er­a­tional infla­tion, over­es­ti­mat­ing them­selves, com­bined with impa­tience and mis­placed entitlement.

Where do we stand as par­ents? Have you checked your child’s phone today? Do you know what influ­ences are shap­ing them online?

We must urgent­ly rebuild the vil­lage it takes to raise a child. At home, let us estab­lish struc­tured sched­ules this hol­i­day. Enroll them in youth pro­grams that devel­op char­ac­ter, not just aca­d­e­m­ic skills. Let them learn through music, art, and men­tor­ship. Let grand­par­ents share their lega­cy. Let our reli­gious insti­tu­tions go beyond ser­mons to struc­tured activities.

Guide with kind­ness, not sus­pi­cion. Men­tor with thought­ful­ness, not force. Be tru­ly present, not just close by.

This August, be present. Whether you’re a teacher or an influ­encer, you’re guid­ing someone.

As Proverbs 22:6 reminds us, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” That train­ing starts now, not someday.

Because in truth, we are not just rais­ing chil­dren. We are rais­ing the future. And if we lose them, we lose everything.

Think Green, Act Green!