SPORTS Talented youths need counselling on risky behaviours On May 15,<strong>2011</strong> the sporting world woke up to shocking news of the death of one of Kenya’s top athletes, Samuel Kamau Wanjiru, (Pictured) He had allegedly jumped to his death from the balcony of his Nyahururu mansion after a disagreement with his wife Tereziah Njeri, a very tragic end to the man who became the first Kenyan to win an Olympics gold medal in Marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But as the dust settles down over the circumstances surrounding his death, many questions abound and the fingers are pointing to the government. Many are the unanswered questions: Is the Government doing enough, or anything to support elite athletes and other talented youths? What about the sports associations in the country? What else should the country have done differently to save the life of Wanjiru? Soon after his death, at least three women other than his wife Tereziah claimed to have been married to him, or that he fathered their children. This raises questions about famed youths struggling with destructive traits. Between the period after the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the time of his death, Wanjiru was wallowing in millions of dollars from participating and winning international marathons. At just 24 when he died, he needed a lot of counselling to manage the sudden wealth that was coming his way. And who else was in a better position to do this than Athletics Kenya? In fact, the counselling and nurturing should be done for all its athletes, particularly about life skills and investment of their huge incomes from prizes, bonuses, and endorsements. Many have succumbed to depression, hopelessness, alcohol abuse and fallen from glory to grass. The government only takes notice when they are gone, like Wanjiru. The emphasis on medical and dope tests by sports bodies also should extend to psychiatric assessment to ensure that all is well with our stars. As the UK House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts observed in a report UK Sport: Supporting elite athletes (Fifty–fourth Report of Session 2005–06), sport is not just about medals or a celebrity culture, but about the benefits of taking part- in Wanjiru’s case, strong family values, investment culture and general life skills. The face that many athletes have left Kenya for other countries especially those in the Middle East exemplifies the kind of nurturing that we badly need to preserve and protect our own. The government must look into their economic and social wellbeing. Yet as Macharia Gaitho of the Editors’ Guild observed on the day Wanjiru died, “Does Athletics Kenya have a programme to monitor and support the young men and women thrust from humble, deprived backgrounds to instant fame and fortune?” “Do we really care for these national heroes beyond shining in the reflected glory? Who provides the support, guidance and counselling when life starts to unravel? Who protects them from all the sharks? Who helps them remain on an even keel when they might be dizzy with all the riches and adulation? What do those managers and coaches do other than running cash-minting machines? Mr Gaitho concluded: “We are failing these young national heroes.” According to Kamau Macharia of Sports Boosters, the government has been abandoning sports people at the airport whenever their performance is below expectation. “We wonder why a parent would throw away his child for failing in an exam when all along he has been at the top. It demoralizes us to know that the government is only with us when we are winning but completely turns its back on us for isolated failures,” he said. 10.
. Bronze (Kshs350,000) with varied benefits 4. Water Services Regulatory Board 5. KPMG Kenya
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