More than 45 young people in Belvedere recently benefited from a drug and mental health awareness, which was hosted by Shincheonji Volunteers together with Mubatirapamwe and Population Solutions for Health under the theme “Raising awareness about mental and standing together against drug abuse”.
Speaking to young people who gathered for the campaign, Shincheonji Volunteers, Head of Public Relations, Neil Maretekwa expressed their endless commitment to empowering young people with knowledge and to warn them about the dangers of drug and substance abuse towards achieving drug-free societies.
“We are excited to have our partners today as we are educating young people about mental health and the dangers of drug and substance abuse. This program has been designed to also complement the government’s efforts to eradicate the use of drugs in the country.
“Drugs are very dangerous as they are robbing the future of young people. Today, we stand together as we speak with one loud voice to say no to drugs, no to substance abuse. As young people, let us have a mindset shift and begin to dream big about our lives,” he said.
Meanwhile, Population Solutions for Health patron, Mike Tafara, warned communities against handling drug addicts with condemnation, but to have patience and begin to address the challenge of drug and substance abuse from the root cause using a gentle and non-discriminatory manner.
“As communities, most of the time we handle issues of drugs in a way that seems to attack the drug addicts, for example, when the campaign itself comes saying ‘no to drugs’ or “stop drug abuse “. it is an attack. These are the things that may affect or cause more harm to the victims of drug abuse in the sense that they feel attacked and approaching people in the community feels heavy, they feel judged already and what they do afterwards is to create a community of their own where they listen to each other and support one another.
“So, my word today to the community that is coming with the idea of helping the drug addicts, we need to create a good and welcoming environment so that victims can feel safe. We should not be judgmental rather, we need to be good listeners, hear their story and understand where they are coming from. After that, we should embrace them, ask questions like how they started, how they feel about what is happening in their lives and try to understand them more before we even give a solution, then from there we can come up with means and ways to assist,” he said
Sharing a message on the same event, Mubatirapamwe Trust representative Tendai Daka highlighted some of the services they offered to the victims of drug abuse and mental health complications, which, among others, include referrals.
“As a trust, we have expertise in social work. Some of the services that we provide include referral to treatment if we see that the situation has become severe. Also, we do screening and brief negotiation interviews among others.
“We do not deal with patients only, but we also provide training to caregivers and drug addiction programs, among others. So today we are saying do not hesitate to seek our services,” said Daka.
By 2021, the Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network reported that drug abuse accounted for 60% of psychiatric admissions, with 80% of these involving young people aged 16-25.
