Michael (Not his real name) was one of the 20 recoverees of the first cohort of 2024 intensive outpatient programme. Michael started taking drugs in high school, a trend that he continued with until he was enrolled in a vocational training centre in Narok. Michael would later drop out of school as he had used his school to purchase his drugs of choice which were alcohol, Khat and cigarettes. This decision did not rub well with his family who had invested in his studies and even attended his graduation only to find his name missing and being met with the sad news that Michael had dropped out of school long time ago.  His family could not understand addiction and saw it as way for him to destroy his life and were not happy about it. His father especially was bitter at his son and decided not to offer any support to him moving  forward since he considered that a waste of time and resources. Michael lived a miserable life and this rift between him and his family added salt to the injury. He got deeper and deeper into addition and became a shell of his former self. This year he was enrolled in the intensive outpatient program and after few weeks of individual and group therapy, Michael made a decision to stop taking drugs permanently and to change for the better. This improvement came as a surprise to his family especially his father who initially thought he would amount to nothing good. After confirming that he was ready to open a new chapter of his life, his father accepted to take him back to school and together with the whole family decided to be closer to him to assist in his recovery journey. During the recoverees and significant others meeting, Michael read an emotional speech thanking everyone for their support and vowing to do better. His remarks moved the attendees to tears as his mother walked towards him and embraced him joyfully.  Michael is now a happy and hopeful man and he continuously confirms that the intensive outpatient program has been an eye opener to him and is what he needed to live a better life and achieve his goals.